How to Achieve Real Estate Success

Renting out your house fast, inexpensively, and to good tenants who will treat your house like it's their own is the fastest path to real estate success.

Bart Beale shared 5 real estate success tips that have worked for me and that I hope will be successful for your house rentals as well.

1. Set the Property Expectations

Setting the right expectations with your tenants will pave the way toward success in real estate.

With your renters, enforce the date that the rent is due and send out notices if you have to. If you send out rent statements, do it on the same day each month, make sure that repairs are done promptly, and deposit their rent checks on a regular schedule.

Depositing rent checks right away sets the right expectation with your renters and lets them know that they won't be able to float checks.

2. Have Reliable Go-To Repair People

Ask for referrals from vendors you have now and that work well with you. People know and work with people like themselves, and odds are having one good supplier will lead to a long list of others.

You'll achieve real estate success much quicker by paying your vendors on-time - or even early - and by not nickel and diming them. I've found that when I do this, that in return I get very competitive pricing and extremely reliable service.

3. On-Line Billing and Payment Options

Sending your monthly rent statements by email and giving your tenants the option to pay on-line can improve the timing of your cash flow and give your property management a more professional look.

One word of advice: I find that when you ask tenants if they'd like to pay on-line almost all of them will say yes. In reality, only a small percentage may actually do this. The rest will simply print out the rent statement you send them and mail their check in or drop it off at the office.
The take away?

I think it's still a great service to offer, and can definitely contribute to your success, just don't spend a lot of money setting up a system like this. Most banks will offer one for just a few dollars a month.

4. Websites and the Internet

If you don't have a property website set up, make that one of your resolutions.

So much marketing is now done over the internet today. If you don't have a web presence, you'll run the risk of being viewed as backward and unprofessional - and end up attracting tenants that will try to take advantage of what they see as a novice real estate investor.

One of our sister websites has in-depth information on website development and internet marketing. Take a look at Easy Real Estate 101 when you have a minute.

5.  Real Estate Flyers

You simply don't have to spend a lot of money - or no money at all - in designing a real estate flyer.

What works best for me is create a template that I can use for any house for rent, then simply change a little bit of copy and pictures for a quick-and-easy real estate flyer.