Landlords Need a Good System

In order to be successful in the rental property business, you really do need to be prepared. Putting a good system in place gives you the confidence to get started and also keeps things running smoothly as you acquire and manage more properties. There are a few things you should have in place before you start looking for tenants:

• Rental property forms.  Your basic collection of forms would include an application form, a lease, a walk through checklist and a landlord checklist.  Store a few copies of each in a labeled binder and you're good to go.

• A prepared ad to attract quality tenants.  I advertise exclusively online so I keep a copy of my ad with pictures in a folder so it's easy to cut and paste on various sites.  Later, if a tenant gives me notice, I can have an ad placed immediately to start looking for someone new.

• A property information binder ready to go.  There are a few items that you can personalize later when you find tenants but the bulk of the information can be prepared ahead of time.  Once the information is stored on your computer, it's easy to modify to create new binders for additional properties.

• A filing system.  This will already have some items in it such as mortgage documents, legal documents and insurance information.  You can add more sections as you go to include tenant information and other paperwork you receive relating to your rental.  This is also easy to replicate as you buy more properties.
  

As I continued to manage my first property, I added a few more organizational items to keep things in order:

• A good accounting system.  This is easy to set up, just a simple ledger to monitor what is going in and out of the bank account every month and a place to write in all of your rental related expenses.  Don't forget to keep track of all those receipts. 
  

• A list of reputable people or companies that can fix things.  This list takes time to develop as you encounter certain problems that go beyond your own abilities.  It's a great list to have though and will become more valuable as you acquire more and more properties.

If you are just considering buying a rental property, I hope this list will help build your confidence to move forward.  They're fairly small steps to take, they're easy to do and they set the stage for your future rental property empire.