How to Start a Rental Property Business from Your Home

Starting a business isn’t easy. It requires dedication, hard work and strategic planning to succeed. This is especially true in the rental property business. Owning a rental property is akin to tightrope walking. It’s your job to keep yourself balanced and not fall off when a gust of wind blows.

When done right, rental properties can be a fantastic way to build equity and and leave a legacy for your children.

If you are thinking of starting a rental property business, especially from the comfort of your home, here’s everything you need to know.

You need to do your homework

It pays to do your homework before you start. This way, you’ll garner a lot of information and you’ll also avoid common pitfalls.

Try to answer the following questions: What’s the procedure for starting a rental property business? How can I get funding? What’s the rental potential? How’s the competition? Am I ready to be a landlord?

Seek professional help

If you want to start out well, it’s vital that you seek professional help. This is especially important if you are just starting out in the rental property business.

An expert, among other things, will help you:

Plan for your rental property investment
Guide you on the taxes involved
Advise you on the type of rental property to buy

Get some experience

In any business, experience is valuable. We reached out to YMcorp.com to get some more insight on this process. They said “If you feel you haven’t learned much from doing your homework, you should consider working with an established rental property business as a real estate agent.

Getting a job in one of the rental property businesses shouldn’t be hard as there are plenty of them out there. You could also consider doing some volunteer work.

Register your rental property business

Registering your business is the first step to formalizing it. Registering your business basically means you’re listing it with the right local, state and federal agencies to gain official business status.

The corporate affairs offices or the chamber of commerce office is where you can get the ball rolling for your rental property business’s registration. Defining the type of business is important. Is it a partnership, an LLC, or a sole proprietorship?

Set up your home office

Working from home offers many advantages. You get to save on gas and time and be able to enjoy the flexibility of setting your own schedule.

And according to Business For Home.org,

Seven out of ten home-based businesses succeed in the first thirty-six months as compared to three out of ten regular businesses?
Entrepreneurs start a home-based business every twelve seconds?
America is home to over 38 million home-based businesses?

Here are the most important things to consider when setting up your home office.

Colors. The psychology of color is real. Color impacts mood and energy levels.
Ergonomics. Your welfare, safety and health are critical. Consider soft keyboard pads, foot rests, and ergonomic peripherals.
Layout/organization. Organization is key to productivity. Make sure your desk surface is designed to properly accommodate your desktop and/or laptop computer and work-related items.
Lighting. You should strive for as much natural lighting as possible.
Equipment. This includes a computer, internet connectivity, phone line, copier, and so on. Make sure you invest in efficient equipment. Also don’t forget to insure these.

Prepare a business plan

Now that things are looking up, the next thing would be to prepare a business plan. A plan will help you sort out all the details to make your small business dream a reality.

Make sure to include the following in your business plan:

Company description and executive summary. Emphasize what sets your business from your competitors by defining your company’s mission and vision statement.
Projections on income generation. Set realistic expectations for the rental income you’ll be earning. It’s always better to be conservative with your figures.
Miscellaneous. Remember to also include costing and financial projections, management techniques, expansion strategies, SWOT analysis, rental unit pricing, and advertising strategy.

Market your rental properties

Marketing your rental properties is key to having them rented quickly. There are many ways that you can market your rental properties.

Use the power of social media. Social media is king when it comes to advertising your rental property.
Make use of property listing syndication. The goal here is to increase exposure for your rental properties.
Create a video tour. This will make your rental business stand out from the others.
Use quality pictures emphasizing the benefits of your rental. The more pictures, the better.
Write a catchy title and property description.

Set the right rent price for your rental property

Typically, the rent should fall between 0.8% and 1.1% of the property’s value. Here’s more info on how to value your rental property.

There you have it. Basic things you need to know when starting a rental property business from your home. Remember, quality service is the key to success.

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