Are you thinking about stepping into the property management world? Being a landlord does provide you with an extra income stream, but only after you agree to put in time, energy and effort. You do get to enjoy benefits and there are hardly any technicalities involved. However, the process is stressful and if things go against what you expected, you may have to bear financial losses. We talked to some of the industry experts and they told us that if you have certain habits or if certain things hold true for you, you will probably not be that great a landlord.
You are a procrastinator
Do you hate getting up from the couch? Do you delay things until it becomes absolutely necessary to get them done? If so, being a property manager will be hard on you. You may have to visit your property late at night and tend to the complaints of your tenants. If you don’t want to do this, you will have to ask someone to look into the matter and for that you will need to make a call or two, no matter what hour of the day it is. As for your own free time, weekends or the holidays, you can forget about this too.
When you are a landlord, calls can come at anytime and you will have to deal with them, if you want your tenants to stay and pay you in a timely manner.
You are too busy
How many hours a week do you spend at work? If this is anything over 55 to 60 hours, you should not rent out a property. The same is the case if you are involved in your own business or have a family to take care of. Initially, you will have to spend time in marketing your property and finding good tenants and later on, you will have to hear their complaints and resolve their issues. This will require a lot of your time, and if you cannot give enough of it, you should probably drop the idea altogether.
You have no savings
In certain instances, your rental property may incur more expenses than you expect. If these are huge and immediate, you will need a significant amount of savings to put into the property.
Do any of the above apply to you? If so, you will probably be better off keeping your day job.
