There are some landlords that prefer the hands on approach who manage all the different aspects of their rental property from the process of renting, to rent collection and maintenance.
Do you fall into this category? To find out you should ask yourself a couple questions such as do you like to do things around the house? It usually helps if you do because this approach to being a landlord means you take a role in fixing some of the smaller issues which need repair in a rental home.
Part of what determines just how much work you will need to contribute is the type of property you purchase. Remember the things you are good at when deciding on a purchase. If you're afraid of heights you may want to stick with ranch style homes because there may be a time when you need to go up on the roof for repairs.
Another question you should ask is just how good are you at keeping up on maintenance? If a problem comes up can you respond quickly to address it? Landlords who respond quickly are more apt to keep a good relationship with their tenants. If you're slow to respond to tenants needs you may develop more of a bitter relationship with them. Once this perception is in place it is very difficult to dispel. If you have good social skills and address issues in a quickly the relationship with your tenants can be more positive.
A few of the advantages for this kind of landlord include not being dependent upon others for rental or maintenance issues. When something pops up you can generally address it in the time it takes others to arrange for others to do the job. You can swing by on the way home and take care of the issue rather than working around someone else's schedule. Not to mention the cost savings.
You can also find it is easier to monitor your investment property. It will give you opportunities to watch for maintenance issues closer and keep track of how the tenants are taking care of your investment.
Being around more also helps you to develop a closer relationship with the tenant and make them more inclined to take better care with your home. The closer relationship also will create better feelings all around and lead to a better environment for all.
Some of the negatives of this type of landlord relationship include the time requirement on your part. If time is something you are in short supply of you may want to minimize the impact by purchasing an investment property that is not too far from your current home. Then there is the time that will be required for maintenance and repair in addition to the management issues.
Occasionally good and friendly relationships with others (including tenants) can lead people to take advantage of your good will. Take care of how situations progress and if you feel your being taken advantage of the solution would be to take a step back and treat the situation with a more business like demeanor.
