So you have thought long and hard, are getting prepared to do this! Want to be a landlord? I am putting together a list of hacks to get you off and running. Of course, refer back to my previous blog on How To Get Into Real Estate Investing to freshen up on knowledge. Today, I am going to share a few hacks I have used over time, to make your life easier as you take that next step when you want to be a landlord.
This won’t cover, get pre-approved, find an agent, blah blah all of that is understood with where I am going here, so let’s get on the road and see those hacks!
- Source out a great lease– Let’s face it, this will be your investment, so your lease should protect you. There are rights for landlords and rights for tenants in Colorado. But make sure your lease protects your asset.
- Read Up– One of the best things I did before #Landlording was to know Landlord/Tenant law in Colorado. I am not talking about law school, I am saying get educated folks. Know your rights! Or hire a great attorney on retainer.
- Make a determination– Will you self-manage or use property management? Why should you know this before? Well it will affect your time (self-manage) or money (property management is not free). Why would you self-manage, why would you use property management?
- Have your peeps- Well let’s face it, you will get a call for maintenance, and yes if you use property management this may not apply. But if this is your first rental, you may manage. So have your contractors ready, and honestly make sure you have 2-3 per trade. What happens when your plumber is out of town?
- Become a numbers geek– Not really, but hey you need a way to track expenses and income so when you have your C.P.A do your taxes you don’t spend 18 days figuring out what all you spent on that rental last year. I use excel, call me old school but it is simple – Check out the schedule E on the IRS website and use it as a frame of reference. It is a profit and loss of your rental when you look at it, and it is not complex.
Now, of course, this is not a complete list, this is a nutshell of some hacks that can help you become smarter, and trust me over the years having knowledge has saved me and made me money~
Call with questions, and we can get you #landlording
Ray~
303-779-0591 x101
Insta ( @mortgagemaestro )
