Landlords handle a lot of responsibility. The cost of mistakes is high, often leading to either financial or legal ramifications. It is critical that landlords familiarize themselves with the most common issues they may face and know how to handle them.

Insurance can be a huge help to landlords in mitigating the potential problems with their rented properties. They can visit paigeandcampbell.com for more information on how insurance can protect them when facing an unfortunate event. Read below for more information on the four most common problems landlords may face with their properties.

High Tenant Turnover

An empty property does not generate income. Finding a suitable renter takes a lot of time and effort and ultimately costs the landlord money. The ideal tenant is one that stays in the rented property for many years. It is no wonder that high tenant turnover can be such a huge problem for landlords.

Tenants move out quickly for a few reasons. First, if the landlord is slow to get back to them or unresponsive to their requests, the tenants are likely to feel they have been left to deal with property issues by themselves. Second, if the property they are renting costs significantly more than other similar properties in the area, they will probably find somewhere else to rent as soon as they can. Last, if the rented property is in disrepair, the tenant is not likely to want to spend much time there.

Rent Payments are Late

A common problem for landlords, even if they have long-term tenants, is dealing with late rent payments. Some tenants may pay late only one or two times, but those who are consistently late can be a huge problem. A rental property is a source of income, and it is difficult to plan a financial strategy around inconsistent payments.

Landlords should implicate specific strategies to encourage timely payments from their tenants. One of the best things they can do is keep in contact. Developing a good relationship with the tenant makes them feel like they’re getting their money’s worth from the property, and it makes following up with them less awkward. It is essential for landlords to screen people for their rental histories and be strict about the rental payment policy.

Legal Problems

Renting properties comes with a long set of federal, state, and local laws that govern how it should be done fairly. It is critical that landlords familiarize themselves with these laws even if it seems like an overwhelming task. Not doing so may cause them to face serious legal ramifications and even lose their property.

One reason landlords may find themselves in legal trouble is injury lawsuits. If a tenant claims they have been injured because of an issue with the property, they can sue the landlord for damages. Besides familiarizing themselves with the laws governing rental properties, landlords should invest in a quality landlord insurance policy to protect them against legal problems.

Constant Evictions

Evicting a tenant takes time. There are a lot of laws in place that prevents landlords from evicting tenants too quickly. Having this happen repeatedly is a costly process that will eat away at the profits landlords are expecting to get out of their properties.

The best way to prevent evictions is to establish a thorough screening process. Landlords should check the tenant’s credit to see if there are any prior evictions on their record. They should also ask for recommendations from past landlords to find out how they handled previous rental properties.

Some Final Thoughts

Rental properties are an excellent way to make additional income. However, managing them is not without its challenges. Landlords should familiarize themselves with the most common rental property problems and find solutions to them before they start.