Nobody desires to pay out money- The fact remains that being a land owner you purchased the property to earn! But here are a few pointers to spending money at the correct place which would definitely save you a lot of money in the future.

The first area worthy of investment is landscaping. Think about it. The very first thing any prospective tenant sees is the property’s front yard. You definitely want to make a good first impression, so take the time and money to hire a good landscaper…and front the property’s water bill. Your future tenants will enjoy all a good, well-kept yard has to offer, with the added luxury of not having to do any of the upkeep themselves. Get an inexpensive sprinkler system installed to keep everything watered, and hire a good gardener to take care of it all. A big part of the appeal of renting is the lack of yard work on the tenants’ part- don’t let your lawn reflect that fact!

So now that you’ve got a lovely lawn and the upkeep is in competent hands, you need to consider advertising! If you don’t present your property to prospective tenants, they’ll never come- how can they, if they don’t know you’re there? The first and most obvious thing to do is to place a sign in the front of the property that states you are now leasing, but then you must branch out from there, especially if your area sees little traffic. Now, I’m not going to tell you to invest in newspaper ads and such- those are costly and besides, the print media sees fewer and fewer readers anymore. Instead, turn to the Internet, where certain sites offer FREE advertising. Try putting your ad up on Craigslist, to start with. You’ll get tons of views and not have to spend a penny.

3. Property Management Company Image: People would dislike signing a lease contract with someone that is not interested in finding out how they are going on at the rented place. Taking an alternate phone number and a P.O. Box could be a cheap alternative. You do not want to let your tenants be aware of the place where you are residing and that your phone is your cell.

The start of the paperwork trail is often where incompetent landlords finish themselves. Don’t be them. Spend a little extra to have an absolutely flawless, state-specific lease that takes every last bit of legality and every potential dispute into account. A generic form will do you more harm than good if you wind up in court with your tenant.

5. 3-Day Notices: You should take active measures without any fear against the tenants who do not pay rent in a timely manner. If you are prompt enough to send him a 3-Day notice to pay or vacate the very first time he is late in paying rent, you can guarantee that he would never be late again.

Be firm and give the tenant the notice the EXACT day that you find it necessary to do so. This is where that alternate contact info will help you again- having it come from Management rather than from you lets Management be the “bad guys” instead of you. With good investments made in landscaping, contacts and a lease, your place well-advertised and you being quick with notices, you’ll save yourself literally thousands and your career as a landlord will become as profitable as you’ve hoped.

Layla Vanderbilt is the content coordinator for a leading property management solution review website which connects people with the leading property management tools.