Ask any seasoned real estate investor and they will always tell you that a professional property management company can add significant value to your property investment and a good property manager is worth his weight in gold. Below are some ways in which property owners can greatly benefits from utilizing a competent property management company:
* Better Quality of Tenants
Any Landlord who is looking to rent our their property realises that it is always possible to get bad tenants and that is one of their biggest fears. The hassles involved with dealing with them and then getting your property vacated can be avoided by a thorough screening process that ensures you end up with good tenants who
Pay rent on time
Stay longer
Do lesser wear and tear on the premises
And generally cause lesser problems
This is where one can utilize the experience of a property management company who can screen applications and analyze the information to figure out the real facts and potential warning signals of bad tenants. When this screening process is handled by them, you are also protected from any rental scams or even discrimination lawsuits that can result from an inconsistent screening process. Screen of bad tenants and advising of the good ones while taking care of other nitty gritty is probably one of the biggest benefits of hiring a property management company.
Reducing time consuming and costly legal problems
Experienced landlords will tell you that it can take just one troublesome tenant to cause significant problems, both legal as well as financial, which need to be avoided at all cost. A property manager is very useful in avoiding such scenarios as they have complete knowledge of latest landlord-tenant laws that ensures a Landlord is shielded against any potential tenancy issues and law suits. Their knowledge will come in handy when understanding and implementing the local laws during:
Screening of Tenants
Safety and liveable conditions of the property
Instances of Evictions
Regular Inspections
Addendums to Leases
Termination of Lease
Handling of refundable security deposits
Collection of Rent
If you are able to avoid even a single lawsuit related to tenancy, then the agency would have more than paid for their services by sparing you the time and related mental agony.
Succinct vacancy cycles
Any good property manager will help you execute three critical tasks that affect duration to fill your vacancies:
* Improve and prepare the property for rent - A property manager will suggest and supervise cosmetic improvements that maximize revenue.
* Determines the best rent rate - Too high and you are stuck waiting, to low and you’re losing money every month the tenant is in the unit. Determining the best possible price requires knowledge of the local market, data on recently sold comparables, and access to rental rate tools.
* Effective market strategy for your property - An experienced property management company has written hundreds of ads and understands what to say and where advertise in order to get good number of consumers in a shorter period of time. Additionally because of their volume they can usually negotiate cheaper advertising rates both online and offline. Lastly, they are familiar with sales and know how to close when they field calls from prospects and take them on showings.
Healthy tenant maintenance
We know it’s easy to see the effects of lost rent, but 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 always have a time-tested tenant retention policy that ensures happy tenants with longer stays in the properties. These kinds of programs require a consistent, systematic approach, which is where a good property management company will shine.
Firm rent collection procedure
The success and the failure of a landlord depends on the way you handle rent collection and late payments. Collecting rent on time every month is the only way to maintain consistent cash-flow, and your tenants need to understand this won’t be negotiated. By hiring a property manager, you put a buffer between self 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. So you don’t have to face any hassle there.
Tenants have the habit to walk all over you if you extend that hand to them. They have to be trained to follow every part of the lease or deal with the consequences. Property managers have an advantage because tenants realize that they, unlike the owner, are only doing their job and are obligated to enforce the lease terms. Many property managers will tell you that it is considerably easier to manage other people’s units rather than their own for this reason.
There are strict laws concerning the eviction process, and doing it wrong, or trying to evict a "professional tenant" can be a MAJOR fiasco. A good property management firm knows the law and has a good process for obtaining the best possible outcome given any circumstances. Never having to handle another eviction can be a compelling reason to consider hiring a property management company. One should surly consider this because of the same reason.
Tax Assistance
The big word is always one terrifying thing to face, here is one more reason why to hire good management team. A property management company can help you understand which deductions you can claim, as well as organize the necessary forms and documentation to make those claims. Additionally, the property management fees themselves are also tax deductible.
Reduce maintenance and repair costs
Another way to keep your tenant and yourself happy is to provide Good maintenance and repairs. By hiring a management firm you gain access to both their in-house maintenance staff, as well as their network of licensed, bonded and insured contractors who have already been vetted for good pricing and quality work. This can translate into significant savings compared to going through the yellow pages and hiring a handyman yourself. Not only is the firm able to get volume discounts on the work, they also know the contractors and understand maintenance issues such that they are capable of intelligently supervising the work.
Escalate investment value
A good management firm will time to time offer you suggestions and feedback on upgrades and modifications, both how they will affect the rent you can charge, as well as their impact on maintenance and insurance. Preventative maintenance is achieved through putting systems in place that catch and deal with maintenance and repair issues early on, before they grow into larger more costly problems. This requires a written maintenance check program, detailed maintenance documentation and regular maintenance visits.
Additional 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 check 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.
Quick Word
To be part of this ideal scenario you have to just make one effort of choosing the right management company. These results can only be expected if a management company is competent, trustworthy and a good fit for your property. A poor choice of a management company can produce many headaches of its own.
This is why we also offer a Free no-obligation quote for our services and would love to show you how our team can be your ideal property management partner. Please do contact us today.
