The New Landlord

As I will be renting properties out in the future I will have to face the reality of becoming a landlord and all the responsibilities, headaches and pitfalls that must go along with it. I'm hoping the real estate agents will find good tenants anyway but there is always the chance we get one of those nightmare tenants like you see on TV shows like Today Tonight etc. So I do feel a bit nervous about renting my properties out in the future, especially as they would have been renovated and I would have spent some time in them.

How do others get on to avoid problems with renting out their properties?
 
All you can do is prepare for problems, by getting landlord insurance (obviously insure the house too :)) to cover a tenant doing malicious damage.

If your PM finds good tenants, you will probably have small issues with things needing to be repaired etc, but I think most people who are landlords find it a fairly easy ride.

We do. We manage our IPs ourselves and rarely have issues.
 
As I will be renting properties out in the future
How do others get on to avoid problems with renting out their properties?

When REA find new tenants for you (assuming managed by REA) check a & b

a) New tenant has the job and how long been working there and employer should confirm that.

b) Where new tenant has lived for last 3 years, did they pay the rent on time and bond was fully refunded, this should confirm with previous LL or REA.

KK
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Trust your hopes, not your fears
 
I'm probably going to self-manage if I become an accidental landlord at the end of the month (assuming I even get a tenant). I don't fancy throwing a hefty fraaction of my profit at a PM, since I don't pay tax I won't get it back.

References, and making sure they aren't made up sounds good to me.
 
How do others get on to avoid problems with renting out their properties?
You can have the best PM in the area, all the insurance you want etc etc etc, but if the tenant is going to trash your place, do a runner etc there's nothing you can do about it.

Obviously you don't want this scenario (who would), but I reckon these sensational stories you see are few and far between.

What's the alternative, worry about what might happen and not do anything?

Regards
Marty
 
I will be renting properties...I do feel a bit nervous about renting my properties out in the future, especially as they would have been renovated and I would have spent some time in them.

What type of properties are you talking about ??
 
thanks for the great feedback everyone. I will look into getting insurance when I rent a property out.

What type of properties are you talking about ??
Just a general 2 - 4 bdr house or maybe a unit as well.
 
How do others get on to avoid problems with renting out their properties?

Here are some tips:

1. if you are emotionally attached to a place, don't rent it out - sell it.
2. don't spend big money on renos.
3. buy lots of properties - you forget caring about any single property after you have about 3 or 4 (it goes from "my precious little IP" to " #%^&$ that place needs a repair again!"). It also makes it easier (on your mind) when one place gets trashed, but you have a dozen others going smoothly.

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
It's not that hard once you get going. The majority of tenants look after properties, especially if it was in good shape when they moved in (e.g freshly renovated).

Make sure your PM does regular inspections and report back to you and if you are still worried ask to come along for inspections. As our IPs are nearby we usually go in once a year or so for some garden maintenance, cleaning gutters, minor repairs that don't need a tradie etc. I usually get to know the tenants from these visits but we've had tenants I've never met.

I'm a people person so I like to get to know my tenants but you'll find plenty of people here at SS who have a very hands-off approach and do well with it too. To be honest most of my headaches have been caused by PM stuffing up rather than tenants misbehaving.

Just dive in, you'll be fine

kaf
 
Just because you have a PM doens't mean you forget all about the property.

We make a point of inspecting IPs yearly, to check out things that may need doing and also to keep a general eye on things. Ensure you check quotes for any repairs.

Check the charges, terms and condition when you sign a PM agreement. One tip is to delete the normal clause that requires 90 days notice to change agents and substitute it with 30 days. More than enough to put up with a non-performing PM.
Marg
 
Worry is interest paid on a debt that you may never have to owe.

Sure they might trash your freshly renovated place and not pay rent, but they also might be fantastic, lovely people who add value to your property and continue to pay market rent and stay on for several years.

Just make sure you prepare yourself as much as you can by ensuring you get an experienced and efficient PM, that this PM finds the best candidate that they can, get insurance, keep adding to your emergency fund incase you find yourself needing to pay for repairs and focus on more beneficial things.
 
1. if you are emotionally attached to a place, don't rent it out - sell it.
Yeah, yeah, until you try and sell your old PPoR and it doesn't *sigh*

Had my first repair (the insurance excess is now $2000 because it is vacant) the other day - a fence blew over in the wind. Bit of an annoying job but not expensive, cost about $30 for a metal post that is less likely to just snap off (NEVER ever EVER ever build fences out of wood, useless stuff), a big bag of concrete and some new bolts to replace the sheared ones. Never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to shear a bolt, I thought steel was strong ...

Kind of mentally looking at the house as to how much the worst thing a tenant could do would actually cost. Its the small stuff that is the problem - under the insurance excess type stuff, and that would probably be covered by the bond. Repainting/fixing dings in the walls is cheap, someone stealing the entire kitchen or ripping up the carpet/smashing the tiles isn't. All the expensive renos I've done to the house are a bit harder to wreck - the bulk of the money went on a new roof, new tanks, a new ceiling and an extra bedroom. Tenant would need a bloody long ladder to get near the ceilings/roof :)
 
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