Your property is your asset since it comes from your hard-earned money. With your money invested to a property, comes your responsibility as a landlord. In fact, the responsibility is not easy to fulfill. Most people think that being landlord is only need to wait for the tenants to pay for the rent every month or so. However, being landlord is much more than that. There are responsibilities you should take not only to your asset but also your tenants. It is easy to make some errors for a landlord especially in the beginning. However, the best thing to do is to learn from that to make a better landlord.
Common errors done by landlord
Errors are often made during the first years of a landlord in managing their asset. It is easy for new landlord to make mistakes here and there. Limited knowledge of investment property management is the main cause of those errors. If you are also new investor as well as new landlord, you can learn more from these errors done by most new landlords:
- Not paying attention to the upkeep investment property. Most new landlords think that it is not necessary to spend money for minor renovations such as repainting, replacing old air conditioning, or doing kitchen makeover. However, those minor renovations can add the value of property investment significantly. Minor renovations can also increase your rental returns quickly. That’s why it is important to maintain property regularly and professionally.
- Too focus on satisfying personal desire to the investment property. Being a landlord means you need to try putting on your tenant’s shoes. Many new landlords instead focus more on their personal liking such as applying their favorite colors to their investment property and choose vibrant color. However, it is safer to choose neutral color and décor to your property. Choosing durable and hard wearing finishes are also recommended instead of going for flashy things.
- Forgetting to set boundaries with tenants. It is important to maintain good relationship between tenants and landlords in business level. However, trying to make relationship than you are supposed to be will only raise another problem. For example, your tenants will think it is fine to pay late than due date just because you are too friendly to them.
- Too confident to manage investment property alone. In fact, it will be more advantageous to ask for help from professional property manager. They can help you market your rental premises and find potential tenants. They can also help you maintaining your investment property to the max. Thus, it will increase your rental returns. It also means you will be able repay your loan faster.
- Another error is starting business without a plan. This is big mistake because planning is essential. Buying investment property blindly and rent it out without thorough plan will lead you to fail faster. To help you make the right plan, you can consult the experts. Therefore, you can avoid making wrong decision to your investment property.
