Working as a landlord is a great way to make some money. Owning property is one of the best investments to have as it can provide you income while also increasing in value. Although there are many benefits to being a landlord and property owner, it also comes with a lot of stress. There are many factors that are your responsibility as a landlord; you must deal with tenants and repairs while being sure to remain compliant with all laws and regulations. Here are some tips to help you manage the stress that comes with being a landlord.
Make A To-Do List
One cause of stress is the feeling of being overwhelmed. You could become burdened by so many different tasks that all have different levels of priority. A tenant could be late on rent, or you may need to fix a squeaky door hinge, but all of these things should be resolved. It can be easy to forget one of the smaller tasks you may have, so making and sticking to a to-do list can help you to manage everything you need to accomplish and reduce the feelings of stress you experience.
Keep an Emergency Fund
Just as you would keep an emergency fund for the house that you live in, you should keep one for the property that you manage as well. You can schedule routine maintenance to try to reduce the number of extensive repairs, but that won’t always work. There will always be unknown issues that will pop up when you least expect it, causing you to feel so much stress. Regardless if you plan to do repairs and conduct maintenance yourself or hire others to do so, you will have to pay to keep up with your property. Keeping an emergency fund will help you to be able to solve these issues as they come up without becoming overwhelmed by figuring out how to pay for it all.
Upgrade Your Rent Collection Process
Collecting rent from your tenants can become a very stressful task. You may have some problematic tenants that make it a lengthy process every month. One way to reduce the chances of hitting any bumps in the road is to automate the process of collecting rent. Various online software can allow you to accept credit and debit cards or even initiate monthly bank transfers. Aside from improving the convenience of the process, it also automatically creates records that can be used for bookkeeping.