Becoming a landlord is easier when that’s all you do. However, when considering how to become a landlord with a full-time job, you naturally end up with more on your plate.
Having a full-time job does not leave much time for you to engage in your favorite activities, much less another job. But really, it does not have to be that way as real investing offers flexible investment strategies. A rental property is a flexible investment if you manage to do it right.
Related: Owning a Rental Property: Hearing From an Investor
#1. Steps to becoming a landlord
Becoming a landlord is a process and this is how it goes:
How to become a landlord: Buying an investment property
If you are wondering how to become a real estate investor, this is where it starts. The first step is to actually start looking into income properties. Of course, you’ll stumble upon hundreds of options. Your task is to actually find the one that is most profitable in the most profitable location. To make sure you get that right, perform an investment property analysis to analyze the rental property. After that, go straight to analyzing the location through the real estate market analysis. The higher the figures, the more profitable it is as an investment opportunity.
Tip: Making money in real estate is not a hard thing to do. To find out how our real estate investment calculator will help you with that, click here!
How to become a landlord: Get your finances in order
In the previous section, we were actually talking about the criteria for buying an investment property for rental purposes. In this section, we are going to address the financial matters. Getting your finances in order means that you will have to start mortgage-shopping. Afterward, you’ll have to prepare whatever amount of down payment they ask from you. Once you finalize the whole mortgage thing, go ahead and close the deal with the owner of the property you chose previously.
How to become a landlord: Pick a rental strategy
At this point, you are the owner of the rental property. However, what rental strategy do you want to go with? Is it short-term rentals? Or is it long-term rentals?
This is actually where the analysis process comes in handy. By analyzing the location, you can decide on the optimal rental strategy in that specific location.
Still, Mashvisor’s got your back on this one, too. Try out our heatmap and find out all about the optimal rental strategy in your area of choice. All you have to do is type in the city and the rest is all on us!
How to become a landlord: Market your rental property for rent
Here comes the final stage of how to become a landlord. Use listing websites to put your property out there on the market. Make sure it is appealing to tenants. Post photos, write descriptions and don’t leave any attractions behind. Let tenants know what’s so good about your rental property and why it’s their best option.
Bottom line: Good marketing means higher occupancy rate and thus, steady rental income!
Related: Real Estate Marketing Strategies: How to Market Your Rental Property
Now that you know what it takes to become a landlord, it’s time we address how to become a landlord with a full-time job. But, first, let’s mention some of the tasks you will come across as a landlord:
#2. Tasks associated with becoming a landlord
Oh boy! It does take some effort to become a landlord. After all, your ultimate goal is to become one of the most successful real estate investors with a high level of financial independence. But, you know what they say, the dream is free but the hassle is sold separately. So, you’ve got to engage in some action to get where you want to be in real estate investing.
If there is a quick way to describe the whole rental property business, it would be property management. Yes, the rental business is all about how you manage your property. Still, it is not as easy as some people imagine.
The whole process starts with marketing the property for rent. After that, you go through the applications, and more, the tenant screening process. You want to make sure your tenants are good! Otherwise, you are the one to suffer the consequences. Once you have your tenant, the time comes for a lease agreement and the move-in process. At this point, you want to establish the landlord-tenant relationship in a way that is both professional and flexible. There is no way for you to run a business with emotions. For that purpose, the first thing you want to do is go through the landlord-tenant law in your state. It is best when you know your rights and responsibilities and vice versa.
But, it does not end there either. As a landlord, it is your responsibility to regularly inspect the property. And, here is where your options come for how to become a landlord while having a full-time job!
Related: 5 Risks That Come With a Rental Property and How to Mitigate Them
How to become a landlord with a full-time job
So, now we are left with the part that makes part-time real estate investing hard: property management. However, there are two options here:
First, you perform property management yourself. Sure enough, it is easier when all you have is one or two rental properties. But, what if you own multiple income properties, how do you go about managing them?
Here comes the second option: Professional property management. Simply, you hire a professional property management company and you let the pros do the work.
Now, can you imagine the relief of not having to perform the previous tasks yourself? It sure is a lot of relief. However, it all comes at a cost with rental properties. In exchange for such services, you will have to pay the professional property management fees. These are typically a portion of your monthly rental income. Some property management companies will charge you the first month’s rental income and then a percentage each month. But, it is for you to decide what you want to go with.
Finally,
We hope this guide was useful. But, we still have more in store for you. Make sure to subscribe to our website and find out what we offer. There is more to learn on how to become a landlord so check out our blog while you are at it as well.