Profiting As A Landlord: The Necessity Of Spending To Make Money

By Layla Vanderbilt

You are a landlord. You've already paid up to buy the property that you now are trying to profit from. This might have run you a pretty penny and it's unlikely that you'll want to have to spend more anytime soon. However, while you may have heard people speak of having to spend money to make money, being a landlord is a career in which that adage holds true. There are some aspects of your property and the management thereof that, if you spend some money now, will help you to bring in the big bucks later on.

Believe it or not, landscaping matters. Everyone loves having a beautiful lawn, but no one wants to actually mow it, do they? Get a few gardeners and some sprinklers and let them go to work to make your property beautiful and verdant. It'll do a lot for making renting from you more appealing. If people wanted to do their own annoying mowing, they'd be buying their own houses, now wouldn't they? Take advantage of their laziness to make your property look like a better deal.

So now that you've got a lovely lawn and the upkeep is in competent hands, you need to consider advertising! If you don't present your property to prospective tenants, they'll never come- how can they, if they don't know you're there? The first and most obvious thing to do is to place a sign in the front of the property that states you are now leasing, but then you must branch out from there, especially if your area sees little traffic. Now, I'm not going to tell you to invest in newspaper ads and such- those are costly and besides, the print media sees fewer and fewer readers anymore. Instead, turn to the Internet, where certain sites offer FREE advertising. Try putting your ad up on Craigslist, to start with. You'll get tons of views and not have to spend a penny.

3. Property Management Company Image: People would dislike signing a lease contract with someone that is not interested in finding out how they are going on at the rented place. Taking an alternate phone number and a P.O. Box could be a cheap alternative. You do not want to let your tenants be aware of the place where you are residing and that your phone is your cell.

4. Lease Agreement: You must spend the amount that is needed to prepare a legally sound and accurate lease contract. Even though you may purchase a legal agreement from an office supply but such an agreement would be very common and would not include the legal clauses that would protect you in worst cases. Each state has different set of laws and if you are not aware of them then it is always a better option to look for a place from where you could prepare a sound legal contract.

5. 3-Day Notices: You should take active measures without any fear against the tenants who do not pay rent in a timely manner. If you are prompt enough to send him a 3-Day notice to pay or vacate the very first time he is late in paying rent, you can guarantee that he would never be late again.

In the worst case situation, if you have to evict a person from your property, by keeping to the above you'll have the process ticking in accurate order like clockwork. Remember, the sooner you get a non-profitable tenant out, the sooner you can get a profitable one in to replace him. There's no need to be rude about it, but you should be firm and unyielding, if respectful and professional. Invest in all these things, and you'll come out ahead in the game. - 23221

About the Author:

Layla Vanderbilt is the content coordinator for a leading property management software review website which connects people with the leading property management tools.