For years, it’s been said that investing in real estate is one of the wisest financial decisions to make. Owning a rental property essentially guarantees some amount of passive income, perhaps even enough to support you exclusively. That said, being a landlord or landlady is not always as simple as renting a property out to a tenant; there is a myriad of routine tasks and responsibilities you must carry out as an investor, both to protect your property and to comply with local landlord-tenant laws.
Owning an income property that’s not located near your home will inevitably be more challenging than renting out a home you can easily access. Luckily, with a careful approach, you can still make the best of the situation if your income property isn’t exactly around the corner.
How To Make The Most Of Your Income Property Even When You Don’t Live Nearby
1. Make Sure Your Tenant Has Your Contact Info
Obviously, every landlord or landlady should exchange contact info with his or her tenants, but this is especially important when your rental property is miles away. If an issue should arise, you’ll want to know about it as soon as possible so, if needed, you have ample time to travel to the home.
2. Locate Trustworthy Home Service Providers Near Your Rental Property
The further away you live from your rental property, the less likely it is you’ll be able to handle household repairs yourself in a timely manner. Instead, prepare for common issues like plumbing leaks, HVAC malfunctions, water heater repairs, etc. by locating professionals near the property who you can quickly call in case of emergency.
3. Consider Installing A Home Security System
Not only is a security system an attractive feature for tenants; it can provide you peace of mind as well in knowing burglars and other intruders will be warded off by the alarm.
4. Offer Tenants An Electronic Payment Method
Waiting to receive checks in the mail is never ideal; there’s always the risk your rent payment will be sent to the wrong address or, worse, if your tenant is late to pay rent, you’ll still have to wait an additional 2-3 days just to receive the check.
See if you can avoid these types of headaches altogether by letting your tenant pay you electronically. While of course, you cannot require anyone’s forms of payment for rent, chances are, if you give your tenant the option of paying electronically, he or she will be willing to do so.
5. Hire A Local Property Manager To Maintain The Home For You
Perhaps the most effective and efficient way to rent out a home you can’t easily access is to simply outsource to a property manager. Doing so will essentially allow you to enjoy a hands-off experience while leaving the legwork to the professionals. Tasks such as property maintenance and marketing, tenant screening, and rent collection can all be handled by your property manager, freeing you from the stress and burden of worrying about your rental home.
Best of all, property managers typically have an easier time filling vacant rental homes than landlords, as they’re more familiar with the rental market conditions and know how to properly advertise listings.
Not only will you enjoy saving money on property maintenance and repairs; you’ll also be able to maximize your overall ROI by reducing the amount of time the home remains vacant in between tenants.
Are You Looking For A Property Manager In The Bay Area?
At Intempus, we take pride in our team’s ability to provide the highest level of client satisfaction. For years, we’ve dedicated ourselves to serving the Bay Area with our full-service approach to property management.
If you’re interested in learning more about how Intempus can help you with your income property, please get in touch with our friendly staff today!
