Congratulations on purchasing your first rental property in the Henderson, Las Vegas, or North Las Vegas area! This is an exciting time full of financial opportunities for you. However, it can also be a little overwhelming to know where to start and what the best steps to take are to make the most out of your investment. Owning a Henderson or Las Vegas rental property can be a lot of work, especially if you don’t get everything organized early on in the process. If you are not sure what to do next, here are some essential things to do after purchasing your first rental property.

Complete a Full Assessment of What Needs to Be Done

A great place to start is to do a full assessment of your new rental property. You want to make a detailed list of all the repairs and upgrades that need to be done before you can rent the property to your first tenant. It is important to document all of these things and to prioritize them right away. Walk through the rental property and thoroughly evaluate what work needs to be done. This could be in the form of plumbing repairs, paint touch-ups, replacing the tile or carpets, upgrading old appliances or the HVAC unit, or simply doing a deep cleaning.

By documenting everything that needs to be done, you will have a comprehensive list of what you need to accomplish. You can group things together based on the type of specialist you will need, or can prioritize the tasks by the severity of the damage. This way, you won’t have to hire a plumber or electrician multiple times for issues that you didn’t notice before when you could have had everything repaired all at once.

Compare Contractor Rates for Repairs

It is true that many Henderson and Las Vegas property owners are capable of doing some repairs on their own. However, others may be a little out of their area of expertise when it comes to more complex issues. The more complicated repairs will require the work of a professional contractor to get the property move-in ready. Now that you have already done a full assessment of the rental property and have a list of everything that needs to be repaired, you can start reaching out to specialists for quotes on the work.

If you do not already have a handyman or other maintenance worker that you trust and partner with regularly, it is a good idea to get multiple quotes for the repairs your rental property needs. Even if the first quote sounds reasonable, it never hurts to have a second opinion. You may even find that some contractors will offer a discount for multiple jobs or are experienced in more than one area. That could end up saving you a substantial amount of money in the long run.

Get Property Insurance

If you do not already have property insurance on your new rental property, you should get property insurance as soon as possible. You want to make sure you are fully covered before you even think about renting to your first tenant. Even if it is a single-family home you have purchased, you are required to have different types of coverage if you plan on renting out your property, especially if it was not paid off in full.

When searching for the right property insurance policy for your rental property, think about what coverage you will need. This might include:

• Dwelling protection
• Liability coverage
• Fire and flood protection
• Fair rental income coverage
• Premises medical protection
• Vandalism coverage
• Burglary coverage
• Building code coverage (covers improvements that bring the property up to building code ordinances, including maintenance and repairs)
• Heating and air conditioning loss reimbursement

Depending on the condition of the building or the area in which the rental property is located, you may want to consider additional coverage. Ultimately, you want to financially protect yourself from anything that could happen while your tenant is living in your property.

Review Your Debt Payment Strategy

If you are like most property owners, you were not able to pay for the property in full when you purchased it. This means that you have a mortgage or another type of loan for which you are responsible. Another great thing to do after purchasing your first Henderson or Las Vegas rental property is to look over your finances and review your strategy to pay off your debt.

You will initially have several expenses tied to repairs or maintenance of the rental property, which can be daunting. Many first-time landlords and property owners in Henderson and Las Vegas will stress over these expenses, and maybe even rush through the repairs or cut corners as a result. However, if you have a strategy in place and know exactly where your finances stand, you will have a better understanding of how you will be able to use your rental income to pay off both short-term and long-term debts.

Hire an Experienced Property Manager

One of the best things you can do to get everything lined up after you purchase your first rental property is to work with an experienced Henderson or Las Vegas property manager. A professional property management company will have the expertise, professional connections, technological programs, and services you will need to streamline the business and optimize your rental income. Even if you don’t know exactly where to get started, contacting a property manager for a consultation will help you understand which services you may need and how those services will help you get everything ready before you rent out your property.

The knowledgeable property management team at Black and Cherry offer every essential service for property owners, including:

• Tenant Screening
• Lease agreements
• Rent collection
• Tenant communication
• Property maintenance
• Advertising/Marketing rental vacancies
• Accounting

If you are ready to partner with a trusted Henderson or Las Vegas property management company that has a proven success record in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Henderson, contact Black & Cherry today to learn about all the ways that we can help you!