Before you rented out your first property, you imagined finding a nice tenant, collecting a monthly payment, and fixing a problem every few months or so. It seemed so simple back then. Ask any other landlord, and the reality is often much different: multiple phone calls from interested tenants, a dozen applications to go over, late rent payments to follow up on, and calls about maintenance issues in the middle of the night.
Being a landlord can take over your life, even if you only have a single property. Unless property management is your career, working with tenants and rental properties becomes a full-time job. When you work with a qualified, professional property manager, you not only save time (and get your life back), you also save money.
Determining Rent
When figuring out what the monthly rent is going to be, it’s not as simple as adding 20 percent to the total mortgage amount. You need to know the market, be able to compare similar properties, and understand what rental values are in your neighborhood. Sometimes the best amount will be lower than you think, and other times, it might be higher. A property manager analyzes the market, your property, and your expenses to determine the most competitive rent to charge.
Collecting Payment
In a perfect world a tenant would pay exactly on time every month. In the real world, tenants are sometimes late. If you have multiple properties, you may have everyone paying at different times. A property manager follows up on late payments, accepts payments, and begins the collection process if a tenant doesn’t pay. The longer you go without being paid, the more you have to come out of pocket to maintain your rental property.
Marketing Your Rental
Marketing a property for rent requires much more than placing an ad in a newspaper. Dozens of websites cater to renters looking for a new home. A property manager not only makes sure your property shows up where tenants are looking, they also field questions about the property, arrange viewings, and take care of the application process. It takes time and effort to market a rental and find a good tenant.
Staying Legal
As a landlord you have very specific responsibilities to manage. From not violating Fair Housing laws to maintaining a safe property, one wrong move and you could end up in court being sued. A good property manager will make sure your lease agreement uses the right language. They’ll screen your tenants in a way that keeps you both out of legal trouble. They’ll follow the eviction process to the letter. They’ll help you make sure properties are safe, secure, and habitable.
Maintaining the Property
Like we mentioned above, one of your big responsibilities is to maintain the property. It needs to be in good condition so that it’s safe for your tenants and your property value doesn’t drop because of neglect. The best property managers have a team of vendors lined up to fix appliances, deal with plumbing, handle electrical problems, and much more. They’ll also make sure everything is handled in a timely manner so your tenant doesn’t wonder if they should withhold rent until problems are resolved.
Managing Multiple Properties
With everything a property manager does to help you handle one rental, multiply that by all the other properties you have. Well-qualified property management companies are designed to take on multiple properties. Rent collection, marketing, maintenance, and the eviction process can all happen across dozens of properties because this is their full-time job. When you find the right property manager, you can add more properties and increase your income and wealth without adding more work for yourself.
Being a landlord doesn’t have to become a full-time job. In fact, when you partner with the right property manager, you can relax and enjoy the benefits of renting property with fewer hassles. The marketing, management, and payment collection are taken care of by professionals who understand the law and what will make you successful as a landlord. ERA American Real Estate is here to make your job as a landlord easier. Contact us today and let us show you how we can save you time and money.
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