Are You Ready to Become a Landlord?

If you are considering selling your house but aren’t sure you want to let it go forever, you may be surprised to hear that you can actually keep your house and have someone else cover the costs and upkeep. Becoming a Landlord is easier than it sounds. Renting out your house can be a great way to generate some additional income and hang onto your house for future use.

Are You Ready to Be a Landlord?

Here are a few helpful questions to help you decide if you are ready to become a landlord.

How much can you expect to get in rent?

Renting out your house only works if the rent that you get will cover your mortgage and expenses (or if you have a lot of extra money to pay for extras yourself). Talk to a realtor or property manager to get an idea of what your house would rent for.

How much are your expenses?

You also need to know how much to expect in expenses. This can include the monthly mortgage, insurance, utilities (if you plan to pay them yourself), maintenance, and repairs.

Will you manage yourself or hire a property management company?

You can manage the property yourself, but be ready to answer calls in the middle of the night or deal with yucky repairs like backed up toilets. You can also hire a company to take care of these things, which will cost around 10% of the monthly rent.

Do you have a broad network?

One of the best things that a landlord can have is a reliable network of repair people, contractors, and local real estate experts. Look in your personal and professional circles to see if anyone already invests in real estate. They can give you some great tips as well as tell you what to watch for to make the experience the best it can be.

Are you ready for potential ups and downs?

Being a landlord always comes with some ups and downs. Before deciding, make sure that you are financially and mentally ready to deal with any problems that may arise.