Owning rental property has always been an excellent way to make extra money each month. As long as you’re making a profit and you have good tenants, it can be a very pleasant experience. However, if your tenants are always late with their rent payments and cause damage to your apartment, being a landlord can be more trouble than it's worth. The ideal situation is finding a nice tenant and then, in turn, being a good landlord. Here are some tips to help you become a successful and happy landlord.

Before you start screening prospective tenants, find out what sort of insurance you need. Make sure that you have the maximum amount of rental insurance and property liability insurance. This can help protect you from devastating losses in the future.

Once that is taken care of, make the apartment you're renting as comfortable as possible. A fresh coat of paint, inexpensive new carpet and clean appliances make an apartment very rentable. No one wants to rent a shabby, dirty apartment.

When you start meeting potential tenants, it's always important to ask for and then check references. Talk to their previous landlord. Make each interested person fill out a rental application. A completed rental application will give you the information you need to make an educated decision.

With identity theft running rampant, insist on seeing a valid photo identification card. The rental application should include a section to write down the driver's license number. Make a photocopy of the photo ID to attach to the application.

Checking up on your potential tenant's past can help ensure that there will be no problems in the future.

If your future tenant has a history of destroying property and/or not paying his rent, you may be able to find this out through a background check. A credit check is a must as well.

Once you've found the tenant for you, make him sign a lease and put everything important in writing. This will protect your interests and his.

If a tenant needs to have something fixed, ask him to provide the request in writing in addition to telling you on the phone or in person. This will help you with your income tax deductions and create a history for each tenant.

Be available to take phone calls from your tenant and check into problems in a timely manner. Your tenants deserve to have decent living conditions. In the case of furnaces and other necessary appliances and fixtures, repairs simply cannot be put off. This is a give and take relationship. No one wants to live without hot water for three days.

If you trust and respect your tenants needs and vice versa, you’ll be a happy landlord.