What's Next After Buying Your First Rental Property?

Congratulations! You bought your first rental property. Now what?

Knowing what steps to take next will shape your experience as a landlord. Preparation is vital, as it helps you avoid many common mistakes that first-time real estate investors make. Do these things first after buying your first rental property.

Do a Maintenance Assessment

You need to have a maintenance plan to protect your investment. Inspect the entire property to determine its conditions. Create a list of items that require immediate repair.

Look for upgrade opportunities to make it more marketable in the rental market. Finally, list the property's appliances when you think they need replacement.

Purchase Insurance

Protect your investment by buying insurance. There are several types of insurance coverage you should consider having.

Liability insurance protects you if someone gets hurt or suffers damages while on your property. Property insurance covers the structure in the event of damages.

You can also purchase landlord-specific insurance policies, such as eviction protection or vacancy insurance. These insurance policies help protect your rental income if you don't or can't have a tenant living in the rental and actively paying rent.

Learn the Local Laws

Landlords must comply with Minnesota landlord/tenant law. Before you do anything, you need to familiarize yourself with these laws.

That way, you know what is expected of you as a landlord. You can also learn about your tenants' rights.

The laws can apply to your screening process, lease, maintenance responsibilities, and eviction procedures. Not knowing the law is not an excuse for violating them. Violating the law can result in you facing a tenant-filed lawsuit.

Create a Property Marketing Plan

Hopefully, you did a market analysis before you bought your property. This would give you insight into your new property's profitability. If so, you can use this report to create an effective marketing plan for your property.

This should include ideal competitive pricing, unique selling points, and the ideal tenant for the property.

Establish a Tenant Screening Process

Before you put your rental on the market, you need to have your tenant screening process and documents in place. You don't want to scramble at the last minute. This can lead to missed screening steps.

You also need to watch out for fair housing violations. Without a consistent screening process, you risk unknowingly discriminating against an applicant.

Hire Property Management Services

If you have never been a landlord, consider hiring a property management service. This will employ a team of experts who can handle the day-to-day management of your rental property. A property manager can help you with marketing, tenant screening, maintenance, and eviction proceedings.

Become a Successful Real Estate Investor

You have already taken the first step towards becoming a real estate investor. Now that you own your rental property, you must take these steps to ensure its success. Review the laws, create a marketing plan, and establish your screening process.

If you hire a property management company, PMI Minneapolis St Paul can be a valuable resource. Our team of experienced property managers can provide helpful guidance on processes, management, and tenant relations.

Avoid common pitfalls and make your rental property successful by working with PMI Minneapolis St Paul.