Investing in the real estate market is one of the ways you can diversify your portfolio. As more Americans are choosing to rent their homes rather than purchase one, should you take advantage of this and become a landlord?
More and more Americans are choosing to rent their homes instead of purchasing their first ever home. As previously reported here on Realty Today, Americans are no longer putting homeownership as one of their top priorities.
Americans are reportedly no longer interested in buying their own homes and have opted to rent instead despite the decrease in the median prices of homes in the United States. This was said to be due to the stagnant wages, which gets in the way of saving up for the down payment for their dream homes.
As more and more Americans are choosing to rent than to buy, should others take advantage of this and put up their houses for rent and become a landlord? According to Trulia, there are certain things you need to consider before you decide on becoming one.
Becoming a landlord entails a list of duties and responsibilities. While some may think that the only thing a landlord does is collect money from their tenants, there are a handful of responsibilities that you need to perform.
According to the publication, in order to become a landlord, you must familiarize yourself with the landlord-tenant law, which varies from one state to another. You must also do a regular inspection and create a good relationship with your tenants.
Aside from these, you must also know how to screen potential tenants if you want to avoid stress in the long run. The publication noted that a background and credit check must be done for all potential tenants, but this should not be your sole reason for accepting or rejecting one.
A good landlord must also ensure that everything is the property is in its tip-top shape and that the tenants are completely safe and secure.
