Do you own an investment property that you’re renting out, and you’re currently handling all the chores of being a landlord yourself?
Are you thinking about investing in rental properties, but you are not sure if you are up for the task to be a landlord?
If you answered yes to either of these questions, whether you are keeping or considering investing in a single-family rental (SFR), duplex, or triplex, you need to think about engaging a professional property management firm to take the task off your shoulders 搵樓.
Let’s take a look at what property management is, what a professional management company handles, and how to decide not only if it’s time to hire one but also how to hire the proper property management firm.
What is Property Management?
Let’s start off with getting a knowledge of just what a property management firm does and doesn’t do. There are lots of critical tasks a property manager will let you with.
Setting the right rental rate: It is possible to always ballpark this by looking through the classifieds, but a good property management company actually conducts thorough market studies to create a rental price for your property. This makes sure you have a great balance between maximizing your monthly income and keeping a minimal vacancy rate.
Collecting the rent: The most difficult aspects of being a landlord is collecting the rent. Property management firms have efficient, tried-and-true systems which will do a congrats of collecting the rent and maintaining on-time payments.
Marketing and advertising your rental unit: When vacancies occur, you need the rental unit occupied as fast as possible. A professional property management firm has experience that helps it market your property in just the rate way to make certain someone moves in quickly.
Finding and managing tenants: The house 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 obtaining the lease signed. After the home is occupied, handling routine and emergency maintenance and inspections are part of just what a professional management company will do for you.
Managing relationships with contractors and other vendors: Are you experiencing deep-seated relationships with all of the maintenance workers, tradesmen, contractors, suppliers, and vendors had a need to properly manage your rental? Probably not. But a property management firm does and can get you the best work with the very best price, while handling the responsibility of overseeing necessary maintenance projects for you personally.
Keeping you in compliance with the laws Housing regulations and property laws are complicated and confusing if you are renting and keeping your rental property. These can include local, state, and federal regulations, along with fair housing regulations just like the Americans with Disabilities Act. A property manager will keep you out of hot water by keeping your property up-to-date and in compliance with many of these regulations.
Enabling you to invest from afar: If you’ve moved to a place where buying rental units don’t make sense, you might think that investing in SFRs or other rental properties isn’t possible. With a good property management company by your side, you won’t be so limited in your investment opportunities.
I only have one property; why do I need a property manager?
If just reading through each of the tasks a property manager can handle for you isn’t convincing enough, think about this: do you want to be able to go on vacation without interruption? Do you really enjoy phone calls about backed up plumbing at 3:30 in the morning?
Chances are, you want the freedom to leave town for vacation or simply have uninterrupted time with family for the holiday season . You don’t relish the task of coping with emergency maintenance chores in the middle of the night, and you also probably dread the idea of trying to find a good tenant when your existing ones move out.
Even if you only have an individual investment property that you’re renting out, it is possible to benefit strongly from hiring a house management service. They have decades of experience that you would be hard-pressed to match yourself, and can ensure your property is maintained impeccably while still maximizing your profit.
Okay, I’m convinced, but how do I know who to hire?
The best way to learn about quality management companies is founded on the experience of others. If you are local to your rental property, attend your regional real estate investment association meetings to get recommendations from other landlords.
You want to be sure you learn how many units the company is managing, and how many employees they have doing the work. A trained employee with the right tools and proven processes can successfully manage between 30 and 40 units, given that they’re not also playing accountant.