You may think it’s only the tenant who has a hard time paying the mortgage, but as a real estate investor or landlord, there may be times when you struggle to pay the mortgage as well. Here are some things you can do to avoid facing difficulty in paying your mortgage each month.
Keep Your Properties Full
While it may sound overly simplified, this is the most obvious method for ensuring you’ve got rent money coming in each month to cover your property mortgage payments. Don’t slack on advertising for new tenants. And don’t put off screening applicants or filling your properties because you get busy or overworked. Recognize filling your vacancies as a major aspect of your Real Estate Investment (REI) business success and deal with it quickly and efficiently every time. Consider it your #1 priority.
Find the RIGHT Tenants
Do your best to find quality tenants. While you want to keep your properties full, finding good quality tenants is key. A “good” tenant pays their rent on time, keeps the property maintained and doesn’t abuse the lease. By using background and credit checks, you can find the best tenants available and therefore keep your rental fees coming in regularly, which will help you pay the mortgage when it comes due.
Look for Long-Term Tenants
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, good tenants aren’t always lasting ones. Opt for long-term renters when the choice is available. Doing so will make filling a vacancy at least a more infrequent chore.
Take Care of Your Property & Your Tenants
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 the ones you provide are in good working order. Respond to your tenants’ calls quickly, or if you can’t, be sure to communicate when you’re unavailable.
Being a good landlord will go a long in 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.
About Our Real Estate Company
We Buy Houses in Kentucky is owned and operated by husband and wife team, Daniel and Catherine Close. We buy houses as is, and we offer cash for houses in Louisville, Kentucky and surrounding areas, including: Bardstown, Fern Creek, Highview, Jeffersontown, La Grange, Lyndon, Mount Washington, Newburg, Okolona, Shelbyville, Shepherdsville, Shively, St. Matthews, Taylorsville and Valley Station. We also buy homes in Southern Indiana, including these areas: Clarksville, Jeffersonville and New Albany.
