Andrew Carnegie, the legendary steel titan of the late industrial period, had something to say about the ultra-wealthy. He believed 90 percent of them found their fortune in real estate. He was absolutely right; today's US billionaires cut their teeth in real estate.
Your path to riches as a real estate investor all begins with your first property. It could be as simple as a separate room on your property, or a beat-up old apartment. The question is, what should you do with it first?
In this guide, we discuss property management for first-time landlords.
Find Good Tenants
One of the first things you should do is bring in some good tenants. Do a rental evaluation and list your place for rent. Then be sure to conduct tenant screening on all applicants before you accept them.
Make sure to draft a lease agreement that includes everything that matters to you. It's here where you'll decide what the rules are on quiet hours, pets, and parties. Leave an open line of communication for your tenants and respond promptly to their concerns.
It's important now to learn the secrets of management. In particular, how you manage your time. You'll soon figure out the secrets to getting everything done about your rental in only a couple of hours each week.
Expand Your Real Estate Investor Portfolio
Once you have begun to collect a few months' worth of rent, it's time to reinvest that money into additional dream homes. As soon as you can, purchase another property that you can also put up for rent. Get property insurance, renovate, and then repeat the process.
The more properties you acquire, the faster your investment savings will grow. Play your cards right over the course of years, and you may have multiple properties to manage at once. Soon you could be a young tycoon like this young man, owning 61 properties and grossing over $400,000 a year.
At this point, find ways to improve your property marketing, too. The sooner you fill your rentals with good tenants, the better. Tenants won't come unless you've got attractive listings that people can find with ease.
Use a Property Management Company
At some point, you may have so much in your portfolio that you struggle to manage it on your own. Being custodian of a handful of properties can already be a part-time job, so imagine expanding that to a dozen or more!
There is only so much time in the day and only so much room on your schedule. Eventually, you may have to turn to property management services.
Property management companies handle virtually everything associated with a landlord's duties. They'll collect rent, conduct property inspections, and negotiate tenant disputes. They can even take care of maintenance requests and level fines.
Turn to PMI for Property Management
The path of a real estate investor begins with a single property and ends with hundreds. The key is filling your rentals with tenants and reinvesting that passive income into additional real estate. Once it gets too big to manage by yourself, you hire a property management company.
PMI is that property management company in your local neighborhood. Take the first steps to becoming the next US real estate tycoon with our free rental analysis tool.
