Residents
Owners
Buying your first investment property can be exciting, but
the process is completely different from buying real estate 
for personal
use. Personal real estate is often
bought with emotion and personal feelings but real estate investment requires
clear thinking with a singular goal in mind:
To turn a profit.
As complicated as real estate investment can be, it can be
made far simpler through intelligent decisions and making plans – such as using
a property manager in Michigan to reduce a lot of the day-to-day
headaches. Here’s a simple guide to
follow to ease into real estate investment and be a more successful landlord.
Protecting your Investment with Tenant References
There are some amazing properties I southeast Michigan, and
we absolutely love the people in the Metro-Detroit area. Unfortunately, there are always
less-desirable people mingled in with the community and you need to protect
your investment.
References can be a burdensome step and that’s why many
landlords skip it – some think they have a great gut instinct when it comes to
judging people. Skip the references
however and it could lead to countless problems later. Even better, if you work with a property
manager in Oakland county or Wayne county, you don’t have to do the leg work
and you uncover a wealth of information about potential problems before you
have a lease agreement with the problem tenant.
Get Everything in Writing with Tenants
Your tenants have a lot of rights when it comes to housing,
but as a landlord and property owner you also have rights. In order to protect the rights of everyone
involved, get everything in writing.
This includes the code of conduct you expect tenants to adhere to, the
rental application, reporting of problems, animals, community rules, etc.
If the idea of trying to remember everything you need for a
quality lease agreement, work with a property manager in Michigan. An experience property manager can help you
develop a custom lease agreement that is more in depth than cookie-cutter
agreements pulled for free from the web.
Make your Property Appealing
If you want to attract higher quality tenants and keep those
great tenants happy, then you need to provide stellar grounds and property
maintenance. That includes keeping the
property clean, landscaping trimmed, handling security, current market
appliances, etc. Not only will things be
more visually appealing but you reduce your property liability – and added
security measures could make tenants feel safer (even willing to pay more)
while reducing your insurance premiums.
Coverage with Adequate Insurance
Not only should you be covered by property insurance to
protect your investment in Michigan, but you should protect yourself with
liability insurance. A single incident
with a bad tenant (or even a good one) could wipe out your investment and leave
you with pockets turned-out.
Invest in a Property Manager in Michigan
No matter the age of the home you invest in, it’s a sound
idea to work with a property manager.
Not only can they help with a lot of the above points, but property
managers can be extremely helpful in giving you a hands-free solution to
managing your investment. That includes
making repairs as needed to avoid your property suffering. The longer you wait for something to be
fixed, the more costly the repair.
Lastly, make sure you follow all of the local municipal
regulations as well as state and federal regulations for renting out your
property. The FHA provides precise
guidelines/regulations to help landlords avoid issues of discrimination. Violate those regulations and you face hefty
lawsuits. This is where you can benefit
most by working with an experienced, qualified property manager in Michigan.
