Your Guide to Leasing Your Property: Common Mistakes to Avoid

Do you have a vacant property and want a return on investment? Being a landlord is more than the act of owning a property and letting people stay.

Leasing involves organization, responsibility, reliability, and discipline.
These qualities fall on both you and your tenant. Learn the common mistakes of starting-out landlords so you can control things on your end.

1. Legal Disobedience

Housing is a fundamental human right that comes with a lot of legalities attached to it. Ensure you understand and follow local, state, and federal housing laws to stay out of the mud. Familiarize yourself with the basics:

• Discrimination Laws
• Wrongful Evictions
• Privacy Rights

Discrimination laws protect your tenants from refusal based on factors such as race, disability, and gender.

Sometimes when tenant-landlord relationships go awry, you may need to issue an eviction. Evictions are messy but it's crucial to do it right. Being a landlord is a balance of standing your ground and exercising compassion.

You and your tenant reap benefits from maintenance and repairs. Privacy rights involve notifying your tenant prior to entering their units.

Educate yourself on your responsibilities as a landlord regarding lease renewals and other rights and stay on the right side of the law.

2. Tenant Screening

As a proprietor, you want your tenants to take care of your place. Don’t make the mistake of letting in nightmare tenants. Check out their:

• Background checks
• Previous landlord experience
• Employment status and income

Avoid issues with rent collection and property damage from unruly tenants. Check out our comprehensive guide on tenant screening here!

3. Cost Estimation

As a landlord, you’re looking for a return on investment by leasing your property. Accounting costs begin with purchasing the property. However, it only starts there. Factor in the expenses for:

• Property taxes
• Mortgage
• Routine maintenance
• Repairs
• Renovations
• Contractor costs
• Utilities

Entering the housing market means preparing for the long-haul expenses.

4. Neglecting Maintenance

In line with the previous point, we cannot stress the importance of maintenance enough. It seems tempting to skimp out on repairs or choose cheaper materials. However, choosing cheaper options and services may translate to more bills down the line.

Some maintenance issues get so severe that your tenants have grounds for suing you. Keep the tenant-landlord relationship equal by providing livable conditions for the pricepoint.

When maintenance issues pop up, it’s best to heed your tenant requests and deal with the problems promptly. Check out our five must-know maintenance tips!

5. Managing Too Much

If this isn't your first rodeo, managing your first property may have given you confidence. This is all well and good, but make sure not to bite off more than you can chew.

Branching out properties looks like raking in more profit. However, consider the financial ramifications and emotional burnout.

This shouldn’t deter you from expanding your business but learn from your first run before taking in more.

Avoid These Leasing Mistakes and Watch your Business Flourish

Leasing your property for the first time doesn’t mean you have to make all the rookie mistakes, especially when there are guides to help you avoid them. Don’t forget to maintain your building and your relationships with your tenants. Stay on the good side of the law and balance your disciplinary actions.

Thank you for reading our article! Contact us today for more must-know proprietor tips. Happy housing!