Whether they’re being blamed for excessive time spent on social media, raising too many concerns about climate change, or (rather infamously) spending too much money on Avocado Toast, the Millennial generation tends to get quite a bit of flack in today’s media.
However, making assumptions about an entire generation of people is silly, and there are plenty of Millennials proving their doubters wrong. In fact, many of them have actually gone so far as to save up enough money to purchase their own homes, despite most of their hard-earned cash going towards their daily Avocado Toast fund, of course.
And get this — many Millennials have actually been quite smart about how they’ve handled their real estate investments, too. Some of those who’ve been fortunate enough to kickstart their real estate careers have become landlords already — perhaps some even to those Boomers who doubted them all this time.
So, if you’re a Millennial with ambitions to become a landlord (and that kind of poetic justice just sounds too good to pass up on), consider this an informal guide on how to be the best landlord you can be.
Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help
Whether it’s at their desk jobs, streaming Netflix, doing online banking, scrolling social media, or swiping through dating apps, many Millennials are used to living most of their lives online. And when it comes to being a landlord, there’s an increasing number of alleyways appearing to allow that to be handled digitally too.
However, not every aspect of being a landlord can be facilitated from behind your computer screen, and sometimes the job requires you to actually roll up your sleeves and take care of an issue or problem with your property in person. The thing is, not every Millennial is as well versed with a wrench as they are an Apple watch.
That’s where professional real estate management companies can come in handy. Companies like these have made their reputations off of helping landlords manage their properties remotely, and have seen a sharp rise in popularity over recent years.
As most of the modern world has adapted to completing most of their daily tasks online, an increasing number of landlords want to delegate their hands-on duties to companies that know exactly what they’re doing.
So, if you’re not overly confident about how to handle domestic repairs and regular property maintenance, don’t be afraid to contact a real estate management company and build a working relationship with them.
Still on the hunt for that perfect income property? Have a look through our Featured Listings page here to see if we’ve got one that piques your interest. And if you need to know how to find a real estate agent you can trust, here are some tips that will help.
Secondary suites and coach homes are great options for millennial landlords. They’re the perfect way to maximize the affordability of your existing home. Here’s everything you need to know about secondary suites and coach homes in Peterborough:
- Everything You Need to Know About Carriage Homes and Secondary Suites
- How to Build Equity and Improve Housing Affordability with Secondary Suites
- Your Practical Guide to Building Your Own Secondary Suites
- The New Coach Home Rules in Peterborough: What You Need to Know
Don’t Just Buy Downtown
For many Millennials, the thought of living more than a few minutes away from their favourite coffee shops, restaurants, bars, and vintage shops simply seems unrealistic — especially for those who don’t own a car or have grown up downtown their whole lives.
As a result, many Millennials tend to neglect renter markets that don’t offer their residents the same local amenities when choosing the location of their income property. However, that can be a costly mistake, as the renting market is highly diverse and can be quite lucrative in less densely populated parts of the city.
Just because you might not personally want to live in a quieter, less exciting area doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider investing in an income property there. And piggybacking off of our previous point, the rise of the real estate management industry means you can more easily do the job of a landlord remotely.
At the end of the day, it isn’t you that needs to live in your income property, it’s your tenants that do. So, if you spot a great opportunity to invest in a well-maintained, mostly updated property outside of the downtown core that would attract a local family or couple, why not pull the trigger and go for it?
Have you considered tapping into the cottage real estate market to buy your next rental property? Whether they’re short or long-term rentals, cottages are always in demand for renters — learn more about why here:
Address Any Major Repairs First
Once you’ve identified your ideal income property and have purchased it with the intent to rent out, the very first thing you should do is address any major repairs your new home might need. There are some parts of a home that, if ignored when repairs are necessary, can turn into very costly, ongoing long-term issues.
Areas you really should pay close attention to are your roof, heating and electrical systems, your gutters, your home’s foundation, and your home’s plumbing. If you received flags about any of these areas within the various home inspection reports you’ll have received prior to purchasing the home, they should take top priority.
Even if they’re minor maintenance issues to start out with, if you leave these on the back-burning for too long, you could stand to face a wildly expensive repair bill before long.
While it’s tempting to just paper over the cracks so that you can get a renter in and start earning passive income quickly, it’s much easier for all parties involved if you deal with the problems first before recruiting a tenant.
Make the necessary fixes once and be done with them — you’ll be glad you did in the long-term when you aren’t constantly receiving frantic phone calls and messages from your tenants about a leaky basement or a faulty heating system.
Learn more about which repairs and upgrades stand to earn you the most ROI on your home by reading our blog post on the 5 Home Renovations That Offer a High Return here.
Properly Screen Your Tenants
When you’re finally ready to start searching for tenants to rent your home, you might feel more than eager to start collecting rent cheques — especially so if you’ve had to spend a hefty amount on repair costs right off the bat.
However, rushing this process can end up just as costly as rushing through any necessary repairs too. That’s why it’s incredibly important to properly screen your tenants before handing them over a lease to sign.
What do we mean by properly screen? Well, requesting an official credit check and asking for a list of references for job verification is a start. From there, you can also request pay stubs or a bank statement proving the consistency of their income over the past few months or so.
While these documents might all seem quite intrusive to the Millennial landlord that hasn’t gone through the process before, you should never be afraid to ask for them — it’s your home, and before anyone else moves in, you set the rules.
From day one, make sure you know exactly who’s renting your space and make sure you’re confident they’ll be able to pay your rent and keep your home in good condition.
The right tenant is everything! Here are some more tips that will help make your venture a success:
Be Prepared For Missed Rent Payments
On the topic of paying rent, it’s also important to remember that your tenants are humans too and that you’ll need to accommodate for possible sudden life changes that could feasibly happen to all of us. Things like being laid off, losing a loved one, needing to pay expensive medical bills, or anything of that sort could result in your tenant’s inability to pay their rent in full (or at all) on time.
If you want to be a good landlord and build a healthy relationship with your tenants, it’s best to show some emotional understanding during these unique situations and allow your renters enough time to get things back on track.
That also means you’ll need to be prepared to financially accommodate for those happenstances too. If your tenant isn’t able to make consistent rent payments for a certain period of time — let’s say, three or four months — it’s your responsibility to be prepared for that and pay down your property’s monthly mortgage payments out of your own pocket.
Whenever you become a landlord to real people, there’s always a risk involved, which is why if you can make payments on your rental property ahead of time you don’t have to worry about covering for missed rent or if your home is unoccupied for a period of time.
Feel like you’ve got all your bases covered and you’re finally ready to become a Millennial landlord? Find out how our approach to buying a home can help you achieve your goals quicker and easier, then hit Contact Us to set up your own no-obligation buying consultation to get started.
