How to Be a Long-Distance Landlord

Key Takeaways

• Rental regulations vary by location, so out-of-state landlords must understand local landlord-tenant laws to avoid legal and financial issues.
• Reliable service providers and a trustworthy property manager are essential for handling maintenance, tenant issues, and daily operations.
• Thorough tenant screening helps ensure responsible renters who require minimal supervision and reduce management headaches.
• Use automated rent payments, inline tenant portals, smart locks, and solid bookkeeping systems to efficiently manage the property from a distance.

Sometimes, as a property investor, the best investments can be found in cities far away from your location. And when you find these types of opportunities, you are faced with a difficult decision.

Should you forgo the investment along with the potential returns? Or should you buy the property and figure out how to manage it from a distance?

The reality is that as you acquire more rental properties, the less hands-on you need to be with managing them.

If you are a landlord looking to learn how to manage long-distance properties, this article by Keyrenter Arkansas explains the tested strategies for managing your rental property from a distance.

Tips on How to Succeed as a Long-Distance Landlord

Learn Local Rental Property Laws and Regulations

Landlord-tenant regulations and housing laws vary across states, counties, and cities. These differences may be subtle, and may not always be easy to understand or recall for out-of-state landlords.

Local laws may create requirements that impact how you can advertise your rental, screen prospective tenants, handle security deposits, increase rent, and much more. This is why you must make an effort to know how rental laws operate in the city where your property is located.

Build Relationships with Local Service Providers

Since out-of-state landlords do not have the luxury of being able to personally supervise repairs and maintenance in their rentals, they must lean heavily on the expertise of the tradespeople they hire.

Invest time to vet local plumbers, electricians, HVAC experts, cleaning companies, contactors, etc., and enter into a binding service agreement with the best ones.

Create a Watertight Lease Agreement

Your lease agreement creates the basis for enforcing the lease terms. If an issue is not covered in the lease or is addressed without clarity, it undermines your ability to ensure the tenant understands the rules of the house.

To avoid situations like this, the lease agreement must be comprehensive and clear. Beyond creating a good lease agreement, have a pre-lease discussion with prospective tenants before they sign the lease, and ensure a detailed orientation for new tenants.

Review Your Tenant-Screening Process

As an out-of-state landlord, the kind of people you rent your property to can make your work easier or harder. Ideally, you want to lease your property to quality tenants who won’t need much supervision. This is why you cannot underestimate the importance of proper tenant screening.

Tenant screening should go beyond standard inquiries about a prospective tenant’s income and job security. You also want to look at their ability to care for the property, how they communicate, and their lifestyle.

Establish Effective Communication Systems

Out-of-state landlords must make it easy for their tenants to reach them with effective communication. What they lack in physical presence, they must make up for in accessibility. There should be clear protocols on how to handle emergencies in your rental.

The systems for requesting repairs must be easy to use. You or a member of your team should respond to repair requests by acknowledging messages and informing the tenant of actions being taken to solve the problem.

Hire a Professional Property Manager

The best option for most out-of-state landlords is to hire a reliable property manager. The property manager becomes the person of authority on the premises. They ensure the proper functioning of all the systems and processes set up by the landlord.

The right property manager should have experience working with out-of-state landlords. Their communication skills must be top-notch, and they must know how to interact with tenants to prevent problems.

Set Up an Automated Payment System

Cash payments from tenants make it harder to manage your rental from a distance. Switching to an automated payment system allows for more efficient rent collection.

Tenants can pay directly into your bank account from theirs. This also makes it easier to track payments.

Monitor Expenses Closely

Even with a property manager in charge of your rental, you want to keep a keen eye on your expenses. Robust bookkeeping systems are essential for the success of every rental property, but they are critical for landlords who manage their properties from a distance.

You should be able to quickly allocate cash for unplanned expenses while also imposing controls, reviewing monthly expenses, and scrutinizing the details of large repair items.

Deploy Helpful Technology

One piece of modern technology that is helpful for an out-of-state landlord is a dedicated online portal for your tenants. These online systems allow your tenants to submit repair requests, pay rent and review past communications and payments.

Smart lock systems let you grant access to contractors, vendors, and new tenants without being physically present. Other important technology to consider is leak detection, tenant screening, and property marketing systems.

Inspect Your Property Periodically

At least once a year, you should conduct a comprehensive inspection of your property, alongside a professional.

To ensure that tenants are complying with the terms of the lease, have seasonal inspections. Yearly inspections of all the systems and structures of the building help you catch maintenance issues on time, keeping your repair bill low.

Final Thoughts

Lastly, as already stated, hiring a good property manager to oversee your property will help to reduce your workload while boosting revenue from your property. But make sure the property manager you hire is local and that the company’s culture and values align with yours.

Keyrenter Arkansas works with out-of-state landlords to do all of this and more! Contact us today to see how we can be your trusted partners in managing a successful rental property long-distance.