Property investment is, by far, one of the best investment choices available to you. The great thing about it is that anyone can become a property investor. You don’t need to have huge amounts of experience or even that much initial capital to invest. You just need to take care with your money and be willing to put in the right amount of time and energy into the property itself. But there are some pretty common mistakes that first-time property investors tend to make. Luckily, a lot of these mistakes are also fairly easily avoided as well. With that in mind, here are some important things to consider before putting any money down on your first investment property.

What kind of property do you want?

One of the most overlooked things for a lot of investors is what kind of property they’re actually looking for. There are a lot of different factors to consider and each comes with their own set of advice. Whether you need a guide to purchasing in Montenegro or guidance in how to fix up a dilapidated property without emptying your bank account, there’s a lot of great advice out there. But if you want to make the most of that advice, the first thing you need to do is understand what it is that you’re actually looking for.

How much time can you commit to it?

Far too many first time landlords make the mistake of assuming that all they have to do is find a tenant and then sit back and watch the rent come rolling in. Now while you shouldn’t be spending every single day going back and forth to the property, you certainly won’t be able to take a completely passive role in its management. Depending on the age and quality of the property, there could well be repairs and essential maintenance that need to be dealt with. The vast majority of the time that’s going to be your responsibility, so you need to be sure that you have the time, and the money, to deal with all of those things without it negatively impacting your life.

What kind of tenant do you want?

Different properties attract different tenants, and you need to be careful that you’re attracting the right kind of people. Don’t fall into the trap of assuming that higher income tenants will be more respectful and reliable than low-income tenants. Now matter what the rental rates are on your property, screen your tenants carefully, get references from previous landlords and meet with them personally to ensure that you’re comfortable with them before signing any paperwork. The right tenants can make your life incredibly easy but the wrong ones can turn it into a waking nightmare.

The reality is that investing in property is always going to be a challenge and something that you can’t go into lightly. Trying to push ahead into something that you don’t fully understand is always just going to cause you a whole lot of problems in the long run.