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How to get started with rental properties

How to get started with rental properties

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– Elio Mondello, CEO & Founder
Learn How to get started with rental properties like this blue house on green lawn
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If you have a property, or you are looking to buy one.
If you manage a property and want to make some money read this article.

In here you will learn how to get started with rental properties.
Also you will the find systems and benchmarks investors need to realize success at a higher level.

In this guide you will understand how to establish a rental property business plan and rent a property for short, medium or long term.

What is a rental property business plan?

What is a rental property business plan?crop businessman giving contract to woman to sign
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A rental property business plan is how investors purchase and manage one or more income-producing properties. These properties can have one or more units leased out to tenants in exchange for monthly rental fees.

Investors can have an effective rental plan without directly managing these properties; property management companies can be hired to carry out the duties often associated with landlords, such as rent collection and maintenance.

Are my rental properties A Business?

Are my rental properties A Business?office interior with table and chairs near window
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Renting a house may be considered a business endeavor, depending on who you ask. This may seem like a controversial question, and there are at least two answers to consider.

From a financial standpoint, renting a residential property may result in passive income. It is important to note that investors do not have to pay self-employment taxes when reporting their rental properties.

Therefore, many would argue that owning a rental property is not considered a “business,” specifically in the lens of tax filing. However, from a career standpoint, many individuals live on passive income derived from their rental property companies; in this lens, renting a house can be considered a business.

It’s entirely possible to manage a rental property portfolio as a business. Still, those with a single rental property may not need to start a company to collect passive income. It’s only once the portfolio starts to grow that turning the practice of renting into a business becomes more important.

How To Start a rental properties Business

How To Start A Rental Property Business for your rental properties
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Learning how to start a rental properties business isn’t all that different from just about every other entrepreneurial endeavor.

Getting started with rental properties can be a great way to generate passive income and build wealth over time. Here are some basic steps to get started.

Educate yourself:

Learn as much as you can about the rental property market, including local laws and regulations, financing options, property management, and tenant screening.

Find a property:

Look for properties in desirable locations that are likely to attract good tenants. Consider factors such as the neighborhood, school district, and proximity to public transportation.

Secure financing:

Explore financing options such as traditional mortgages, private lenders, or partnerships. Be sure to factor in all costs, including repairs, maintenance, and property management fees.

Prepare the property:

Once you’ve acquired a property, make any necessary repairs or upgrades to make it appealing to potential tenants. Consider hiring a property manager to handle day-to-day operations.

Find tenants:

Advertise your property through various channels, such as online listings, social media, and word of mouth. Screen potential tenants carefully to ensure they are reliable and able to pay rent on time.

Remember that investing in rental properties requires patience and a long-term outlook. With the right approach, it can be a rewarding and lucrative venture

Investors need to identify several key elements before they start. That way, they can start their business on a solid foundation. Here are some of the most important steps to consider when drafting a rental property business plan:

  1. Join a local Real Estate Investement (REI) club and start networking
  2. Pick a niche and choose your rental property market
  3. Figure out the proper financing and secure it
  4. Conduct the appropriate research and hire a manager
  5. Implement systems to improve efficiency
  6. Manage the properties and scale the business at a sustainable pace

Where can I advertise my rental properties?

modern city with glass buildings and luminous signboard with advertisement for your rental properties
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Using the best rental listing website can make a big difference in the time you spend showing your rental properties and finding your next tenant. But the number of property management software platforms continues to grow, so it can feel overwhelming to determine which site is best for your rental listings.

To help make things easier, here is a list of rental websites to advertise your rental properties. Here are the basics of each offer so you can find the right site for your marketing strategy:

Mondosol

It will help you to get bookings for your rental properties with Mondosol Travel or directly when you Sign up and fill up as much of the following info as possible. Write a description about your property, upload your photos, enter your rates and boom. You have finished!

Avail

Getting eyes on your listings is where Avail (part of Realtor.com®) stands out. Avail rental listings automatically publish your listing on Zumper, Apartments.com, PadMapper, Apartment List, Doorsteps, Walk Score, Realtor.com®, and more — all with one click. You can also manage tenant leads on the platform, schedule in-person or virtual showings, and request rental applications to keep everything in one place. 

The system auto-generates a listing description for you and an eye-catching title when you answer a few simple questions about your property. Avail also offers online tenant screening, lawyer-reviewed and state-specific lease agreements, free rental property accounting tools, online rent collection, and additional features that can help you manage your rental. 

PadMapper

Think of PadMapper as the apartment hunting equivalent of one of those super-maps on CSI where investigators can endlessly drill down on a grainy photo of a suspect by hitting “enhance.” It starts with a map dotted with listings, then lets users zoom in to focus on a smaller area, adding filters to weed out any rentals that don’t meet all the search criteria.

Zumper

It’s free to add listings (through the company’s mobile app for single units or Zumper Pro for bulk uploads), and any listings that appear on PadMapper also get added to its parent site, Zumper.

