7 Tips for the First Time Landlords in New York City
By: ROS Team
Being a landlord is a daunting task, but when you’re starting as a beginner you don’t know about many things, like how to screen tenants, how to make a tenant contract, and how to set the right price for your property.
Don’t worry, here we have listed seven important tips to consider when you’re renting out your property for the first time in New York City:
1. Manage Your Rental Property Just Like a Business
A rental property may not be your major occupation. However, it is as yet a business and your extra source of income. It’s imperative to be professional with your tenants, keep your accounts clean, and also do a careful screening of tenants before they move in.
Similar to managing a good business, it’s also essential to ensure your business complies with every single important law to avoid any potential legal issues.
So, before leasing your property, you need to double-check to ensure your property is safe to live in. It is worth spending your money on ensuring everything is good and up-to-the-code.
2. Search Tenants Online
Most of the tenants nowadays search online for their next rental apartment. This means it’s the best option to make a rental listing online to find suitable tenants. The best way to find suitable tenants is to make an appropriate online rental listing that depicts all necessary information about your rental property. After all, the potential tenants need to know the location, rent price, number of rooms/washrooms, amenities, and all nearby attractions.
3. Consider Hiring a Property Manager
Hiring a professional property manager is a wise decision if you’re hoping to save your time and hassle associated with owning a rental property, like marketing your rental property, collecting rent per month, and managing tenant issues. A decent property manager can even help you deal with your various rental properties if you’re overwhelmed with responsibilities as a landlord.
A property manager will take off your burden to deal with rentals and all tenant-related problems with ease. By letting a third-party manage your rental property. You will have peace of mind, knowing that your property is managed by a professional.
4. Enforce and Follow the Rules
You have to implement all rules in your tenant contract, otherwise, there will be no importance of the agreement. Tenants can take advantage of leniency if they don’t enforce certain rules. The most significant guideline to implement is your late rent fee. You can permit them a grace period, but after that, you should ensure your tenant pays their late expense.
Tenants are bound to follow your rules if you also do the same. One such example is that landlords must follow the Notice of Entry rule. Which commonly requires 24-hour notice before they enter the property. It is ideal to be conscious of the standards. Your tenants will appreciate it and also respect your guidelines too.
5. Set the Right Rent Price
To set the accurate rent price, we suggest examining your market to realize the real rent price in your area. By setting the right rent value you can reduce the vacancy time of your property, as well as attract good tenants. You can even look for the right rental prices in your area on different online platforms to set the appropriate rent value for your property.
6. Follow Tenant Screening Process
The fundamental objective of tenant screening is to find quality tenants who will pay on-time rent and also take care of your property. To choose reliable tenants, it’s critical to filter out only the good candidates out of the huge piles of applications that you might receive daily.
7. Have a Written Rental Agreement
Do make a legal contract as per your state, federal, and local laws. Having a well-written tenant contract is the most ideal approach to impart your desires and protect yourself in any legitimate circumstances. While oral understanding is lawful in certain examples (as a rule for understandings that are under a year), they’re less successful than a written agreement signed by both parties.