The Most Stressful Part of Being a Landlord

When you start to think about buying a property in Toronto and renting it out to potential tenants, it seems like a great way to make a steady profit over the years while building equity. Although it can be a great investment, there are stresses that come with the job. From tenant turnover to relations with your tenant, there are several things that you will need to prepare for if you’re interested in becoming a landlord.

Tenant Turnover

A recent study from HomeLet in the UK showed that out of 2000 landlords, 18% found a high turnover of tenants to be the most stressful part of renting out a property. This is a justifiable stress that you may deal with depending on where your property is, the type of tenants that you rent to, and the pricing of your rental. It can be difficult to find people that are willing to stay in your property for a long period of time which forces you to have to find new tenants on a regular basis to maintain a steady income stream.

Non-Paying Tenants

Imagine having a rental property where your tenants were always late on rent or simply unable to come up with the cash that month. You would essentially be giving them a free ride to be in your property and be in a position where you’d be responsible for the unexpected bills that month, and initiating eviction is a stressful and overwhelming process. The HomeLet study suggests that 12% of the participating landlords found that a tenant not paying rent was another huge stress that they had to deal with.

Safety Checks and Regulations

As a landlord it is your responsibility to make sure that your tenants have a safe and comfortable home to live in. In fact, according to many local laws you will need to have regular inspections to ensure that your property is up to code for renting. Keeping up with these safety checks and regulations came as the third (10%) and fourth (8%) most stressful parts of being a landlord, respectively. There can be a variety of factors that make this more difficult such as preparing the property for the inspection and letting the renters know when the inspections are coming.

Finding Good Tenants

Although it wasn’t found to be as stressful as safety checks and a high turnover of tenants, finding good tenants is still an issue that landlords have. You will want to make sure that you choose individuals that will take care of your property, show appreciation for their living space, pay rent on time, and generally be a pleasure to deal with.

Avoid the stress of being a landlord by working with a Toronto property management company like Medallion Capital Group. From screening tenants to collecting rent, we offer a full suite of property management services so you get all the advantages of being a landlord with none of the stress.