Most everyone has to pay a mortgage or rent. Anyone can run into some tough times when it’s hard to make their mortgage payments. You may think it’s only the tenant who has a hard time paying the home mortgage. Landlords and real estate investors can also run into times when it’s hard to pay the mortgage on their end as well. Obviousiously real estate investors in Omaha and Council Bluffs as well as landlords want to avoid any possibility of running into trouble paying their mortgage in Omaha, Nebraska or Council Bluffs, Iowa. Here are some things you can do to avoid facing difficulty in paying your mortgage each month.
The most important thing you can do as a landlord is to keep your properties full. The goal is no vacancies. That statement may sound overly simplified, but this is the most obvious method to ensure you have enough rent money coming in each month to cover your property mortgage payments. You cannot allow yourself to stop advertising for new tenants. Then, don’t put off screening applicants or filling your properties because you get busy or overworked. You have to recognize that filling your vacancies is a major aspect of your real estate business success and deal with it quickly and efficiently every time.
Have systems and processes to find the best quality tenants. While you want to keep your properties full, finding good quality tenants is key. By “good” it means they pay their rent on time, keep the property maintained and don’t abuse the lease. By using background and credit checks, you can find the best tenants available and thereby do what’s possible to keep your rental fees coming in regularly, which will help you pay the mortgage on your property when it comes due.
Look for long-term tenants, tenants that do not have a good credit history and ones that move from year to year are not good tenant prospects. Don’t assume that quality tenants will necessarily be long-term ones. Some good renters may know they can’t stay over a few months at most. They may be students or working a temporary job. They may just be living in an area waiting to move or retire somewhere else. Whatever the situation, opt for long-term renters when the choice is available. Doing so will make filling a vacancy at least a more infrequent possibility.
Keep the property well maintained. If you want good tenants, long-term tenants and tenants who pay their rent on time, do your part to keep them. Deal with maintenance issues quickly. Make repairs as necessary. Upgrade appliances or at least ensure you provide ones that are in good working order. Respond to your tenants’ calls quickly, or if you can’t be sure they know you’ll be unavailable for a while.
Being a good landlord will go a long way in developing lasting relationships with your tenants, which will in turn, help you keep them in your property longer. Often a tenant and landlord relationship can turn an average tenant into a great one simply because they want to keep that relationship intact.
In a tough economy, it’s important to do all you can to avoid facing the difficulty of paying the mortgage. That applies just as much to an REI professional as it does to the average renter. These simple tips can help as you work to develop lasting, long-term, rent-paying tenants to keep your properties bringing in the income you need every month.
Contact the Harter Investments team at 402-939-6556 or cory@harterinvestments.com for additional information or questions.