So you bought an investment unit and now you want to rent it out. Easy right? Not so fast! Here are the top mistakes landlords make in NYC:
You’re Not Treating It Like a Business
Many new landlords don’t invest the time to learn how to screen tenants, manage the property effectively, and maintain it. This can put you at risk of losing large amounts of money, having experiences with bad tenants, and finding that the property consumes large amounts of your free time down the road.
You’re Underestimating the Costs
Many new landlords don’t budget for additional expenses that are bound to come up, from new appliances to emergency repairs. When you’re calculating your profit, don’t forget to account for maintenance and big expenses, even if your unit is relatively new. Always have a large enough cash reserve to safeguard you.
You’re Not Screening Your Tenants Consistently
Doing a credit, criminal, and background check on every potential tenant, and maintaining consistent criteria is super important. That helps identify reliable tenants without the risk of breaking discrimination laws.
You’re Not Keeping Up With Law Changes
There are laws related to everything, from discrimination to the use of lead-based paint to when landlords can walk through the door of a property. But many landlords don’t know the laws or keep up with how they change, and that can end up costing you big. In NYC tenant protection laws are extensive – you not only have federal and state laws to comply with, but city laws as well.
Source: WSJ
