Having an investment property can be a huge income earner if you know how to manage your property correctly to maximize profit and minimize costs.

But all too often rental owners attempt to save money and inadvertently spend more than need be. To make sure that you are getting the most from your rental property, avoid these 5 pitfalls!

1. Not Performing Due Diligence

One of the most important factors in realizing profits when you have an investment property is having the right renters. If you have renters who don’t pay or cause a whole lot of damage, that can not only cost you all the earnings you made, it can mean a whole lot of downtime for your property while you are trying to evict them. Not only will you lose time, you will also spend resources hiring a legal team to take care of it.

Before you let anyone occupy your rental, make sure that you do a background check and that you verify references. There is no way to know for sure, but if you do the research, you are less likely to get taken!

2. Leaving Yourself Legally Vulnerable

There are a lot of legal issues related to being a property owner. Not only do you have to worry about how renters care for your home, you also have legal issues that, if not covered, can end up costing you a whole lot of money. It is critical that you have all the right coverage so that you aren’t left on the hook when the unexpected happens.

3. Not Performing Regular Checks

If you have a rental property that has a high turnover rate and no one is inspecting it regularly, there is no way to hold renters accountable when they cause damage. Regular inspections are imperative to ensure that you aren’t left paying for someone else’s poor treatment that can end up costing you a whole lot in repair or replacement costs.

4. Not Keeping Up with Maintenance Issues

If you aren’t maintaining your rental property, you are devaluing it. If you don’t maintain things like the HVAC system or the upkeep of the exterior of your home, then you are losing value. And if things aren’t taken care of, you will not be able to get the rent that you deserve. Rental property is a great investment opportunity, but not if you let it become run down and shabby. So, you must throw the time and energy into upkeep to keep up your earnings.

5. Not Having the Resources to Get it Rented

When you have a renter move out, it can sometimes be difficult to find new renters. And as the property sits, the responsibility to pay for the maintenance costs befalls the owner. If you have your rental sitting for months on end, then you are paying all the expenses and losing a whole lot of income. A rental that sits vacant will not produce extra income; in fact, it might end up costing you a whole lot!

Having a rental property can be a great investment opportunity, but it is not as simple as you might think. Many investment property owners go into renting without fully understanding all the pitfalls that can arise and steal from their bottom line.

When you hire Sea Turtle Properties, we seek to minimize loss and maximize profits by taking the guesswork and liability of renting off your plate and adding it to ours.