As seen in the July 2014 issue of “Apartment Owner Association” magazine, by: Chanda Gunter w/ Real Property Management
Whether you intentionally purchased an investment property or you became an “accidental landlord”, be prepared to wear many different hats. Being a landlord isn’t for everyone, but the vast majority of home owners are “do-it-yourself” landlords, meaning they take on all the responsibilities of being a property manager. While many are successful, even more struggle with basics like rent collection, maintenance, and evictions. Here are 5 great reasons to hire a property manager so you get can back to enjoying your life.
1. Screening Tenants
The most important step you can take as a landlord is proper screening of a potential tenant. No one wants to expose their neighbors to known criminals and sex offenders, but fewer than half of DIY’ers check the sex offender database, criminal history, credit, and references every time before renting*. Please check with your local legal counsel on local, state, and federal laws and ordinances.
2. Showing the Home
Time is valuable. For each day your property sits vacant, it costs you on average $40 per day. The time you spend all day Saturday and after work hours to show the vacant property is invaluable. Wouldn’t you rather be doing something else? Plus it takes time to get a home rent-ready with cleaning, repairs, replacing and cleaning carpet, changing locks, and countless other maintenance projects.
3. Ethics and Legal Issues
Many home owners-turned landlords are not familiar with state and local laws let alone fair housing, evictions, and lease terms. One false move and you are now in the middle of a legal battle. By having a professional property manager on your side, showings and evictions are handled correctly and legally.
4. Rent Collection
Chasing down your tenant every month for a rent check is unnecessary and can be exhausting, especially if you live out of state. A professional property manager should have a system in place to allow for automatic and online payments, as well as tracking of payment history and any other financial transactions between tenant and property owner.
5. Maintaining the Property
Property maintenance is probably the most time consuming and expensive part of being a homeowner. A rental property increases those expenses and time commitments even more because of the potential turnover in the home. Every time a tenant moves in or out there are added expenses such as cleaning, repairs, re-keying locks, marketing and advertising, showing the home, screening, and signing a new lease to just name a few. Maintenance is key to leasing the home and retaining a good tenant.
Hiring a professional property manager is a great way to avoid life interrupting moments like missing your son’s big game to fix a leaking toilet, taking off early from work to show the home, or canceling vacation plans because of the financial strain of a non-paying tenant. It’s time to take back control of your life, your investment, and your future. Hire a professional property manager like Real Property Management.
Do you have another great reason to hire a professional property manager for your rental home? Tell us!
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Great Blog. Using a professional property manager will give you peace of mind and a safe investment over the long term.
Thanks Luis! We agree 🙂
Tenant screening plays a very important role to property maintenance. If you choose responsible tenants who can take care of the house as if it were their own, the property will be maintained as close to its original condition thus easy for resale should the property owner decide to let go of it in the future.
Some property owners think hiring a property manager is just added expense. When in doubt whether to hire or not to hire a property manager, property investors should ask this question: “Which is easier: handling bad tenants or handling a good manager?”
If you’re an investor and you’re not cut to be a good landlord, then it’s time to look for a property manager who can do that great job for you. Let’s face it, some property investors are not good at people handling so hiring a property management service will be a smart option.
There’s more to choosing the right property investment to buy. Investor should ensure good property management, as well. Good property managers understand the needs of an investor so they will make sure all aspects are taken care of from marketing the property to attract the right tenants, selecting responsible tenants, collecting rentals to inspecting the property on a regular basis.
I hired my first manager because it was either sell the property or have someone else deal with my crazy tenants. Best decision I ever made. It’s now been 8+ years. I’d much rather get a call from my manager about a leaking toilet than a tenant screaming at me about a leaking toilet.
I like that you focus on rent collection as one of the benefits of using a property manager for your investments. My brother-in-law owns several properties back in the state he used to live in and usually has to rely on his manager not only to collect the rent, but make sure the properties stay in top condition as well. It is possible to run your own properties fairly easily if you live close by, but if you’re in another state it really is the better option to find someone to help you out.