When you set out to be a landlord, your mind must have conjured images of an easy life filled with activities you're passionate about. Many landlords are indeed living their best lives, but not you. Your life has become a ball of chaos and you're ever stressed.
Welcome to the dark side of rental property ownership.
If you're struggling to stay abreast of your property management or you have problem tenants who're making your life a living hell, you're not alone. There are effective steps you can take to solve your rental management challenges, but in this article, our focus is to help you lead a stress-free life.
Check out some helpful stress management tips below:
1. Outsource the Tasks Making Your Life Harder
To effectively manage stress, you must address the source/trigger. Start by identifying the specific landlord responsibilities that are making your life unbearable, and try outsourcing them.
For example, if you're struggling with rent collection, it's inevitable your rental income will be inconsistent and consequently, you might find yourself unable to keep up with property bills. Before you know it, you're engulfed in stress.
You can outsource the task to a property management service. The company will enforce your rent collection policies, forcing your tenants to start honoring their rent payment obligations on time.
It's possible to outsource several tasks to the same company. Just ensure the company offers a partial property management package.
2. Build an Emergency Fund
How much money do you have in your rental property emergency fund? Is it enough to take care of a $5,000 repair bill?
If not, it's no wonder you're dealing with stress. If there's an emergency repair and you cannot afford to pay for it immediately, the property could be inhabitable. Without a tenant, you're earning no rental income, and that has dire consequences on your finances and mental health.
As such, an emergency fund is an important stress management tool for landlords. If you're in a position where you don't have to worry about property emergencies, you'll stand a good chance of keeping stress at bay.
3. Understand Landlord-Tenant Laws
Litigation is one of life's most stressful experiences. Yet, as a landlord, you can easily find yourself facing endless lawsuits in court. This is because there are many landlord-tenant and housing laws, and even an unintentional violation can earn you a day in court.
Familiarizing yourself with the relevant laws not only makes you a law-abiding landlord but also goes a long way in keeping you in stress's path. You'll reduce your risk of getting sued, which also means you won't need to spend money unnecessarily on landlord attorneys and landlord fines.
Be One of the Stress-Free Landlords!
Landlord stress is part of owning a rental property, but it needn't make your life miserable. Property management is not an easy job by any measure, so you can expect some challenges along the way. However, arming yourself with these stress management tips will help you lead a healthier life.
Importantly, don't suffer in silence. Struggling landlords in San Diego can reach out to us at Harland Property Management. We have been in business for over 18 years, and our property managers collectively bring more than 50 years of experience to the table.
Talk to us about your landlord troubles and let's fix them.
