If you are planning to sell your property before relocating to a new place then you can opt for renting out your property.
Most homeowners opt for renting out their old Baltimore residential property instead of selling it. Well, this is actually the best way to bring in extra income regularly.
Also, you can have someone to look after your property if you don’t want to sell it.
Although turning your residential property to commercial property is a good idea to bring in extra income, but managing rental property being an out-of-town landlord is not easy.
It’s a challenging task, and you may face a lot of problems while managing your rental property from a distant place.
For instance, you won’t be able to fix repair issues or respond to any emergencies immediately as you could have if you lived near your rental property in Baltimore.
The process of managing a rental property or condos from a long-distance place is a tough job.
However, with a few tips, you can easily turn your residential property into an investment property and run your business successfully.
Key Tips for Long-distance Landlords
Find the Best Tenants
The key tip to become a successful landlord from a long-distance place is to have tenants you can trust on.
If you are hiring any unknown applicant then make sure to thoroughly screen them before hiring. Do a background check thoroughly, check credit history, past eviction reasons, income, etc., and hire the one you find appropriate as per your preference.
And if you think you can’t trust anybody then rent to family, friends of friends, relatives, etc. Although this has some other cons, also has many advantages. You can relax peacefully knowing your property is in safe hands.
Have Someone Nearby on Calls
Whether a property management company that can look after your property and its maintenance or a friend or relative who can do the occasional drive-by, you will want to have someone who can check your property in case of emergency. This way they can give you peace of mind by sharing the status of your property.
Have Repair People in Your Contact List
Being a landlord you will have to keep up with the maintenance works in your rental property. You will often get complaints about repairs and maintenance. And handling this from a long-distance place is not possible.
So, people like handymen, plumbers, and electricians should be on your contact list. This would make it easier to handle emergency calls. If there’s a leak or electricity problem, you can call the handyman to get it fixed immediately.
Accept E-Payments
Another difficult task of managing a rental property is to get rent from tenants. Living afar from your rental property has many cons and receiving every month’s rent is one of those cons. Still, you can resolve the issues by accepting e-payments from your renters.
This is a digital transaction between two parties, and the types include wire and bank transfers, cards, mobile pay, wallets, etc. So, instead of taking cash or check payments first every month, you can ask your tenants to make an online payment for the rent.
Another way is to get post-dated checks from the renters. But this is only possible or suitable for the renters who have only signed a fixed lease for one year or six months. This way you the amount will be credited to your bank account on the first of every month.
Be Clear With Your Rental Terms
If you don’t want pets in your rental unit, if you want the tenants to smoke on the premises, or you don’t want them to have guests over for a longer time in your property then say it clearly to your tenants or simply mention it on the lease agreements.
Set strict rules in the lease agreement and be clear with your rental terms. Inform your tenants about the rules before they move in and make sure they have understood what you will and won’t allow.
This step will help you to keep your property maintained in the way you wanted even living afar from the rental unit.
Inspect the Property
Rental property inspection is very much important for managing a rental property. It may be tough for you to inspect from a distance so, you can hire a rental property management company in Baltimore. The property manager will look after your property also, inspect the property regularly and send the report to you.
Communicate Often
Communicate between long-distance landlords and tenants can be difficult but communicating with your tenants will help you to achieve success in your business. Establish regular communication with your renters with phone calls or emails. Provide them some emergency numbers too which they can use for after-hour calls. Talk to them to know about the property’s condition and also listen to their problems.
Conclusion
Landlording is not for everyone, this is only for those who are willing to take up the mental of responsibilities and turn the challenges into opportunities with their efforts and hard work to make a brighter financial future for their and their family. If you are fully committed then only you can succeed in this business.
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