What are the Expenses of Owning a Rental Property?

The expenses of owning a rental property can vary significantly depending on the type of investment and location. For example, if you own an apartment building in Manhattan, your monthly expenses will be much higher than if you owned a duplex outside of Detroit. There are many factors to take into consideration when calculating the cost to operate a rental property including mortgage payments, insurance premiums, utilities for the home, and upkeep costs such as repairs or landscaping.

Expenses of a Rental Property

• Property taxes
• Annual insurance costs for the home and structures on the property
• Necessary repairs or replacements, especially in between tenants’ leases.
• Improvements to maintain livability that will improve the marketability of the property (like new appliances, flooring, etc)
• Tenant screening expenses to make sure you don’t have any issues with unfavorable conditions like a chronic tenant who brings bugs into your apartment building due to neglecting hygiene or poor pets allowed.
• Utility bills for water, sewer, cooking gas/electricity cost if buildings do not have meters; rental income must cover these expenses because you can’t expect tenants to foot this bill as well.

For more information, visit our page on rental property expenses.