Don’t let anyone tell you that owning rental properties – whether it’s residential or commercial – is passive. This is one of the biggest misnomers in the world of investing. When you own a rental property, you’re a full-time landlord. And as a full-time landlord, you’re on call 24/7/365. This means you have to be ready to field phone calls, schedule (or perform) emergency repairs, chase down rent checks, find new tenants, screen tenants, and keep existing tenants happy.
Now, having said all of this, owning rental properties is highly rewarding and can be quite lucrative. The key is to find ways to balance out all of the time-consuming and arduous elements that we just mentioned. And a property management company is arguably the best solution out there.
Here’s Why You Should Hire a Property Management Company
Property management companies aren’t free – and you’ll have to do some thorough due diligence to find the right one – but they can provide a number of benefits and advantages. Here are five of the biggest benefits:
1. Effective Marketing and Tenant Screening
One of the biggest advantages of hiring a property management company is its expertise in marketing rental properties and screening potential tenants. These companies have the experience and resources to advertise your property effectively, ensuring it reaches a broad audience. They understand what features are most appealing in your local market and can showcase your property to attract the right tenants.
In addition to attracting the right tenants, they conduct thorough screening processes, including credit checks, employment verification, and references, to ensure tenants are reliable and will pay their rent on time. This can save you from potential rental headaches and financial losses associated with tenant issues.
2. Timely Rent Collection and Financial Reporting
Ensuring rent is collected on time every month is crucial for maintaining your cash flow. Property management companies implement efficient rent collection processes to ensure timely payments.
These companies don’t just “hope and pray” they collect rent. (Despite the fact that many landlords do this, hope and prayer isn’t a strategy.) Property management companies have systems in place, such as online payments, which make it easier and more convenient for tenants to pay their rent.
If rent isn’t paid on time, property management companies handle the dreaded tasks of sending out pay or quit notices and managing the eviction process (if necessary).
As Crown Commercial Property Management says, “Once you sign with us, you won’t have to interact with tenants. Leave all rent collection and communication to us.”
If you’re someone who doesn’t like confrontation and would prefer to work behind the scenes, having a property manager on your side is a huge relief. You don’t have to interact with your tenants at all – good, bad, or otherwise.
3. Maintenance and Repairs Management
Maintaining a rental property can be one of the most time-consuming aspects of being a landlord. A property management company takes on the responsibility of both routine maintenance and emergency repairs, helping to preserve the value of your investment.
Property managers usually have in-house maintenance staff and relationships with qualified, licensed contractors who provide good work at reasonable/reduced rates. This ensures that your property is well-maintained while also helping you respond quickly to any repair needs that arise.
4. Compliance with Regulations and Laws
The complex framework of property laws and housing regulations can be daunting – especially when you don’t come from any sort of legal background. But here’s the good news: Property management companies are well-versed in local, state, and federal regulations regarding landlord-tenant relationships. It’s part of what they do – so they have highly-trained members of their team who study this stuff for a living.
A good property manager can help you make certain that you’re in compliance with safety codes, rental and zoning laws, and fair housing regulations. This is really important for avoiding legal issues that could arise from non-compliance, which could lead to costly fines and legal fees. (In many cases, these penalties and fees have a daily rate – meaning you pay a fee for every day in which you’re in violation. This adds up quickly!)
5. Reducing Tenant Turnover
Keeping good tenants is just as important as finding them. Thankfully, property management companies are experts at tenant retention. They make sure that tenant concerns and requests are addressed promptly and efficiently, which helps in keeping tenants happy and less likely to look for another place to live. Plus, they understand the local market trends and can provide valuable advice on how to set competitive rent rates that maximize cash flow without negatively impacting retention.
Setting Yourself Up for Success
As previously mentioned, owning rental properties is anything but passive. But if you want to take a major step in that direction, you should start by hiring a good property management company so that you can offload some of the time-consuming aspects of ownership and begin to gradually remove yourself from the day-to-day responsibilities that consume your energy.
As you search for a property manager, be patient and thorough. You should meet with at least three different companies to get a feel for their management style and what services they offer. From there, you should be able to narrow the list down to the one that’s the best fit for you and your investment goals!