So, you have some property you want to rent out, but you have some worries. What will your new responsibilities as Landlord mean? Is this going to take up all of your time? Are you going to receive calls every day, all day? What does a Property Manager even do?
A Property Manager handles day-to-day interaction between tenants and landlords and is responsible for the upkeep of a property. This includes; advertising your property, performing repairs, processing rental fees, taxes, and evictions, and communicating with current and potential tenants.
Many landowners turn to a Property Manager to relieve their worries, seeking the convenience and experience of a professional. To help you decide whether hiring a Property Manager is right for you, we've done the research from around the web and compiled a list of the best reasons to hire a Property Manager.
1. Legal Knowledge:
One of the biggest headaches for landlords is understanding the requirements of state, local, and federal renting laws. Laws regarding rentals change over time.
Keeping an eye on these changes, and managing your own schedule, can be a hassle.
One of the responsibilities of a Property Manager is to understand the legal requirements of a rental. By hiring a professional, you also obtain the many years of experience they have in dealing with legal issues, and if they are part of a team, you can rest assured that you will have many eyes and ears open to and new restrictions or changes that may affect your property
2. Tenant and Renter Communication:
We list this as number two because it can be a large time sink for many landlords, depending on your renter.
Some renters will reach out on the smallest issue, others will barely call. But, a Property Manager can provide you with the safety net to deal with either. This is helpful for a property that is far from your place of living. Plus, you won't have to worry about resolving every problem, and can rest assure your space is in safe hands.
3. Advertising Your Space:
Learning the basics of advertising and marketing could be its own year-long course. You want to do it right to show up to possible renters, but you also want to make money on your property as soon as possible.
As one of the responsibilities of a Property Manager, marketing your property is second nature. You won't have to understand the selling points of your local market, or do research on advertising, Property Managers handle it all. A property manager will certainly make it easier, but if you are looking for methods to start advertising today, then check out our beginner's guide to advertising your rental
4. Vetting Possible Tenants:
Finding the right renter is just as important as finding the right Property Manager. You want to make sure the person actually living in your space is trustworthy. But how can you do that with a simple meeting? You can't get to know someone over a Starbucks, let alone know whether they are trustworthy. Property Managers have experience conducting thorough background checks to assure that possible renters and tenants are trustworthy. You can rest assured that your tenants won't skip out on rent or damage your property.
5. Real Estate Knowledge:
Similar to advertising, many Landlords own property but don't have a current understanding of real estate for their area. But why is this valuable? Because it allows you to charge an appropriate rental fee. Placing your rent too high can make possible tenants avoid your space unless it's brimming with free amenities. Going to low could make it not worth the hassle unless you decide you want to offer reduced-price housing to someone trustworthy. Either way, a Property Manager can help you decide what to charge, and whether or not it will be competitive for similar rentals in the area.
6. Providing Solutions to Complaints:
This could go with communication, but we've placed it in its own category for a few reasons. First, the complaints of a tenant could lead to repairs or further phone calls, with the former being challenging in some cases. If your property is far from your place of living, you may not know a reliable, and cost appropriate, repair company. Since Property Managers handle a number of properties, they work with a variety of services, providing them with a broad picture of charges and expectations. Property Managers can use this knowledge to find the right service for your tenant's complaint, making sure you are receiving substantial ROI for your money and time.
7. Dealing with Evictions:
This is never a good subject, for renters or landlords. But a Property Manager can provide professionalism and distance to appropriately deal with evictions. With a Property Manager, you won't have to worry about the challenges of an eviction.
8. Improved Property Value:
By providing substantial real estate and repair knowledge, in addition to a positive rental history, Property Managers can help you increase the value of your property. This could help you in future endeavors. Maybe you decide to sell the property at a higher value, and invest in another location? Or, maybe you are able to increase your rent to a more reasonable level? In either of these situations, we recommend you always consider your tenants. Just because something provides temporary monetary gain, doesn't mean it's worth putting a tenant and their family in a difficult situation. If you are going to sell or increase rent, consider doing it between tenants, or providing a long-term notice of the change, and a list of the reasons why.
9. Shorter Turnaround Time on Rentals:
Between a busy schedule and your own responsibilities, a property can sit empty for a significant amount of time. This can impact your investment, and even lead to a loss of money. A Property Manager can make up for this extra time, and make sure you have a constant flow of renters.
10. Establishing Trust:
Often, the question of trust is directed to the renter. Are they reliable? Will they cause damage? Will there be any issues in paying rent? As a landlord, we often don't think about trust from the renter's perspective, especially if your location hosts short term and vacation rentals. When starting to rent your property, a blank history can cause possible tenants to turn away. A Property Manager can resolve this by bringing years of experience and reliability to the table, positioning your property as safe and trustworthy.
11. Creating an Easy Application Process
Property Managers have served as a middle man between tenants and landlords for years. They understand the concerns of both renters and landlords. They understand how to show a property, and they know how to smooth out the rental process by providing systems for organizing forms, payments, and requests.
This can be from an online service, or account portal, like the one we use at Sustainable Properties, or from a third party process. Either way, Property Managers bring convenience to the rental process.
12. Environmental Improvements
Okay, so this might not be something all Property Managers do, but it's something that we like to include on our property listings. By working with us, we help reduce your carbon footprint, providing recommendations for green alternatives to your rental, from alternative paper products to solar installation. We help you live green, rent green, and save green.
Curious about more benefits to using a Property Manager? Feel free to reach out to us and let's talk!