Investing in real estate is a great way to get a good return on your money. It can provide you with a steady and reliable source of income, but only if the property is properly managed.
Most people who invest in real estate do so through rental properties. Such services handle the day-to-day responsibilities involved with rented housing.
To keep the property filled with paying tenants and to reduce administrative setbacks and complications, it’s best to put your property into the hands of property management professionals.
Simply put, property management companies provide stability to real estate investors. Here is how such a company can help you make money on your property:
1. Screen tenants
Property management services conduct tenant screening as a way to avoid individuals at risk of not paying rent on time and in full. This is especially important in cities where the demand for housing is exceptionally high; Orlando property management services and those in other highly sought-after housing markets make it a point to weed out applicants with a history that indicates an inability to fulfill the payment obligations outlined in their lease agreement. As a result, it’s standard practice for property management companies to have prospective tenants complete a thorough application. The information provided enables them to know whether or not the applicant has the track record indicative of being a desirable tenant.
2. Handle tenant concerns
You have purchased a property. It does not follow that you have any interest in dealing directly with the people who rent it. Your property manager will do that. By way of property management software and other resources at their disposal, property managers will deal with the inevitable problems raised by tenants. You will enjoy the benefits of not being called and pestered at all hours of the day and night-especially by the one or two tenants who always find something to complain about.
3. Marketing
The key to making money from your real estate investment is keeping the units filled. Whenever a tenant leaves, it is important to have a new one to take their place. This can only be done through an aggressive and effective marketing campaign. Property management companies know how to put together the kind of conventional and online marketing strategy that will reduce the time that your rental units sit unoccupied.
4. Decrease tenant turnover
Some renters leave because they must re-locate to another city for work. Others leave because they have fallen on hard financial times and cannot afford to stay. There is little you can do about either of these situations. However, something can be done about tenant turnover that owes to dissatisfaction with the unit and the service. A property management company will be responsive to tenant concerns and complaints and expeditious in resolving problems with the rental unit itself or the service the tenants receives.
5. Ensure rent is paid promptly
Your property manager will also ensure that the rent is paid on time. They will have a system in place that will make it easy for tenants to pay. And they will enforce the payment and lease policies when tenants fall into arrears. Indeed, if you have tenants who consistently fail to pay their rent on time, the property manager will take steps to correct the situation. While collecting the back rent owed might not be possible, property managers will initiate an eviction in order to make the unit vacant and available for rent as soon as possible. In case you have to pursue rent issues on legal grounds, such as file a claim in court for repayment, you may have to prepare yourself for it. While property managers could help you understand how to prepare for small claims court, it might have to be you who appears to follow up on the claim and get the money you are owed.
6. Minimize maintenance and repair costs
Most property management companies have contracts with repair and maintenance vendors. This will save you the time and expense of finding reliable tradesmen when units need upkeep.
7. Hiring a property management company will also help keep you out of legal trouble. For example, there are specific legal procedures associated with evicting a tenant. If matters come to this, your property manager will know how to carry out the eviction in strict accordance with the law.
Investing in rental property sounds like a sure way to reliably generate income. However, the day-to-day responsibilities of property management make it more difficult than it appears at first glance.