Landlording is really a business of risk management.
You look at properties until you find the lowest risk property with the best potential and you buy it.
You advertise for tenants and meet people and determine who is the least riskiest option.
You purchase insurance and choose the options that reduce your risk of exposure to lawsuits or big expenses as much as possible.
It seems like all we do is risk management.
Or at least that’s how it feels.
We Also Create Homes
This is the rewarding part of being a landlord. Creating a home for an individual, a couple or even a family.
And if you do it right, if you take care of your property and take care of the tenant they stay for a long time rewarding you for creating a home.
It often feels like a fine line between your game of risk management and creating a home, but once you discover that line or how far you will go to either side it does get easier.
Maybe you take a bit more risk with some borderline tenants that you simply have a good feel for.
Maybe you pick a property that might not be as good of an initial investment, but you know with time, patience and some sweat equity it turns into a little gem.
These are additional risks you take over time, as you become more comfortable with your landlording business.
You Need To Find Your Comfort Zone
The problem for many newer landlords is they don’t know where the lines are. The problem for many time hardened veteran landlords is they’ve forgotten where the lines are.
You simply need to find that ground that is firm enough to hold you and to carry you forward.
That comfort zone that works for you, that allows you to sleep through the night and that still gives you the end result you were hoping for.
If you’re finding owning property is getting to stressful, if you hate your tenants or you’re getting burnt out, maybe it’s time to step back and re-find your comfort zone.
If you’re finding yourself just getting started and you’re stressed out about what to buy, how to find tenants and what to do next, find that comfort zone that will help you move forward.
While being a landlord is a matter of risk management, thee is some huge benefits to creating homes for people, so find that happy middle ground and get comfortable.
When I started this article I had a fuzzy vision of what I wanted to write. Once I started to write it my vision seemed to get lost, so I wrapped it up and came back to totally re-write it.
Yet, when I read it again I found I liked what I had. Was I wrong? Did you take something away from this? Or have I wandered to far?