Why It’s OK For First-Time Landlords to Ask for Help

The idea of owning a piece of property is something that’s ingrained in the human psyche – all you have to do is watch an intense game of Monopoly played among kids and you’ll see what we mean. Owning and making deals, particularly when it comes to property that you own or that you aspire to own, is in the human DNA.

The irony, really, is that owning property is a much different experience than one would expect; it’s exhausting, often times risky, and it can be filled with a plethora of headaches and complex issues that sometimes take serious time and money to resolve… Money you were hoping to make from owning that property in the first place and getting your return on its investment through escalating rent prices.

For this reason, it’s important to note that first-time landlords deal with the obstacle of making key business decisions without an abundance of experience. You’re learning on the fly, making decisions regarding the property you’ve invested your equity in, and not just that, but it’s also all the things you’ve sacrificed in order to invest in an asset you’re expecting to make a substantial return on.

Those are the emotional and psychological aspects, however, there are many more financial aspects that have important effects, which speak to the need to ask for your help when it’s needed.

For instance, according to Time magazine, here are the five rookie mistakes that first-time landlords have the propensity to make and the tools they can use at their disposal.

• Underestimating costs due to an insufficient grasp of the market.

  • Luckily there are tools such as the Home Value Estimator by Chase bank.

• Breaking the law through negligence or lack of preparation.

  • The good news is the internet does offer a The First-Time Landlord Checklist for your reference, that, again, reaffirms the importance of asking for help and doing your research. It’s okay to not know everything; it’s not okay to not ask for help if there’s something you don’t know.

• Inadequately vetting prospective tenants, resulting in long-term ramifications.

  • This really can have long-term consequences, not just for your current financial risk but also for the value of your home. For example, let’s say your tenant is a criminal and he or she conducts those crimes inside your property. Let’s say it results in an ugly crime scene. That situation can have a negative impact on your home’s pricing value (that’s where crime scene cleanup companies come in handy!).

• Mistakenly ignoring renters insurance policies.

  • Renters insurance policies are complex and at times fairly ambiguous. You can read all that you can about the policies but sometimes you may need to ask an expert – and you have to come to terms with that. Go out there and get a quote, find out more about it, even if you are the landlord and not the renter. Learn as much as you can and be comfortable with the understanding that there are always new things to explore in the real estate market.

• Failing to devote time and resources to check on your property on a consistent basis.

  • Taking your eye off of your property can leave you at risk for not paying attention if and when something serious happens. That’s why it’s critical to ask for help if you’re not around to check on your property. Ask a friend or a family member if you’re away for a while; your home can diminish over time if not enough attention or care is devoted.

With so many real-life aspects embedded in the process of being a first-time landlord, it’s no surprise so many fall by the waistline when the going gets tough.

But it’s for that reason that one must reach out and ask for help when it’s needed or do the necessary research so no gap in knowledge occurs over time.