Rental property can be a great way for a real estate investor to earn passive income. It seems to be an asset that continues to go up in value.
Even a studio apartment in San Juan, Puerto Rico can average around $1,000 per month.
If you are about to buy your first property, you may be wondering what you should do next. Here are some tips.
Get Some Insurance
One of the first things that you should do when you own an investment property is to get some insurance for it. Truthfully, this should be something that you do as soon as you close on the property.
Having insurance can protect you from a few things. For starters, it may help you when you have unexpected damage to your apartment building.
It can also help you cover legal fees if a tenant decides to sue you for something that occurred on your property.
Something that you have to consider more and more in Puerto Rico is the weather. The reason for this is the devastating effects that recent hurricanes have had on the island.
Hurricane Fiona hit landfall as recently as last year. As a result, the island had 22 inches of rainfall and lost power.
If another big hurricane hits the island, you could be on the hook for the damages yourself if you do not have the proper insurance.
Research the Laws
Another thing you are going to want to do is to conduct some research on some local laws about owning an apartment building.
Is there a limit to how much you can raise rent? Can you do any expansion to your building without a permit? What are the minimum responsibilities you have as a landlord to your tenants?
These are questions you are going to want to have answered before you have tenants filling your apartment building.
Hire a Property Management Team
If this is your first rental property, you may be overwhelmed with how much responsibility you have to run an entire apartment building. Luckily, you do not have to do this alone.
A property management team can help you take on the daily responsibilities of the property. They can even do enough work where you do not even have to live near the property.
Property managers can also help you with things discussed above such as legal responsibility you have as well as determining the appropriate rent price.
Become a Real Estate Investor
These are some things you should do as a real estate investor once you buy your first rental property. You are going to want to get some insurance, especially in a place vulnerable to hurricanes like Puerto Rico.
Then, you want to get a good idea of what legal responsibility you have as the building owner. Finally, you may want to outsource daily property management tasks to a property management service.
Are you ready to get started? Get a free rental analysis here.
