OfflineOwning real estate is fun and lucrative. It has allowed for great freedom and the creation of wealth. Taking care of your assests that you aquire does take some effort.
If you buy real estate that is out of state, budget your money so that you can go see your house the first year you own it. Visiting your property does not have to be a major expense. You may need to catch a flight in the morning and out that evening or simply stay over one night. Get to know your property and your manager. As well as knowing your manager, get the phone number of the tenant.
Stay aware of what is happening with your property. Keep in touch with your property manager and set expectations.
Best of Luck.
__________________
Roy Voeks
Official RE Coach
you can go during off-season when flights and hotels are cheaper
get to know the city you're investing in; meet your team members in person (bankers, realtors, escrow agents, contractors, insurance agents, property managers); visit your properties and take photos; meet the neighbors.
Valerie
“And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!” ― Dr. Seuss
"I believe in angels, the kind that heaven sends; I am surrounded by angels, but I call them friends" - Unknown
My journal: http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/59110/...
Some terrific advice from both Roy and Valerie. I just wanted to add that there is an old saying that says: "You either manage your properties or manage your managers."
Being a passive investor does not remove us from the responsibilities of ownership. Ultimately, everything that happens with the property is going to affect the bottom line either now or in the future. Visiting the property, having regular, direct communication with your property manager, getting to know more about your property's marketplace are all steps in being an effective landlord.
So please don't mistake passive as being uninvolved.
Dallin Wall
Real Estate Training Team
Forum Blog Location--A collection of my
"Best of" posts:
http://www.deangraziosi.com/blogs/dwall
With a glut of homes for sale and prices still dropping in many areas, would-be sellers who've already moved or downsized are now facing this question: Since the house is empty, should I fill it with renters until the market picks up?
The answers from experts range from the risk-averse ("No! Don't do it!") to the optimistic ("Absolutely! Beats nothing!"). While that might seem like little help, there is one point on which they all agree: Do not, under any circumstances, enter into a landlord-tenant relationship without learning the basics first.
"To be honest with you, it's really not a good solution for many, many people," says Del Walmsley, with the National Apartment Association. "If you don't know what you're doing as a landlord, there are just a tremendous number of pitfalls you can fall into with tenants."
Walmsley, a landlord of 20 years, could fill a radio show with bad-tenant stories. Wait, he does fill a radio show. For an hour every weekday, callers to the Del Walmsley Show, broadcast in Dallas and Houston, talk about real-estate investments and share tenant tales.
There are the tenants who leave early, breaking leases without notice, and the tenants who stay too long, neglecting to pay rent with excuse after excuse. (Read some of these in the Landlord Protection Agency's Excuse of the Day.) There are the destructive tenants, who play "throw a brick into the wall until it sticks," and the retaliatory tenants, who, irritated by rent requests, clog the toilets with cement upon their eventual departure. kaho