As a real estate investor or landlord, there may be times when it’s hard for you to pay the mortgage. Here are some simple but significant things you can do to avoid facing difficulties in paying your monthly mortgage.
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 allow yourself to get 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 REI business success and deal with it quickly and efficiently every time.
Do your very best to find quality tenants. While you want to keep your properties full, finding good quality tenants is key. By “good” it means they pay their rent on time, keep the property maintained, and don’t abuse the lease. By using background and credit checks, you can find the best tenants available and thereby do what’s possible to 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 longterm 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, opt for longterm renters when the choice is available. Doing so will make filling a vacancy at least a more infrequent possibility.
Keep the property well maintained. If you want good tenants, longterm tenants, and tenants who pay their rent on time, do your part to keep those great people with you! 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, and if for some reason you can’t, communicate with them to let them know when you’ll be back in the office.
Being a good, honest, upstanding landlord will go a long way in developing lasting relationships with your tenants, which will, in turn, help you keep them renting your property longer. Often a tenant and landlord relationship can be positive and multi-year, but it’s really up to you as a property owner to do everything you can to do your part to nurture the trust and respect of your tenants.
In a tough economy like 2020, it’s especially important to work hard to develop long-term rent-paying tenants so you can continue to meet your obligation to pay the mortgage. Keep up the good work!
