What are Landlord Associations? - Intro and Benefits
Do landlord associations valuable offer real value or are they simply a complete waste of your time and money? Find out the answers right here.
What are Associations for Landlords? - Introduction
Landlord associations are organizations are set up to uphold and protect the interests of rental property owners in a particular area. In real life you can consider these associations as your local club for landlords where you can turn to for help and advice.
You can also imagine these associations as a offline version of landlord forums where you can discuss landlord issues and socialize with other rental property owners in your area.
Associations for landlords can vary wildly in their size and range of services. Some of them have less than 50 members and cater to landlords in particular neighborhoods. On the other end, we have mammoth associations with member numbers running into six figures and spanning across entire countries.
Naturally all this help and support comes with a price tag. To become an association landlord, you can usually expect to pay a yearly fee of $100 to 250.
Benefits of Joining Landlord Associations
The whole point of becoming an association landlord is to make your life easier. Some services are included with the basic membership fees while you will have to fork out extra for add-on services.
If you're looking for discounts on landlord services such as rental property insurance or property management, some associations do have tie-ins with these companies and will be able to offer you group discounts and special bargains - Click here for the best ways to lower property insurance rates.
This list of landlord-related businesses can include rental property accounting, landlord insurance, rent collection, tenant screening, property repairs, property management and landlord lawyers.
Finally if you want to play a pro-active role in fighting for your landlord rights, you can also consider joining a powerful association that will lobby and push for benefits with your local government.
Getting Advice and Help from Associations
Becoming an association landlord can be an easy way for you stay in touch with the latest local landlord news. Some associations will send you offline magazines, online newsletters or post related news on their websites
If you are looking for free landlord forms and other legal documents, most associations for landlords have a ready supply that you can download online or collect by snail mail.
Looking for a place where you can ask for help or share your experiences when it comes to landlord tenant issues? Some associations do have a chat line where you call help for advice. It's also common for them to have online forums and discussion boards for members to interact with one another.
Some landlord associations will also provide members with basic guides on how to manage tenants and rental property. While this information is probably nothing new to seasoned landlords, they will come in helpful if you're just starting out.
Now that you know the benefits of being an association landlord, find out what are the drawbacks:
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