3 Landlord Myths Debunked-Grinch Holiday Edition

Despite what many real estate novices mistakenly believe, The Grinch would not be a successful landlord. Here are 3 landlord myths that the Grinch might employ that are financially counterproductive to landlords in the long run.

Myth#1: To be a successful landlord, you have to squeeze every last dollar out of rents.

Greedy landlords have vacant apartments.  The market decides how much rent you’ll get as a landlord not you—the person with the money (in this case, the tenant) always decides the price. Being greedy as a landlord exacerbates vacancy. One extra month of vacancy resulting from holding out for slightly higher rent will often wipe out any additional rent you could collect for the year. The most successful landlords are
the ones that collect the most rent checks.

2. Myth #2: Successful landlording is a blood sport where the landlord takes all and the tenant is left bleeding on the floor.

The landlord-tenant relationship is a symbiotic one. The most successful landlords make sure that their tenants are satisfied customers—particularly in the age of social media. As landlords, we need the cooperation of other people including our tenants in order for our rental properties to be profitable.

Myth #3: The key to being successful as a landlord is to bully your way into and seeing what you can get away with.

What goes around comes around and the world keeps getting smaller every day. Your reputation as a landlord and real estate professional is your most important asset, so protect it at all costs by observing the golden rule: do unto others and you would have them do unto you.

For more real estate information and tips visit my blog at geraldlucas.com.