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I know it’s been a while…I’ve been busy practicing what I preach!

If you have ever thought about becoming a landlord, heard horror stories, or success stories, then this post is for you!

I’m sure even successful landlords have heard the stories of tenants not paying, toilets getting clogged, and every other cliche in the book.

Well I’m here to tell you it’s all true…and it’s still worth it!

Since my last post I rented out a condo to a great tenant, had several maintenance issues at several of my properties, and I’m getting ready to try my hand at Airbnb hosting!

In previous posts we’ve gone over the benefits to owning rental property and being a landlord.

Related Posts:

6 Critical Things You Must Look For In An Investment Property To Maximimize Your Profits

Why Real Estate Can Beat Bitcoin and the Stockmarket in a Fist Fight

In this post you’ll hear three of the most common things you can expect living the landlord life!

Having some type of maintenance issue is the most common thing that occurs when you own rental property.

At some point something in your property is going to stop working well or even stop working all together.

Now you dont want to be going back and forth unclogging toilets or changing light bulbs so its important that you explicitly state in your lease what maintenance issues are your responsibility and what issues the tenant needs to handle themselves.

For big issues such as air conditioning or heat you need to have a professional address the issue quickly.

Something I’ve found helpful are home warranties. If you live in your home and then rent it out you probably have a home warranty.

Keep this warranty when you rent out the property. It will likely cost you between $50 and $80 per month but it really can be worth it when something goes wrong.

When you get a warranty just make sure they cover everything, most even cover appliances along with HVAC systems and plumbing.

If you dont want a warranty eating away at your cash flow you need to build a team of maintenance professionals.

This takes a lot more work but can reap benefits if you’re trying to scale your rental business into something big!

You can find maintenance people anywhere, including craigslist. However, this is much like finding a tenant on craigslist, there are some good ones but they have to be screened!

Probably the best piece of advice I’ve gotten when it comes to finding great people to work on your home is going to your local hardware store.

Get to Lowes or Home Depot early in the morning, like 6am or 7am, and talk to the people in the parking lot loading their trucks.

People at hardware stores early are usually professionals that know what they’re doing. Of course there are exceptions but this is a good practice.

Fix issues as early and thoroughly as you can, that will keep good tenants in your property!

Tenant Turnover

Losing good tenants sucks. If you have a good tenant that wants to leave offer them something to stay. In the long run it’s cheaper to keep them!

Prior to having tenants move out you need to brainstorm what you will do when this happens.

Have a strategy or know a company to place a good tenant fast. This can be done by property management companies.

Even if you want to manage the property yourself a company can still advertise for you as well as screen and place tenants.

Usually placing tenants will cost you about one months rent.

Never slack on tenant screening just to place a tenant.

This is where you get into the realm of non payment and evictions!

Tenant Doesn’t Pay

A non paying tenant is the worst case scenario.

If you have a tenant that isnt paying dont wait to give them an eviction notice. Find out the laws in your state and start the process immediately.

Usually that notice will get them to pay but if not there are other options.

If a tenant wont pay and wont leave you can offer them money to leave or cash for keys.

This will hurt your pride but help your wallet. Offer your tenant a few hundred bucks to leave and let them know that the alternative is an eviction on their record and no money.

Usually bad tenants will take this option if they’re smart.

If all else fails evict. Dont get caught up in your feelings or fall for sob stories lest ye become one!

For the most part, if you live somewhere you have to pay for it. That’s just how it is.

Closing

In summation maintenance issues, tenant turnover, and tenants not paying are the three main issues that stop people from continuing to be a landlord or stop them from ever trying.

If you have an abundance mindset then you will recognize that these things can be overcome.

Will there be stressful moments? Probably! But go back and read some other Gentrifanatic posts to see that the rewards far outweigh the risks.

Make sure you save up a good chunk of your Profits for emergencies and reinvest the rest!

If you have any questions or need any advice on getting started just HMU, I’ll be around…