I don't know about you, but my email in-boxes get overwhelmed on a daily basis.
Every day I receive unsolicited “advice” emails wanting to inform me of the latest and greatest when it comes to real estate investing and wealth. It is truly overwhelming to read many of the emails and see how outdated much of the advice is.
There are a great many animal lovers in the world, but most rental properties aren’t known for their pet-friendly policies. Some tenants even view rental properties that allow pets with some distaste because of high pet deposits.
What stance should real estate investors take when it comes to pet policies? Whether or not you intend to allow pets, you should have a pet policy, period. Even tenants who don’t have pets need to sign one and know what your rules are regarding animals on the property or in the building. The property manager can take care of any day-to-day questions or issues regarding the policy.
If you choose to allow pets in your rental properties, have firm boundaries in place. Any and all pets must be approved and photographed by the landlord. How do you know if a pet should be approved? Ask the right questions.
As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you’ve been letting property maintenance slide, you might be throwing money away. Property management isn’t something that real estate investors really like to deal with — but it’s a necessary element to any investment.
Once upon a time, the American Dream was defined in part by the goal of homeownership. People dreamed of their own plot of land and picket fence and a place to call home. In this day and age, however, Americans are realizing that they can call a place home without owning it. The attitude of people toward rental housing is changing. While the majority of Americans still would like to own a home one day, 45% of current homeowners can see themselves turning to renting.
Generally, it makes a lot of sense to make a property as attractive as possible to as many potential tenants as possible. Once it's ready, you want your property to be rented by a reliable tenant as quickly as possible.
