Do you own an investment property that you’re renting out, and you’re currently handling each of the chores of being a landlord yourself?
Are you thinking about buying rental properties, but you’re not sure if you’re up for the task to be a landlord?
If you answered yes to either of those questions, whether you are holding onto or considering purchasing a single-family rental (SFR), duplex, or triplex, you should think about engaging a specialist property management firm to take the task off your shoulders.
Let’s take a look at what property management is, what a professional management company handles, and how to decide not only whether it’s time to hire one but additionally how to hire the right property management firm.
What is Property Management?
Let’s start with getting an understanding of what a property management firm does and doesn’t do. There are numerous critical tasks a property manager can help you with.
Setting the proper rental rate: You can always ballpark this by looking through the classifieds, but an excellent property management company actually conducts thorough market studies to set a rental price for the property. This makes sure you have a great balance between maximizing your monthly income and keeping a low vacancy rate.
Collecting the rent: Just about the most difficult aspects of being truly a landlord is collecting the rent. Property management firms have efficient, tried-and-true systems that may do a great job of collecting the rent and maintaining on-time payments.
Advertising your rental unit: When vacancies occur, you want the rental unit occupied as quickly as possible. A specialist property management firm has experience that helps it market your premises in just the rate solution to make certain someone moves in quickly.
Finding and managing tenants: The property management firm will take the task out of finding and managing tenants for you personally. This means screening new tenants for criminal and credit checks, collecting references, and getting the lease signed. Once the home is occupied, handling routine and emergency maintenance and inspections are section of what a professional management company will do for you.
Managing relationships with contractors along with other vendors: Do you have deep-seated relationships challenging maintenance workers, tradesmen, contractors, suppliers, and vendors had a need to properly manage your rental? Probably not. But a property management firm does and will get you the best work with the very best price, while handling the burden of overseeing necessary maintenance projects for you personally.
Keeping you in compliance with the laws Housing regulations and property laws are complicated and confusing when you’re renting and maintaining your rental property. These range from local, state, and federal regulations, alongside fair housing regulations like the Americans with Disabilities Act. A house manager will keep you out of warm water by keeping your property up-to-date and in compliance with many of these regulations.
Allowing you to invest from afar: If you have moved to a location where buying rental units don’t seem sensible, you might think that investing in SFRs or other rental properties isn’t possible. With a good property management company with you, you won’t be so limited in your investment opportunities.
I only have one property; so why do I need a property manager?
If just reading through each of the tasks that a property manager can handle for you personally isn’t convincing enough, consider this: do you wish to be able to go on vacation without interruption? You don’t enjoy phone calls about supported plumbing at 3:30 each morning?
Chances are, you want the freedom to leave town for vacation or simply have uninterrupted time with family for the holidays. You don’t relish the duty of dealing with emergency maintenance chores in the middle of the night, and you probably dread the thought of trying to find a good tenant whenever your existing ones move out.
Even though you only have a single investment property you are renting out, it is possible to benefit strongly from hiring a property management service. They have decades of experience that you’d be hard-pressed to match yourself, and may ensure your property is maintained impeccably while still maximizing your profit.
Okay, I’m convinced, but how do you know who to hire?
event production to learn about quality management companies is founded on the experience of others. When you are local to your rental property, attend your regional owning a home association meetings to get recommendations from other landlords.
You want to be sure you find out how many units the business is managing, and just how many employees they have carrying it out. A trained employee with the proper tools and proven processes can successfully manage between 30 and 40 units, as long as they’re not also playing accountant.