A competent property manager can add significant value to your investment, which is why many seasoned real estate investors will tell you that a good management company is worth its weight in gold. A few ways that a good property manager will maximize your returns:
Higher Quality Tenants:
A successful property manager is adept at choosing tenants that will pay on time, stay in the unit longer, put less wear and tear on the unit, and will generally have a sense of pride in keeping their home in good condition. An experienced property management company has seen thousands of applications and knows how to quickly identify warning signs in applicants.
Shorter Vacancy Cycles:
Any successful property manager knows that the less time a unit is vacant the more money the owner is liable to make, which creates a happy owner that leads to a long and successful relationship between manager and owner. The property manager reduces the time a unit stays vacant by improving and preparing the unit for rent, determine an appropriate rental range, and has an established marketing program for each unit. The preparation of the unit to be made rent-ready should include making all appropriate local code and safety repairs while keeping in mind the neighborhood’s economic situation so as to not overspend on repairs. All seasoned property managers will have a portfolio of contractors and individuals that can be relied on to make simple and quick repairs to more complex rehab jobs.
Better Tenant Retention:
While it’s easy to see the effects of lost rent, there are other equally serious problems with a high tenant turnover rate. The turnover process involves a thorough cleaning, changing the locks, painting the walls, and possibly new carpet or small repairs, not to mention all the effort associated with marketing, showing, screening, and settling in a new tenant. This is a time-consuming and expensive process that can often be averted by keeping tenants happy and well cared for.
A good property management company will have a time-tested tenant retention policy that ensures happy tenants with lengthy stays in your properties. These kinds of programs require a consistent, systematic approach, which is where a good property management company will shine.
Rent Collection Process:
The way you handle rent collection and late payments can be the difference between success and failure as a landlord. Collecting rent on time every month is the only way to maintain consistent cash flow, and your tenants need to understand this is not negotiable. By hiring a property manager, you put a buffer between yourself and the tenant and allow them to be the bad guy who has to listen to excuses, chase down rent, and when necessary, evict the person living in your property.
Benefits for Owners:
Less stress. Avoid having to deal with middle-of-the-night emergencies, chasing down rent, evicting people from your property, tenants who wreck your property, rental scams, lousy vendors, piles of paperwork.
More freedom. Live and invest wherever you want with the constraint of needing to be near your properties. Additionally, you can live and travel without the requirement of always being available in the event that your tenants have a need you have to tend to. Once you have found a good management company, it doesn’t matter if you live in the same state. Some landlords live in other countries and simply collect their checks every month without ever seeing the property.
Free up more of your time. Time is money, and for many investors, their time can be more profitably spent in areas other than servicing their properties. When you focus on asset management you’re working ON your business, when you manage your own properties you work IN it. Additionally, you have more time to spend with family or friends doing things you enjoy.
Summary of Services and Fees Provided:
For information on our Services and Fees, call Lori Peterson at 216-688-6182 today!