If you own rental properties, you know all too well how demanding the job is. You need to handle all the standard maintenance and all your tenants’ needs and requests, and always, for some reason, the requests seem to roll in on the one day when you are already overwhelmed by life. The following will explore just one method of cultivating ease when owning rental properties: hiring and working with a property manager.
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What’s A Property Manager?
A property manager is a person or team of people who help you with the basics of managing your property. This could include: cutting the lawn, shoveling, and deicing in the winter, cleaning the gutters, mopping stairwells and shared areas, collecting money from coin laundry machines, collecting rent, selecting and keeping tenants, responding to tenant inquiries or requests, repairing damages, and showing the units to potential renters. Of course, if there are concerns specific to your property’s management that aren’t listed here, those can be discussed.
Charging Ideal Rent Rates
One major benefit of a property manager that is almost never discussed is the assistance they can offer regarding rent prices. Most landlords simply look at the classifieds in their area and use those to help them assume a good rent price, but property management companies often conduct market studies to figure out the ideal rent price to attract the ideal tenants and balance monthly income with vacancy rates. They also are often aware of the laws in your area regarding how much you’re allowed to change rent rates; if the rent increase is a primary concern for you, take the time to learn more about the laws and regulations. It can end up saving you a lot of trouble in the long run.
Marketing And Advertising
It’s no secret that the world of digital marketing evolves at a breakneck pace. A professional property management team will likely have a firm grip on how and where to advertise properties in order to draw in the right tenants. In many cases, this involves digital awareness and an understanding of online platforms. Sometimes it also requires knowledge about search engine optimization and hashtags.
Freedom
One of the most appealing aspects of working with a property management team is the way it frees you up to enjoy your life and focus on your other obligations. Suddenly, you’re not tied to the city where your units are in case someone calls in the middle of the night, and you need to get there asap because a pipe has burst. Suddenly, you don’t have to leave your phone on when you’re with your partner or children; you can simply enjoy the time you have without interruption. You can use the time gained and flexibility of your new schedule to take on more work if you have other professions, maintain your own home, or enjoy the company of your loved ones without having to stress that something is happening in your rental unit needs your attention.
Finances
While property managers do cost money (many have a flat fee), many property owners find that, in the long run, they end up with more money as a property manager helps reduce the risk of bigger expenses like troublesome tenants that won’t pay and won’t leave or maintenance issues that grew into massive problems because they were left a little too long. If you’re uncertain, you can ask potential property managers for case studies or clients who would be willing to give a reference.
A Note About Selection
When choosing a property management company, be sure to spend a lot of time considering their appearance and feeling; these people will be representing you to your tenants and so need to be personable and professional. You also want to do a little research both on other landlords their work with and also to see if there are any tenant reports about them online. People tend to be very vocal about negative living situations, so if you start looking for reviews, you’re sure to find the information you need. Finally, every property is different, and so every management-landlord relationship is going to be different. It’s a good idea to go over each party’s expectations and ask the management team whether there are things that you haven’t brought up that they foresee being an issue.
The above information should have outlined a few of the reasons you might want to work with a property management company. Note that it’s possible to work with a company on occasion if that’s a better fit for you, hiring a manager for a short contract while you’re on vacation or just after a new baby has been born at home.