Landlords often have to develop an understanding of fields they do not have extensive experience in. Many areas of owning a rental property can require a landlord to have a solid understanding of the legal system, and local, state and federal laws. Owning and self-managing a rental property can require you to wear many hats, but there are a few areas we recommend avoiding doing on your own. Below we share three things that a self-managing landlord should never handle alone, and that we recommend reaching out to professionals for assistance on:
Writing a lease agreement should be done with the help of a professional. Even if you are certain of the guidelines you want to have in place for tenants in the lease agreement, a professional can ensure that you don’t run into trouble.
In some cases, a legal professional may advise against certain elements being included in a lease agreement, or may encourage you to add in others to protect yourself. They can also confirm which disclosures you are legally obligated to provide to your tenant, which can change depending on the location of the property. They can also catch any conflicting rules, loopholes, or issues in the lease.
It is important to remember that a lease is a legally binding contract, and that it should be reviewed or written by someone who is informed about all of the relevant laws.
Addressing maintenance issues
Depending on where your rental property is located, there may be requirements that you hire a professional to address specific maintenance issues. We recommend only utilizing vendors who are insured when it comes to maintenance concerns in your rental unit.
It can be tempting to try to save money and address maintenance issues yourself, but we believe that using professionals generally saves money in the long-run when it comes to larger issues. Maintenance issues that are not completed fully, or are completed incorrectly, can cause further damage or continue on until it has a larger, negative impact on the unit. Ensuring that the problem is truly resolved the first time will help keep the unit in good condition, and prevent issues from worsening.
Evicting a tenant
For similar reasons as why we do not recommend writing your own lease agreement, we also do not recommend evicting a tenant or taking legal action without the help of a legal professional.
There are many nuances when it comes to evicting a tenant. There can be temporary changes to the eviction process or guidelines you are not aware of at the state, local or federal level. By hiring a professional, you can be sure that you are staying legally compliant, and that the process will go more smoothly. This can help landlords save money in the long-run, as going about an eviction in the wrong way could result in legal action from the tenant, or fines.
If a landlord does not have access to professionals in these areas, or is not confident selecting the appropriate contractors or legal teams, we recommend utilizing the help of a property management company who can aid in navigating complicated situations, contact licensed professionals to handle maintenance issues on your behalf, and seek out trusted legal counsel about any specific situations that may arise.
Bringing in industry experts is always in the best interest of the property owner, and can save money as they avoid costly, common mistakes.
If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of seeking additional expertise when managing a rental property, you can reach out to us by filling out our contact page, here.
