People become accidental landlords for countless reasons.
Whether you've inherited a family home or have trouble navigating a slow housing market, knowing you can turn a tricky situation into a fruitful one is important. Being a landlord can bring in significant side income, but you need to know how to do it right.
In today's post, we'll give you some rental property advice for managing rental properties to perfection. Keep reading and take these Albany real estate tips to heart so you can become the best possible rental property owner, accidental or otherwise.
Understand New York's Rental Laws
Start your journey by learning as much as possible about landlord-tenant laws in New York state. When you have a thorough understanding of your legal obligations and how to interact with tenants, you'll have fewer issues.
Evictions are one of the most stressful aspects of being a landlord. If you know what constitutes the need for eviction and how to carry one out, you can navigate the process with ease.
Fix Your Property
However you came to be a landlord, you may need to put some work into the property before renting it out. If you currently live in the property, you'll need to turn your basement into a rental suite. If you've inherited the property, you may need to perform some repairs and maintenance.
When your unit is move-in ready, finding tenants is much simpler. The more work you put in now, the easier the maintenance will be.
Use Property Marketing
Once your property is ready, it's time to create a rental listing to find your first tenant. Taking this part of the process seriously is crucial. Nothing causes more financial stress than long-term rental vacancies.
Write a thorough description of the property and all of its amenities. Take plenty of high-quality real estate photos of the property. List it on the rental platform of your choosing, then put as many eyes as possible on the listing by using things like SEO and paid ads.
Screen Tenants
If you nail your rental marketing, you should have a long list of applicants. Now, it's time to screen your applicants to get the best possible tenant for your vacancy.
Tenant screening looks into applicants' personal and financial backgrounds. This tells you if they'll be a good character fit and whether or not they'll be able to afford rent each month. When you have great tenants in your unit, your job as a landlord becomes much easier.
Work for Your Tenants
Once you've got great tenants, it's your job to ensure they're happy. Happy tenants tend to stay put, keeping money flowing into your rental unit.
The key to a great tenancy is maintenance and communication. Make sure that you inspect and maintain the unit regularly while responding to tenant requests for maintenance promptly.
Accidental Landlords Can Thrive Too
Accidental landlords often fear the work involved with owning rental property. There's no denying that, even when you implement the rental property advice here, it's still a lot of work.
To properly manage the workload, you may benefit from property management in Albany. Rooted Maintenance and Development is Albany's top property manager, offering comprehensive services that cover every aspect of being a landlord. To get help with your accidental rental, contact us today.
