Being a long-distance landlord requires you to manage properties away from your city or state. There are various benefits to becoming a long-distance landlord including the diversification of your real estate portfolio, tax benefits and better investment opportunities.
This journey of investing out-of-state is rewarding, filled with its own set of responsibilities and challenges. Our team of experts at Blue Door Realty have put together this guide to help you become a successful long-distance landlord and enjoy its various benefits.
Keep reading to learn more about the necessary tips to keep in mind while investing out-of-state.
Quality Tenants
Being a long-distance landlord requires having confidence in the tenant occupying your rental. Having a trustworthy and reliable tenant will alleviate the risks of potential damage beyond normal wear and tear to your property.
To ensure quality tenants in your premises, a thorough tenant screening process should be implemented. This process involves several checks such as rental tenant history, employment checks, income level checks, security verification and criminal background checks.
As a long-distance landlord, the inability to visit the property regularly necessitates the need of a thorough screening process. So, conducting a comprehensive tenant screening process gives you the peace of mind about the quality of your renters and the safety of your property.
Open Communication channels
Once you have identified the quality tenant for your premises, the next step is to set up open and clear communication channels. Setting up clear communication platforms help your tenants reach you at a moment’s notice, fostering positive landlord-tenant relations.
You should provide your tenant with the most recent contact information. In case of maintenance emergencies or potential issues such as clogged plumbing systems or broken shingles on the roof, it is crucial to maintain good communication with your tenants to solve the problems promptly.
Setting up communication channels does not mean that only tenants reach out to you but also you initiate contact with them. This can help you inquire about the well-being of your tenants and receive feedback on your property. You must contact the tenants in a professional way to foster positive landlord-tenant relations.
Visit Your Property
As a long-distance landlord, prioritizing regular visits to your property offers numerous benefits. These visits can include a thorough inspection of both the internal and external parts of your property along with other practices.
This practice of inspection can help you personally access the condition of your rental along with addressing the issues like maintenance promptly. In addition, these visits can help you gain feedback of your property from the tenants, helping you make necessary changes and upgrades.
As for the costs of traveling to your property, some state laws provide that these property costs are tax-deductible. You can check your state laws and remove the cost of the tip, the hotel costs, mileage and the meals from the property’s gross income.
A Competitive Market
As a long-distance landlord, it is crucial for you to keep up with the real estate market trends such as property values, tenant preferences and dynamics of real estate. The tenants wish to lease a quality space, well-maintained and with the right fittings and fixtures and appliances.
It is advised to stay up to date with changes required in your rental property market by various methods such as visiting new properties in the area and looking at market trends regularly. This can help you make informed decisions about your rent prices and much more.
Compare these new fittings and amenities to your properties and create a budget to install new appliances and fittings. This will allow you to match up to new units in the area and maintain your consistency in rental income by attracting more tenants.
You will also need to take some time to read up on demographic, regulatory and economic changes in the region. As the government regulations can significantly impact the performance of businesses in the area, you must stay compliant with all the regulations and policies.
Local resources and Personnel
As a long-distance landlord, it might be challenging for you to respond to the potential issues in your premises promptly. To resolve this issue, you can connect with local entities i.e. contractors and handymen. If any issue arises, the repair man can assess the condition of the property and fix the issue promptly.
Another possible solution is to outsource the management of the property to an experienced and reputable property management company like Blue Door Realty. Our management company will coordinate the repairs required on the premises and see to all other pertinent issues quickly.
Conclusion
Becoming a long-distance landlord is a rewarding journey filled with its own set of challenges and responsibilities. With the proper guidance and necessary tips provided in this article, you can now successfully invest in real estate away from your city or state.
Our team of experts at Blue Door Realty provide a wide range of property management services ranging from tenant screening to establishing effective communication challenges, helping you streamline your investment journey. Contact us today to learn more about our services!