As sixty-eight percent of households across America consist of pet owners, rental property owners are in a position to offer advantages to highly motivated, pet-owning renters. At the same time, opening your home up to animals can be a risky venture. Cats can sometimes scratch at door posts and dogs can bark non-stop for days while munching on shoe molding. However, it is worth noting that not ALL animals have bad habits and the risk can be worth taking if you, as an owner, collect a large pet deposit and include a monthly pet fee in your lease agreement.
As a landlord or rental property owner, identify the truly important decisions.
It is easy to get so focused on the success of your business that every decision, regardless of size, seems monumentally important. Here's the bottom line: paint color isn't nearly as important as zeroing in on a property management company and selecting the appropriate tenant. No one cares that you painted the house flat white instead of a glossy eggshell and it's okay that you purchased cheaper gold fixtures rather than a brushed nickel toilet paper holder. Those are not decisions which will make or break you in the business world. Those choices should go straight to the bottom of the pile of decisions to be made. Expend your energy and time on the big picture. Don't wait until the end of the day when you feel like your brain just can't process anymore, resulting in costly procrastination.
Think about a typical day. Note when you are the least interrupted and exercise willpower in order to execute your schedule and stick to it.
Attention, Investors:
Decision fatigue is real and investors often face such exhaustion as the buck stops with them on all things marketing, rehabbing, leasing, selling, maintenance, etc. related to their real estate investments. Once again, many decisions are trivial and can easily be delegated to someone who doesn't bear the brunt of the project.
As an investor, focus on the bigger decisions with the bigger price tags. Leave paint selection to someone else. As you gain experienced, you will accomplish bigger projects as you learn to prioritize, categorize and delegate decision making. As foreman, boss and financier, you are the only one who can make the big ticket decisions. They won't always be correct however your experiences will grow and expand as you learn from each decision. Spend that mental energy wisely and outsource the small stuff!
