Determining what kind of

landlord you want to be.

This is a very important step in your overall success of being a landlord. This determination will guide you into what kind of house you want to buy and what areas etc... I feel that it is the most important step in the process of renting real estate. This way you will not have any surprises down the road. Also you will not run into the traps that can come up when renting real estate. The following list details some of the different types of landlords that I have identified.

Types Of Landlords.

1. Hands on Landlord.

2. Professional landlord.

3. Experimental Landlord.

4. Hands off Landlord.

Hands on Landlord.

This landlord is one that manages every detail of the rental process. From collecting the money to repairs. Obviously this type takes the most time and the most work. But the trade-off is that this form will make the most profit in day to day operations.

There are a questions that you need to ask yourself if you are going to fit into this category. The first question that you need to ask yourself is are you handy around the house? This is needed because under this category you need to be able to fix most small problems so that you will not have to get someone every time something goes wrong. Sometimes for example you might be asked to fix a small thing when you are collecting the rent.

The type of house you buy will be a big factor in how much work you will be able to do repairing the house. For example you might want to look for a ranch house if you are afraid of heights. Because you never know when you may need to go onto the roof and fix something. Personally I think that I am not afraid of heights until it comes time to step off the ladder and get on the roof. When you look down 2 stories that first step is very intimidating. But with that being said I have worked with people who think that it is no big deal. So that determination has to be made by the individual.

The next question that you need to ask yourself is are you very good at keeping up with things? By this I mean are you going to be there every time a problem arises? This is important because this helps build a good relationship between you and your tenants. If you are not available there may be a build up of some form of resentment towards the you as the landlord. This resentment no matter how little it may be is very hard to mend once it gets rolling.

This problem can be minimized if you posses good people skills and are able to smooth things over easily. I have seen small disagreements work there way into big problems usually leading to the tenant leaving the house.

Strengths of this type of landlord.

Do not have to rely on anyone to get a job done.

This aspect is a great advantage to you as the landlord in all aspects. You could take a small problem and eliminate it quickly before you could even get a hold of someone to do the job. For example you could stop by on the way home from work and take care of the situation. I will generally carry a tool box stocked with many different supplies that I may need to fix a small problem. Later in this book I will give a list of some of the things that from my experience I stock in my toolbox. This strength really helps in the landlord tenant relationship.

Provides a great way to keep track of your property.

Doing everything yourself gives you a great opportunity to see inside your house. This way you can keep close tabs on the way a particular tenant is taking care of your property. I have used the act of collecting the rent as a way to see the house. I don't do this with all houses that I rent in fact many I have the tenant mail the rent. This is usually determined after about 6 months of really keeping the house well maintained. Other houses I always collected the rent in person. But that was determined on a case by case basis.

Develop a personal relationship with your tenants.

Being there personally as the home owner will give the tenants a good feeling about you and put a personal feel to the whole situation. Hopefully this will translate into a better landlord tenant relationship, which in turn means that you get your money on time etc...

Weaknesses of this type of landlord.

Requires a lot of your time.

Obviously the physical act of driving to a rental house takes a lot of your time. If you don't have a lot of free time then this could be a big problem down the road. Of course buying a house close to where you live could help greatly in reducing this problem. And how much time you have to devote to fixing potential problems will factor into how well you do them.

Develop a personal relationship with your tenants.

I realize that I listed this as a strength of this type of landlord type. But I found that it can also be a weakness in a way because of the fact that you may be taken advantage of by the tenant. A good way to reduce this risk is to try and always keep a business like relationship and avoid getting to close. I found that this problem does not really show up if you keep the relationship very much tenant to landlord.