Owning rental properties can be a financially rewarding endeavor, but regularly managing those properties can be tricky. Ask yourself these questions. Do you live near your property? Do you have several hours a month or even days to devote to management? Are you handy? And are you looking to expand your business?
Most often, managing your properties with the do-it-yourself route is just not practical. The process can be time-consuming, especially if you don't live nearby or own multiple rental homes. To save a tremendous amount of effort and inconvenience, many owners take the route of hiring a Professional Property Manager. The peace of mind a Property Manager can offer is one of their most attractive qualities.
Here are the top benefits to hiring a Professional Property Manager and how they can deliver the gifts of efficiency, time, and freedom while still bringing in income for you.
Marketing the Property
The most effective way to lease out your rental property is by developing a strategic marketing strategy and getting eyes on your rental. A Professional Property Manager will not only take on the task of ensuring that prospective tenants see your listing on all the top real estate websites but that it is presented in a way that is attractive and gains occupancy. Your rental property is most likely not the only one in the area, so ensuring your rental is competitive right down to the rental rate is vital.
Once you've launched your rental and start receiving inquiries, the job does not stop there. The Property Manager would then be responsible for responding and screening what could be an overwhelming amount of phone calls and emails. This next step is crucial because protecting you from a rental home sitting vacant for months on end is a Property Manager's most important job.
Finding & Screening Tenants
A Property Manager's top priority is keeping your rental occupied, and that includes weeding out serious tenants from unqualified ones. Depending on your property's location, price, and desirability, the list of interested tenants could become quite extensive. Thus, screening the applicants and determining who is the right candidate versus who may not be is one of the Property Manager's most important responsibilities. Qualifying tenants includes verifying the applicants:
- Income
- Eviction history
- Criminal background
- Credit report
Finding a qualified, reliable tenant is essential to ensuring that your rental home stays occupied, cared for, and continually brings in revenue, rather than becoming an unexpected expense.
Maintenance
Maintaining your rental properties is another key piece to securing a successful operation. This ensures the home retains its high desirability and helps reduce the likelihood of unexpected and extensive costly repairs. In addition, answering and assessing maintenance requests from tenants is part of the process as well.
While being handy is one thing, this can require extensive time and money if not appropriately maintained. Therefore, having strong relationships with various vendors is a part of owning investment properties. For a Professional Property Manager, this is where their offer can be tough to duplicate. Their networks can connect your properties with the best and most reputable vendors, who know the industry, and at the best or even reduced prices. The best part is that they will handle any necessary maintenance projects so you can focus on the more essential aspects of the business, like growing your portfolio.
This also means that when your tenant's air conditioning breaks in the middle of the night, you can rest assured that the situation is being correctly handled without having to get out of bed to fix it yourself.
Challenging Tenants
Even with the most responsible tenants, difficult circumstances may arise and must be addressed. With a Property Manager by your side, they can help guide you and deal with challenging situations. They will handle any discussions regarding late rent, thorough care of the property, or when any conflict resolution is needed. Their part also includes helping you maintain a positive tenant-landlord relationship.
Most importantly, they ensure you conduct yourself according to the law.
Paperwork
Managing, organizing, and adjusting the paperwork that comes with rental properties alone can be a full-time job. You must stay on top of your leasing agreements, income, expenses, and miscellaneous reports at all times so that nothing gets overlooked. In addition, staying in compliance with the law and knowing proper protocols for particular situations is where having a Property Manager can be invaluable as they will make sure you are in the know.
Property managers will handle these tedious tasks and other necessary business transactions, such as bounced checks and eviction notices. With your finances and rental agreement paperwork organized, compliant, and easily accessible, you will know exactly where you stand with each tenant and property at any minute of the day.
Move-Out Inspections
A move-out inspection must occur when the time comes for one tenant to move out and before another replaces them. Hiring managers will not only make sure that any damages are documented during the walk-through, but they will also schedule the inspection at the appropriate time. Remember, their goal is to protect your investment, and they will help prevent any problems from occurring by ensuring the move-out inspection and paperwork are completed promptly.
Time & Money
Investing in properties is a business and should be treated as such. And a business is a full-time job. Getting that business to flourish and grow typically takes some help because it involves time and money. Hiring a full-service Property Manager is one of the best choices you can make for your time and money. While they run operations, administration, legalities, and almost anything else you can think of, your time is focused on more important things, and your business is receiving the proper care and attention.
At the end of the day, a Property Manager's job is to save you from unnecessary stress, inconvenience and help make your business profitable. If you are still tempted to manage your rental properties on your own, be clear about your motivation and goals. And ask yourself, are the benefits worth the costs?
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