Real estate investing is a business, and like any business, real estate investors have to work at it. Once the income property is purchased, therefore, and the investor becomes a landlord, the goal (unless the investment property is land) must become getting the units full, and at the highest rent per square foot possible.

This is where property management comes in, and decisions made to handle issues like parking (which typically gets overlooked by landlords).

How you maintain your rental property parking area depends on whether you have open parking, garages, carports, or a subterranean parking structure. But aside from the maintenance, there are common-sense principals about rental property parking that real estate investors are advised to understand.

Foremost, paint numbers on the spots and assign them to your tenants (even if you have open parking). Feuds between tenants in a building erupt quickly when someone monopolizes all the parking, whereas assigning parking spots to tenants do help eliminate any potential conflicts.

Extra parking spaces in your rental property can be used for several things. For an extra monthly fee, they can be made available to tenants who need more parking. Or, they can (and probably should be) designated for guest parking. Unless there are specific governing rules to the contrary, one guest space for every four units is a good rule of thumb.

Moreover, your parking area should have a sign clearly posted that says you have the legal right to remove any non-tenant cars from tenant spots. In most cases, your tenants will appreciate this. Just be sure to check with your city regarding their policies because most cities require posting a sign that cites the corresponding vehicle code and a phone number to call if a car is towed.

Parking rules should be spelled out in your rental agreements, as well as posted in the parking area. Here are some suggestions.

1. Tenants are to park in designated areas only
2. Guests are to park in assigned areas only
3. There is no storage of flammable or dangerous materials allowed
4. Car washing in parking areas is not permitted (unless, of course, it is)
5. Auto repairs or oil changing in the parking area is prohibited

Naturally, driveways and parking surfaces should be properly maintained and serviced. The last thing a landlord wants to hear is that a tenant got injured or sustained car damage due to a hole in the pavement. Besides your tenants see these areas every day, and they are part of the overall appearance of your building. If you fix small cracks and holes as they occur, it will save you a major expense later on.

Yes, real estate investing is a business, and proper management of that business, along with good management of the property is essential. The policies affecting the rental property parking area is one of those concerns about real estate investing that real estate investors should address.

Purchasing vacant land that has the lowest basic value and turning it into a pyramid of values that includes everything from commercial sites to parks is what land speculation real estate investment is all about.

The key to land speculation for real estate investing, therefore, is due diligence. Real estate investors must determine the pattern of growth in the community and tie that together with the future infrastructure planned by the community.

Advantages of Land Speculation

When circumstances are favorable, there can be little risk to this type of real estate investment if the real estate investors have the time and carrying ability. If the land can be banked for several (perhaps numerous) years, land speculation can be a profitable real estate investing opportunity.

Disadvantages of Land Speculation

The primary disadvantage of land speculation is that local governments commonly change plans for future development, or cancel future projects altogether. Moreover, long-term real estate investing in land can be difficult and expensive. Taxes can increase substantially; building restrictions or moratoriums can limit or prohibit reasonable development; utilities brought to the site may be charged against the property owner; and so on.

Land speculation, of course, is just one of several types of real estate investing opportunities available to real estate investors.

If you’ve been real estate investing for any amount of time chances are you’ve had to evict a problem tenant. Eviction is just one of those nuances of investment property ownership that will not go away. Tenants, sometimes even despite their best intentions, are going to experience the hardship of paying rent and have to be evicted.

Thankfully, a real estate investor does have legal recourse to defend his or her rights against a tenant occupying an income property while refusing to pay rent in a process known as eviction. On the downside, however, eviction is bad for the real estate investor because it means a disruption in rental income along with the time and cost it takes to evict a tenant.

Worst of all, eviction is an ugly process. The removal of a family or an individual from the place where he or she lives does not sit well with society, and usually the tenant comes off looking like a victim and the owner is perceived as the bad guy. You might find the courts very sympathetic to the tenant and very critical of your points for bringing the action for eviction. Moreover, the decision of the court might actually rule in favor of the tenant.

Of course eviction would not be required in a perfect world, but in reality people do exist that are going to contradict the parameters a landlord has set for his or her rental properties, and as a consequence tenants must be taken to court and eviction cases do occur.

Okay, as a rental property owner what can you do when faced with a problem tenant and the probability of an ensuing eviction? Here are some guidelines.

1. Before beginning on eviction, try to negotiate a meeting of the minds with the tenant. Sometimes this will result in a better outcome.
2. Study the rules in the state where your property is located. Mistakes may result in losing your case or cause you to restart your case all over again.
3. Abide by the grace period stated in your lease or rental agreement. You cannot start an eviction until the legal grace period given a tenant to pay the back rent in full has lapsed.
4. Beware of charges of landlord retaliation. Never evict a tenant for the sake of vengeance or because you are mad with the tenant for some reason.
5. Avoid face-to-face confrontations with the tenant that might result in you saying something stupid or might give the tenant cause to make other claims, such as discrimination.
6. Carefully weight the odds of winning and in cases of uncertainty, perhaps consider avoiding eviction and lawsuits and offer the problem tenant money to vacate the unit.

Knowing when to evict a tenant, understanding the eviction process and state guidelines, representing yourself in court, and staying clear of eviction pitfalls are one of many nuances of real estate investing that no real estate investor wished for, but a reality, nonetheless. Smart real estate investors, therefore, do not ignore learning about eviction, and are achieving success because they have discovered how to cope with it effectively.