Anyone who has gone to the trouble and expense of investing in rental property is seeking the most return on his or her investment possible. The best advice I can give you though is to invest the extra monthly expenses you would need to go to in order to hire a property manager. First of all, it is money well spent. Not only is someone else sweating the details of whether or not the rent checks are collects, bounced, repairs need to be made, and those infamous late night phone calls, but you are purchasing your personal peace of mind from these details while still enjoying the steady income that comes from having a property rented out.

I think we will all agree that the tenant is the most important part of the equation in a situation where rental property income is relied upon. With no tenant, there is no income. But when you own a property and have a sizeable investment made in that property it is difficult to be objective when dealing with the people who will be living in what you perceive as your home. It is much better to have a casual and more importantly objective observer make the decisions about who becomes your tenant.

If you chose to manage your own property there are some things you want to consider.

1)    Become familiar with the laws in your state about the rights of both tenants and landlords. This is vitally important for you. You must make sure that you are aware of any potential problems before they arise and your rights and responsibilities as a landlord.

2)    Happy tenants equal long-term tenants. If your tenants aren’t happy, chances are they won’t stay around very long. It is much better to have a property occupied than empty. Unless you are extremely fortunate and have a waiting list, it is likely that your property will be empty for at the very least one month, every time a tenant leaves. This gives you time to make necessary repairs, clean, and take care of other issues that are sometimes neglected while tenants are in place. Keep your tenants warm, dry, and most importantly treat them with respect if you want them to stay around for a while.

3)    Perform a thorough background check on your tenants and listen to your gut. If the little voice inside your head is screaming that this isn’t a good idea then it probably isn’t.

4)    Get everything in writing. Get a signed lease that details every conceivable possibility.

Again, I will stress that my personal recommendation is that you hire a property manager to deal with the tenants in order to save you the headaches later on. It’s a relatively small fee considering the hassles it prevents and the peace of mind it provides. If you chose not to, my hope is that the advice I’ve given you will provide some degree of assistance in the way you interact with your tenants.

If you’ve ever paid rent in your life, you’ve probably wondered what it would be like to be the landlord. I know if you’re anything like me, you probably swore to one day do just that, to become the one making money by placing roofs over the heads of the masses rather than the one spending money that would never present a return on the investment. As I’ve grown and ‘done my homework’, I’ve discovered the being a landlord isn’t quite the bed of roses I always thought it would be.

We all know that investing in real estate is a risky venture. There is the excellent potential for a good return on your investment but the risks are always lurking in the background and if you have educated yourself properly in the real estate industry you are well aware of the risks that abound. Among the many opportunities in real estate investment, rental property continues to be a product that is in steady demand by the population and more and more often in shorter supply. Therefore I would cautiously call this a rather safe investment. I say cautiously because ‘stuff’ happens and anything can go wrong and quite often will.

If you keep a few important tidbits of information in mind while scouting your potential rental investment property you will be reducing your risks ever so slightly.

1)    Make sure you learn the laws regarding rental properties in your area. Each state has different laws about the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants. Make sure you are aware of the laws in your specific state.

2)    Location, location, location. It’s not just a saying. It’s actually quite important when you’re considering whether or not to invest in a property for the sake of gaining rental income. College towns are a great place to invest in rental property. Especially if the college has inadequate housing. Also busy streets are better to help you keep your property filled. Drive bys often generate more rentals than newspaper advertisements. Put a for rent sign in the yard and wait for the calls to come in.

3)    Choose low maintenance homes to rent. Vinyl siding is a good thing with rental houses, it requires no paint only an occasional pressure washing. You also don’t want to go top of the line with water heaters and appliances for a home that will see many many renters who care for less for the state of these things than you do. Keep that in mind when making not only your home purchase, but purchases for the home as well.

4)    Make sure the house you are considering for a rental property complies with zoning laws and is up to date on all codes. Have it inspected before you buy and explain what your intention for the property is. It is a very costly venture to bring a house completely up to code, especially if you’re only making a little bit more than the cost of the mortgage payment each month.

5)    Don’t buy a house for a rental if you are counting on raising the cost in order to recover your expense. First of all there is no guarantee that the current rental market will support an increase in rent (then you are making the note on an empty property) and secondly, things go wrong—roofs need replacing, flooring, paint, hot water heaters, and heating units. These repairs can be quite costly and if you’re not making enough each month to set aside a contingency fund for events such as this you may as well shoot yourself in the foot. It would be much less painful.

While there are no guarantees when investing in real estate whether for rental properties or anything else, following this advise will help reduce the risks you are taking. Good luck with your venture, my hope is that it will be a wildly successful one.