Turning a profit is the chief purpose of every real estate investment. It is, therefore, crucial to know what steps to take and what mistakes to avoid to earn maximum returns on your San Gabriel investment. Over our years of experience managing properties in the San Gabriel Valley, we have identified the five biggest mistakes that landlords often make that end up killing profits on their investment.
Here’s the list.
1. Choosing A Bad Location for Rental Investment
One of the biggest mistakes that landlords make is choosing an unsuitable or undesirable location. The location is the most important thing that attracts or detracts tenants. If the property is located in a safe neighborhood, surrounded by amenities and good commute options, it will experience high demand. On the other hand, a remote location with poor accessibility and a lack of public amenities, can remain vacant, affecting your profits.
2. Improper Tenant Screenings
In their hurry to get a vacant property rented as quickly as possible, landlords may tend to skip some seemingly unnecessary parts of the tenant screening process and end up facing bad-tenant issues, such as unexpected repair costs, non-payment of rent, early lease termination, and eviction.
Landlords need to do a thorough background check to verify the applicants’ credit score, eviction history, criminal records, and employment status to avoid getting into legal trouble, stressful evictions, and unexpected costs that put their profits at stake.
3. Neglecting Maintenance Issues in the San Gabriel Property
Another mistake that landlords make is neglecting timely maintenance issues and repairs which results in further deterioration of the property condition, and leads to major repairs and replacement costs that could have been avoided in the first place. A badly maintained rental also negatively impacts the value of the house and kills your profits as tenants can easily look for better, more habitable places to live.
4. Taking Too Long to Turn the San Gabriel Unit
Yes, carrying out major repairs or renovating the house cannot happen in a day. Yes, it requires time. But if landlords are very slow in finding contractors and getting the work done, the property stays vacant for a very long time, leading to excessive losses.
5. Investing in Unnecessary Upgrades
Sometimes, overenthusiastic landlords forget the difference between their residence and a rental property. Maintenance costs are reasonable and must be budgeted for, as required. However, unnecessary upgrades like installing top-models of appliances, changing the appliances even when they are in a working condition, buying new furniture when the existing one can be refurbished lead to excessive expenses, killing your overall profit.
As a new property owner, making these mistakes is natural, but avoidable. Hire an experienced property management company, like ZenPro Property Management, to avoid mistakes that can cost you profits on your San Gabriel rental.
For over 15 years, we have successfully helped owners and investors in managing their properties. Whether you are a single owner or have a real estate investment portfolio, we can take care of your needs and requirements. Our hands-on approach and exceptional customer service make us the right choice for managing your San Gabriel rental.
Contact us at ZenPro Property Management for more details.