It is no secret that managing a rental property is a tough gig. It takes an abundance of patience and time in order to deal with the never-ending issues that can arise when renting out your property. As a landlord or property owner not only do you have to make sure that you are marketing your rental property efficiently and effectively in order to attract the most qualified tenants, but you also need to ensure that you are properly equipped to deal with any issues that arise once your ideal tenants have started occupying your rental property. This management process can become very overwhelming quite quickly, which is why many property owners opt to hire a property management company to help manage their rental properties for them. Here are 5 reasons why hiring a property management company is a good idea.
1. Marketing Your Rental Properties
Before you can manage your rental property, you need to find the idea tenant to occupy said property. Hiring a property management company to market your rental property vacancies can give you a major edge over your competitors. Experienced property managers know how to market efficiently in order to find tenants who consistently pay their rent on time, rent for longer periods of time, and who don’t put heavy wear and tear on the rental property. Identifying qualified, trustworthy tenants is of the utmost importance and a good property manager is able to help you do just that.
Additionally, good property managers have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of their local real estate markets. They know the best strategies to implement and how to target the ideal rental candidates for their specialized markets. This is even more advantageous for property owners who do not live in the areas themselves which their rental properties are located. Once the rental applications start to come, experienced property managers will also be responsible for the screening process, eliminating rental applicants who don’t qualify, and bringing in the best applicants who do. Necessary steps that should be taken involve the verification of employment, vetting the applicant’s previous rental history, pulling a credit report, and conducting a thorough background check. All of these things must be done correctly, which reputable property management companies all know how to do.
2. Streamlined Tenant Communication
All tenants require a primary point of contact whom they can communicate with when issues arise and/or they have general inquiries about the property their renting. Hiring a property management which is experienced and established will afford you the luxury of utilizing that company’s qualified staff. These staff members are thoroughly trained to take incoming applicant and tenant calls, answer a wide array of potential applicant questions, handle routine complaints, and schedule necessary repairs. If you own multiple rental properties, or your property is comprised of a large number of units, you may find yourself on-call frequently if you do not have a property manager to handle these situations for you. By hiring a property management company, you can afford yourself the peace of mind knowing that there is always somebody there for your tenants without having to make yourself personally available for them at all required times.
3. Collecting Rent Payments
The process of collecting rent payments can be the most frustrating responsibility a landlord has, but it is also the most important. Making sure that rent is collected on time consistently is crucial to maintaining your rental property and securing the value of your investment. However, oftentimes this process can get messy rather quickly when dealing directly with tenants who are unable to make their rent payments on time. By hiring a property management company, you take yourself out of the equation and hand the responsibility over to the management professionals. This also applies to situations in which tenants have reached a point where eviction may be the only option. A professional property manager can handle the rent process from start to finish, including implementing late fees and other consequences for tenants who fail to pay their rent on time, or even at all.
4. Handling All Maintenance and Repair Requests
A good, proactive property manager makes it a habit to conduct regular inspections of your rental property and will suggest improvements before they become a noticeable problem for tenants. Aesthetic repairs may seem somewhat inconsequential but staying one step ahead of these issues with simple cosmetic improvements will help your tenants see the value in the money they spend on rent. Ultimately this generally increases overall tenant retention. Additionally, having a strong reputation of making quick and efficient repairs when needed will help improve your chances of landing qualified tenants easier and often for all of your rental properties.
Property managers are also able to advise property owners on more serious repairs if any issues should come up while doing regularly scheduled preventative maintenance. By addressing problems early and using the right professionals within the property manager’s licensed and insured network of contractors, you can be sure that you are getting quality repairs at a great rate. Property management companies also typically have experienced in-house maintenance staff to handle the regular routine repairs that come along with any rental property, as well as the emergency repairs that require 24-hour standby attention.
5. Advantageous Benefit for Property Owners
There are some landlords who try to avoid hiring a property management company in order to cut costs. Unless you are an experienced landlord yourself, this is a huge mistake. This especially holds true for landlords who have multiple rental properties and a substantial amount of tenants as this ultimately almost always leads to the property owner getting overwhelmed and having issues with their tenants. One person can only do so much, and eventually important details/issues will start to slip through the cracks. Property owners who attempt to wear the landlord hat oftentimes find themselves falling behind on collective rent payments (or not being able to collect them at all), put themselves at risk of not having the proper accounting information up to date, frequently miss performing essential repairs, or become subject to a plethora of other major occurrences that could regrettably have a negative effect on their bottom line (or put them in breach of their own lease agreement with their tenants).
The stress and risk a property owner faces when deciding to “go it alone” can far outweigh the cost of hiring a property management company. A property manager will professionally maintain every aspect of your rental property, freeing up your valuable personal time. Not being tied down to manage your own rental properties can open up opportunities for personal growth or expand other business venture possibilities. Property owners are also able to travel and be away from their rental properties for extended periods of time when they have a trusted property manager watching over things. Reduced stress and increased free time are some of the many reasons most property owners see the value in hiring a property management company.
While hiring a property management company is advantageous in many ways, not all property management companies are created equal. Black & Cherry is a professional Henderson and Las Vegas property management company specializing in a full range of services offered to property owners of residential properties including houses, condos, and apartment buildings. With a full staff and years of experience in Southern Nevada real estate, the Black & Cherry property management team members are trained to maximize your rental income while minimizing property expenses through progressive marketing, streamlined repairs, professional accounting services, and utilizing aggressive listing exposure.