Ways to Save Money As a Landlord

Many people think that investing in real estate is a great way to make some extra money. However, it isn’t as easy as it looks. You won’t just sit around collecting rent checks (unless you hire a property manager).

It also costs some money. First, you have to buy the property, find tenants, and maintain it. That being said, there are some ways to save money as a landlord. There are also times when you need to spend money. You shouldn’t try to save money, or you could regret it.

Here are some ways to save money.

Do as much of the repairs and maintenance as you can yourself. While buying the products themselves can be expensive, you end up paying more for the labor. For this reason, you should do as much of the work as you can to help save you some money.

That being said, if you have no idea what you are doing, which is common with electricity and plumbing, you shouldn’t attempt to do it yourself. You may cost yourself more money to hire someone to fix your mistakes.

Choose the same paint and flooring for all of your units. When decorating apartments, you should do so as simple as possible. Choose neutral colors for the wall (white, beige, etc.). If you do the same color for every apartment, it will be easier when you have to do touch-up painting. You can also buy it in bulk and save money!

Same for the flooring. Choose flooring that is durable, yet easy to fix. Maybe instead of replacing the whole floor, you can replace the few needed panels.

Look for the right tenants (one that plans on sticking around for a while). Though this may seem out of place when talking about saving money, the truth is that it can cost landlords a lot of money when they lose tenants. Not only do they have to do extra cleaning, possible painting, shampooing the carpets, and other things, you have to pay for advertisements to find new ones.

Because of this, you should look for tenants who might stay for at least one or two years. You may want to avoid college students and single people who are just moving out of their parent’s home. Married couples and those with young children are less likely to move once they find the right place. If you allow pets, tenants who have pets are also less likely to move a lot.

When doing your taxes, make sure you deduct every expense you can. There are many expenses that you will incur regularly that you can deduct off of your taxes, allowing you to keep more of your hard-earned money.

Though you may think about maintenance and repair costs, you can also deduct a lot of your other expenses, including your home office, office supplies, advertising, landscaping costs, and much more. Want to save as much money as possible, hire an accountant to make sure that you are doing everything that you can to pay fewer taxes.

Here are some things that you shouldn’t try, just to save money.

Don’t try to save money when it comes to maintenance. Though routine maintenance can be costly, it will save you money in the long run. Make sure that you check your smoke detectors, change air filters, and keep an eye on your electrical and plumbing.

By keeping up with the maintenance in the building, you can make sure that it continues to run smoothly (leading to fewer problems down the line).

As well as repairs. Though you may want to save money while doing repairs, the simple truth is that simple repair jobs won’t last as long as the ones that are done correctly. You also shouldn’t just fix the problem to get it fixed. Make sure that you are fixing it correctly. Quick fixes are often that-they are faster (and cheaper), but they aren’t made to last.

If you have to replace products, make sure that you buy higher quality products. You want items made to last, so you don’t have to replace them again in a year or two.

Don’t skimp on landlord insurance. Landlord insurance can be a lot more than you expect. However, you don’t want to be caught unprepared in case there is a serious issue with your apartments. Fires, floods, storms, and more can cause some serious damage. Sometimes, your building may have to be evacuated until the repairs are made.

You also need liability insurance if any of your tenants (or their friends) get hurt on your property. That being said, don’t be afraid to shop around for a better price. Just make sure that you are protected in case of any problems.

Most people become landlords to bring a little more money home. However, you must be careful to ensure you can keep as much of your hard-earned money as possible. Too many landlords waste their money on items that they don’t really need.

One of the best ways to save money is by doing as much maintenance and repairs yourself. If you are handy and don’t have to pay someone for every little thing, you can really save some money. You also need to be picky with your tenants. Choosing tenants that pay on time and plan on staying for a year (or two) are going to save you a lot of money. Not only will you save money in advertising, you won’t have to paint and do a serious cleaning as often.

One place that you shouldn’t try to save money is with maintenance and repairs. You need to do routine maintenance to keep your apartments running as well as possible. You also can’t skimp when doing repairs. If you replace the sink with a twenty-dollar faucet, you may replace it every year or two. It makes more sense to spend a hundred dollars, so you don’t have to do it again for another ten years!

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Previously published on Medium and/or Newsbreak.