Realtor.com®

In addition to a great market for buying and selling, Realtor.com® offers a great destination for rentals. You can easily reach thousands of tenants fast to reduce the chances of experiencing long vacancy periods. 

Doorsteps

According to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) study, the No. 1 way home sellers chose to list their properties in 2019 was through city and state multiple listing service, or MLS, sites. 

In partnership with Realtor.com®, Doorsteps uses a combination of MLS listings from 25+ markets across the U.S., plus direct listings from landlords and Aparmentlist.com to round out its inventory. The site originated in 2012 as a guide for first-time homebuyers, but has expanded to serve tenants.

Zillow Rental Manager

Zillow Rental Manager allows you to publish your first rental listings on Zillow, Trulia, and HotPads for free. However, each additional active listing will cost $9.99/per week it is listed. The site is known to have one of the largest audiences of renters looking to find their next home, so posting your listings here can help you get more views on your property.

Zillow also offers tools for online tenant screening, customizable lease templates for specific states, and online rent payment options.

Trulia

Also owned by Zillow Group, Trulia’s expansive reach is its main draw. Listings for a rental unit or home are displayed on Trulia, Zillow and HotPads, but you also have the option to list a single room, which will then appear on Trulia and HotPads only.

Listing fees are the same on Trulia as on Zillow, but the sites offer different user experiences. Where Zillow’s marquee feature is its unique home estimates tool, Trulia touts its in-depth community preview with information on school rankings, crime statistics and public transit.

HotPads

Where its partner companies, Zillow and Trulia split their focus between homes and apartments, HotPads is more apartment-focused, emphasizing urban markets. 

Prospective tenants like it for its fraud protection (as a landlord, you’ll be prompted to verify your identity) and push notifications when new listings match their search criteria. That tool can benefit landlords too, as it encourages strong leads to get in touch quickly.

Apartments.com Rental Manager

According to Apartments.com (previously Cozy), 35 million prospective renters visit annually, making it a great place to post your rental listing. The company advertises more than 1.1 million listings and — like Zillow Group — amplifies every listing by including it in its inventory plus that of partner sites ForRent.com, ApartmentFinder, Apartmenthomeliving, and Apartamentos.com. 

The platform allows you to schedule property showings and request applications from tenant leads within the platform. Listing is quick and free at a base level, but landlords can also upgrade to a Premium listing to get their units featured in more prominent ads at the top of the search results for 30 days.

Apartment List

Apartment List’s model is unique in that fees only apply if your listing is successful. Prospective renters complete a survey of their rental priorities on the site, which then serves up a shortlist of matching units. Fees start at $359 per signed lease, but are discounted the more units you list.

Apartment List believes the targeted results not only improve the odds of a successful match, but could lead to more satisfied tenants — who would prove more likely to renew.

Walk Score

Walk Score makes non-car commuting the primary focus by ranking homes and apartment buildings based on their proximity to attractions and necessities like grocery stores and business districts. A strong walk score can act as shorthand for high desirability when tenants are searching for shorter commutes, dining, and entertainment within reach.

Listings on Walk Score come from listing providers rather than direct landlord submissions, but creating a free rental listing on Avail will automatically add your listing to the platform. The site also offers badges with your unit’s walk score number, which you can attach to your listings elsewhere to tout a great location.

Zumper

Zumper caters equally to landlords and tenants. The site uses two-way matching to let prospective renters search by their top criteria and let listing owners stipulate credit score minimums for applicants. It’s free to post on Zumper, and any listings added to their site are also added to PadMapper automatically.

Apartment Finder

Apartment Finder is the platform for renters to find the best deals. Listing is free for landlords and the site categorizes units with badges to indicate when prices drop, when a unit is listed for a lower rental rate than others in a highly ranked building, or if it comes with incentives like a free TV or discounted rent.

Craigslist

Craigslist is one of the best-known options for finding a rental (or a couch or a gig), but it’s also one of the least regulated. As a landlord, listing is free and easy, but it’s also easy for scammers to take advantage of your hard work through common schemes like cloning a listing — then intercepting interested renters and taking their security deposit.

If you list here, take extra steps to outline in your post the basics of your showing process so prospective renters can tell the difference between dealing with a legitimate landlord or falling for a fake. It’s also important to not rely on Craiglist to generate rental listings, as many users have experienced spammy listings and unfavorable experiences with the site.

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook itself is best known for connecting users, but the creation of Facebook Marketplace means users can now advertise available rental properties on the platform.

While Facebook Marketplace isn’t a traditional rental listing website, its biggest strength is increasing the visibility of a rental listing. The site is known for generating quick responses to rental ads, and landlords can take a closer look at applicant profiles through the platform to get a better idea of who has responded to their ad (and to ensure they aren’t a scammer).

