Owning income property can be a nice way to earn extra cash.
But there is more to it than just collecting rent and utilities every month.
There are many good options for finding and buying rental
property in the U.S.
and the City View television show shares some basic steps to buying and
managing a home someone else lives in.
Sum up the neighborhood where the home is located. Is it
more student or family oriented? Are there are other rental homes in it? Is it
maintained by a property management company or by the owner? It can be easy to
tell if all the lawns look perfect or if they look slightly different in how
they are kept.
Location makes a big difference in how much one can charge
for rent, and also in how much insurance and property taxes can cost. The condition
of the rental home also mater in how much rent can be reasonably charged.
How to find a good tenant is one of the challenges City View television show notes rental home owners have. Advertising can bring some
questionable people to the neighborhood, as well as into the rental home. In
order to weed out the good from the bad, run credit checks, background checks
and call the references a prospective tenant lists.
Other items to certainly consider are using proper legal
documentation for every step of the rental process. Require a deposit and keep
it in a separate escrow account until the tenant moves out.
Owning a rental property might not be the hassle some think
it is. Income generated from it is nice to have. It can outweigh the bad
aspects more times than not.