Landlording 101

 Landlording 101

By Michael Haynes,

Supervisor, HomeOwnership Center

You don’t need to limit yourself in your house hunt by only looking at single-family homes. Don’t feel intimidated at the prospect of being a homeowner and landlord. With landlord training classes, you’ll learn the ins and outs of owning a multi-family home.

Purchasing a multi-family home where you occupy one of the units as your primary residence while renting out the other unit(s) is an excellent way to offset your home purchase costs while building your assets. There are a few concepts to understand before embarking upon this journey. Generating profit from the rental income is paramount, and having a home maintenance strategy is necessary. Most importantly, understanding your role as a landlord will help minimize unwarranted liability. 

A major incentive to becoming a landlord is the likelihood that you will generate additional revenue for your household. Start by getting a good mortgage product consisting of monthly mortgage payments that are at or below your financial means. You should put yourself in a financial position where you can sustain mortgage payments whether you receive rental income or not. This will serve as a financial cushion, allowing room to save funds at a more aggressive pace and prepare financially for emergencies.  Covering monthly mortgage payments from your own funds and not with the assistance of rental income will put you in a position to build wealth.

A home maintenance strategy is mandatory and should be created before you purchase the property. Remember, you’re responsible for more than just your unit. Get familiar with the average cost to repair and replace the house’s roof, windows, and internal mechanical structures. You will want to be aware of when the items in each unit need to be serviced, repaired, or replaced. 

Understanding your responsibilities as a landlord will help you manage tenant-landlord relations more effectively and enhance your reputation as a stellar landlord. A landlord’s reputation goes a long way – and a good one can help increase the likelihood of getting a larger pool of qualified tenants.  

The life of a landlord can be fun and rewarding. We offer landlord training classes and landlord consultation services. Give us call so that we can help you become the next savvy landlord in town…