Congratulations on becoming a new landlord! As a landlord, your main goal is to generate revenue from your property as quickly as possible. Here are the steps you need to follow to get your property earning you money immediately.The longer it takes you to get the property ready for rent the more money you're losing.
1. Take Inventory
After you have made an investment and are now a proud landlord the first step is to look at the report from your contractor who performed a thorough inspection of the property. This will help you identify any repairs or maintenance tasks that need to be addressed before renting the property out. You want to take inventory of what needs to be done on the property, separating what you can do yourself from what needs to be done by professionals. Once you understand what needs to be done, you will have a better idea of the timeframe for when you can list the property on the market. You are going to discover the longer it takes you to get the property ready for rent, the more money you are losing.
2. Rehabbing the Property
Based on the inspection report, make the necessary repairs and upgrades to the property. This may include fixing plumbing issues, painting the walls, or replacing old appliances. When you're building a house, you build from the foundation up. However, when you rehab a house it's the exact opposite; you're going from the roof down all the way to the floor joists if need be. You can put your hard floors down such as tile or even laminate before you paint but if it's carpeting you definitely want the carpeting to be put in last.
3. Deep Clean and Final Touches
Before renting the property out, make sure it's clean and in move-in condition. This means deep cleaning everything from the floors to the bathrooms and kitchen. You want that final cleaning to make that place have that new car smell when you walk in that makes people think “I gotta have it!” Make sure the stove is clean, with new drip pans if it's a coil style. We recommend staying away from glass top on lower end properties because they burn and are harder to keep clean. Also have your janitorial install brand new smoke detectors because you want them up to code.
Finally remember to change the locks out or have them re-keyed by a locksmith.
4. Create Your Lease Agreement
Make sure you understand the landlord-tenant laws and regulations in your area. This includes things like lease agreements, security deposits, eviction procedures, and fair housing laws. Then, create a lease agreement that outlines the terms of the rental agreement, including the rent amount, security deposit, and lease duration. Read more hear about what should go into a lease
Thank you for reading. I’m Kym Otaviani and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.
