The Landlord’s Edge
Most landlords track the mortgage and the obvious repairs, then wonder where the cash went. The damage is usually a dozen small leaks, not one big hole.
The usual suspects
- Turnover: cleaning, paint, and lost rent between tenants dwarf most repair bills.
- Deferred maintenance: the $80 fix you skip becomes an $800 emergency.
- Payment processing + software: small monthly fees that quietly compound.
- Insurance creep: premiums drift up year over year if you never re-shop.
- Utilities during vacancy: you’re paying while the unit sits empty.
Find your leaks
Export last year’s transactions and tag every line that wasn’t mortgage, tax, or insurance. The total almost always surprises people, and that’s your opportunity list.
Do this first
Re-shop insurance and cut turnover time. Those two moves recover more margin than anything else on the list.