Trying to decide whether to handle your property on your own or work with a property management company? If so, then you are in the right place! By the end of this post, you’ll have all the information right in your fingertips.
First and foremost, there is a great deal of work that goes into managing a rental property. Among other things, you’ll need to:
Know the law. Specifically, the federal, state, and local landlord-tenant law.
Regularly maintain and repair the rental property. Remember, as a landlord, the law requires you to keep the property in safe and habitable conditions.
Enforce the terms of the lease. A lease is a legally binding document between you and your tenant. In addition to carefully documenting it for your protection, you must also enforce it.
Collect rent in a timely fashion. Rent is core to the rental business. To run a successful business, its collection needs to be timely and reliable.
Find the right tenant. The right tenant can make your life a dream, but a bad tenant can cause you stress, aggravation, and money.
So, are you still up to the task? Well if you are not, here is the good news – you can still hire a good property manager to do it for you.
A good property manager will put your mind at ease, free up your time, and add value to your investment.
The experts at Upkeep Media suggest that there is an abundance of reasons why serious investors should consider working with a professional property management company.
Let’s look at six benefits of working with a professional property management company:
High-Quality Tenants
A high-quality tenant is crucial to lowering costs over the long run. It’s one with a good credit score, good rental history, a clean rental record, and a stable and high level of income.
A tenant with such qualities is every landlord’s dream. However, they can be quite elusive without a proper screening process.
In fact, without a solid tenant screening process in place, you might just end up getting the exact opposite. That is one who you might end up having to evict due to their bad behaviors.
Property managers have been in the business for a long period of time. They have reliable and tried-and-tested processes that help them weed out the bad from the good. This helps them find tenants that:
Causes less wear and tear on the property
Pay rent on time
Rent long-term
Cause fewer problems
Shorter periods of vacancies
It goes without saying that vacant rental property is every landlord’s worst nightmare. It essentially means no income at the end of the month.
By hiring a professional property manager, you can help reduce the amount of time your property sits vacant. This is because property managers have proven and tested tools and strategies that can help market your property to the right tenant pool.
Less Legal Problems
Being a landlord is a complicated endeavor. You may unintentionally find yourself making mistakes such as:
Disregarding tenant’s right to privacy. Tenants have a right to the quiet enjoyment of their homes. To enter the unit, you must provide them with adequate notice, usually 24 hours.
Refusing to make repairs. As a landlord, you have an obligation to ensure that your property is habitable.
Failure to provide a safe environment. You have a duty to ensure your tenant has a safe living environment.
Using illegal provisions in a rental agreement. You can find yourself in a legal hot soup if you place discriminatory conditions in your rental agreement.
Failure to make disclosures to prospective tenants. Different states have different requirements in regards to what landlords must disclosure to their tenants.
Asking discriminatory questions. Did you know it’s illegal to ask certain questions when interviewing your tenants? For example, asking your tenant:
Do you go to church in this neighborhood?
Where do your kids go to school?
Are you pregnant? I don’t want a baby disturbing the other tenants.
Where were your parents born?
You can avoid all these issues and more by hiring the right person. A good property manager is well-versed with the federal, state, and local laws guiding the landlord-tenant relationship.
Long-Term Tenants
Long-term tenants are great for cash flow. They help guarantee income at the end of the month.
Short-term tenants, on the other hand, mean a series of issues. For one, it means lost rent. It also means high maintenance costs, as you’ll have to do things like clean the property, replace carpets, and repaint the walls every time a turnover happens.
Did I also mention that you’ll also have to market the property and screen potential tenants once again? Well, these costs can quickly add up.
Hiring a professional is the only way to increase your odds of landing a high-quality, long-term tenant. Remember, though, not all property managers are created equal. As such, when interviewing them, make sure you check their tenant retention policy.
Improved Property Value
Regular property repair and maintenance is key to improving the value of your property. Good property managers usually conduct four inspections per lease period. These are:
When tenants first move into the property. This helps document the condition of the property.
During a drive-by. This helps check for common lease violations such as subletting or unauthorized pets.
When seasons change. Every season calls for certain maintenance tasks. In winter, for example, winterizing pipes is important.
When tenants finally move out. Many leases require that tenants return the properties in much the same way they found them. The move-in inspection report acts as a checklist. The tenant then becomes liable for any excessive property damage discovered.
Efficient Rent Collection
You probably know that reliability and consistency in rent collection is key to the success of a rental business. As such, you must ensure you have the right systems to help make this possible.
A professional property manager can also help you with this. They will help you put the right rent rules in your lease and help enforce them to the letter.
To sum, by hiring a professional property manager, you can add great value to your rental property investments. Just remember to do your homework first, as not all property managers are created equal.