RentDig

RentDigs offers many of the other platforms’ perks — free listings for landlords on sites like Oodle.com, Trovit.com, claz.org, Mitula.com, and RentJungle.com. But its unique benefits include reports on the number of users who view your listings and no registration requirements for prospective renters to peruse the site.

The drawback to asking renters to create an account to view and respond to listings is an extra hurdle that can turn some renters off before they make it to your listing. But it can also weed out any prospects who aren’t serious about the search.

Rent.com

Rent.com (acquired by Redfin) allows landlords to advertise single-family homes and apartment communities with multiple units to find qualified tenants. With one click, your listing through Rent.com syndicates to their website, ApartmentGuide.com, Rentals.com, and Redfin. You can post your listing to 10 other sites for an additional charge.

Once prospective tenants submit an inquiry on your property, you can screen them and accept online rental applications to save time.

Dwellsy

Dwellsy is a free platform, similar to Rent.com, that helps landlords advertise their single-family homes or multi-unit buildings. They have two listing options: Dwellsy Direct for individual landlords and Dwellsy Feed for property managers and investors. The type of rentals you have will determine which option is best for you.

RentalSource.com

Rentalsource.com makes it easy to list your property on popular rental websites for free, such as Realtor.com, Zillow, Facebook, Trulia, and more. You can create your listing manually or use their listing builder for a streamlined process. Keep in mind that additional tools may be needed for tenant screening and scheduling showings.

RentRedi

RentRedi is landlord software that allows you to publish your rental listing on Realtor.com® and Doorsteps.com at no additional cost. You can make it easier for tenants by offering virtual tours when scheduling showings with them.

DoorLoop

DoorLoop is designed for property managers, investors, and landlords looking to manage properties in the U.S. and abroad. They offer three subscription options: the Starter plan starts at $59/month, the Pro for $99/month, and Premium for $139/month.
With DoorLoop, you can post your listing on six sites: Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, StreetEasy, RealEstate.com, and Apartments.com. You need a Pro or Premium subscription to use this feature. With a Starter account, you have to manually publish your listings.

How to Make Money in Real Estate Without Owning a Property

businessman showing liquidity of real estate sales and profit for rental properties
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Not everyone who wants to make money in real estate has enough capital to buy investment properties. So does that mean these people can no longer get into the real estate investment game? Absolutely not.

There are several ways to make money in real estate without buying any property

1. Airbnb Arbitration

To enter the short-term rental industry without owning property, you can take advantage of Airbnb arbitration. This involves subletting a rented property (or part of it) and making it available for rent on platforms like Airbnb. It’s a way to make money from renting even if you don’t own the property.

2. Real Estate ETFs

Investors can easily diversify their portfolio with real estate through real estate exchange-traded funds (ETFs). ETFs have low costs and offer broad diversification, making them an accessible option for real estate investment.

3. Real Estate Mutual Funds

Real estate mutual funds are an easy and affordable way to invest in real estate without buying a property. It’s a great option for starting real estate investing without spending a lot of money.

4. Real Estate Investment Trusts

Investing in real estate can be expensive, but with real estate investment trusts (REITs), you can make money from real estate without buying property. It’s a popular choice for investors looking to get started in real estate with less money.

5. Real Estate-Focused Companies

Not all real estate companies are REITs. There are many other types of companies that focus on real estate. They may not pay high dividends, but if that’s okay with you, you can explore these companies as well.

6. Home Construction

If you want to make money in real estate, consider getting involved in home construction. The real estate industry has seen significant growth due to the limited housing inventory in many markets. Although COVID-19 affected the industry, many markets have recovered well.

However, one of the more pressing concerns regarding housing is the dangerously low housing inventory in the face of increasing housing demand.

7. Real Estate Notes

If you want to invest in real estate without dealing with physical buildings, consider investing in real estate notes. You can buy these notes from banks or individual investors. Buying from a bank means you’re essentially buying debt at lower prices compared to retail investors.

8. Wholesaling

Wholesaling is a popular strategy in real estate investing that allows you to make money without spending your own. It’s a great option for those looking to get into real estate without making a down payment or purchasing a property.

9. Hard Money Loans

If you have enough money but don’t want the responsibilities of being a landlord or don’t have much time, you can lend your money to other real estate investors. This way, you can earn money without having to manage properties yourself.

10. Online Real Estate Investing

Online Real Estate Investing for rental properties

In today’s world, there are a lot of ways to make money from home, including real estate investing. With the help of technology, it is now possible to make money in real estate remotely. Investors can pool their money along with other investors in real estate crowdfunding platforms. Crowdfunding has enabled regular folks to get a piece of the action which initially was only available to affluent investors. A lot of online real estate investment platforms allow investors to get started for as little as $500.

Do I need a reliable cleaner and/or local emergency contact for my rental properties?

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If you do short rental you will neel a cleaner or a cleaning agency. Also you will need local emergency contact in case you need maintenance for your rental properties. If we have relationship in the area of your property we can recommend someone who is reliable.

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