Buying a rental property can be an extremely lucrative investment. There are so many ways to make the most out of your experience as a property owner. However, there are also many important decisions you’ll have to make.
One of the first decisions rental property owners need to make is whether they’ll manage their property themselves or hire professional rental property management. There are benefits to both, but hiring property management services tends to be the best option for many property owners for several reasons.
Let’s take a look at some of the specifics of property ownership that you should consider before you decide on your management strategy.
Property Maintenance
Every property requires regular maintenance and upkeep to remain safe and in good shape for tenants. Plus, depending on where you live, you may have severe weather conditions during some parts of the year that increase your maintenance costs.
When you manage your rental property yourself, you’ll have to interface with renters directly about maintenance needs and repairs. You’ll also have to find reputable contractors in your area to perform these repairs and schedule services on a schedule that works for both your renters and your hired workers.
A rental property management company will take care of all of these steps for you. Many property managers have a list of contractors in their area that they trust to perform repairs on a reasonable budget, and they can handle communication with renters and scheduling maintenance appointments.
Savings and Income
When it comes to deciding between self-management and hiring residential property management, many property owners consider the cost of professional management as one of the most important factors.
The costs of self-management can be much greater than professional property management, especially if you are new to rental property ownership. A dependable rental property manager can use their local experience and expertise to get you the most income possible with your property while handling many of the time-consuming tasks that come along with property ownership.
Relations with Tenants
Some rental tenants are openly communicative and easy to work with. However, some tenants tend to overstep boundaries with landlords and make the job of property management much more difficult. This can take the form of constantly calling about minor complaints, making late or incomplete rent payments, and demanding unnecessary maintenance or repairs.
Interacting with tenants can be one of the most difficult parts of property ownership, as it requires a level of customer service training that many property owners may not have. The best property management companies have years of experience under their belt dealing with all kinds of renters and rental situations, giving them the ability to respectfully and professionally navigate a variety of renter relationships.
Vacancy Filling
Vacancies can be a source of stress for property owners and landlords. If a property is vacant, it’s not currently bringing in any income from renters, which could create a gap in the property owner’s income.
Finding the perfect tenant to fill a vacancy as a self-managed property owner can be a challenge. Depending on your other jobs and responsibilities, you may not have the time to schedule consistent showings, respond in a timely manner to inquiries, or perform full screenings of potential tenants.
Property management companies are prepared to handle all of these responsibilities and more. This way, you’ll be able to find the right tenant for your needs and avoid tenant relation issues, unexpected vacancies, or costly evictions in the future.
Collecting Rent
Timely and full rent payments are one of the most important factors for property owners that rely on income from their rental. Though rent payments should be as easy as your tenant sending you a check each month, personal issues can get in the way and cause delayed or incomplete payments.
A property management company can act as a much-needed third party between tenant and property owner. They will handle the difficult task of collecting rent from tenants that are posing issues and make sure that you get paid on time and in full. Los Angeles property management companies are well aware of all local tenant laws surrounding rent payments. Plus, they’ll be able to provide your tenants with resources such as online payment platforms that will make rent payment easier.
Accounting
Accounting is another important factor to consider when owning and managing real estate. As a self-managing landlord, you will be solely responsible for keeping track of all of your expenses, income, property taxes and more. Accounting is another important factor to consider when owning and managing real estate. As a self-managing landlord, you will be solely responsible for keeping track of all of your expenses, income, property taxes, and more. It is essential to keep up-to-date on all property-related accounting so that as a landlord, you aren’t scrambling at the last minute to get information to your accountant in order to complete tax returns. It will also ensure you are properly deducting the cost of expenses to lower your tax liability and have accurate tax returns. With professional property management, you can rest easy knowing that they will manage all of your accounting and financial needs for you. This includes monthly bookkeeping as well as year-end statements, owner distributions, and tax preparation. Professional property management companies will also handle all security deposits and chargebacks for unit turnovers following tenant move-outs.
Trust the Real Estate Professionals
As you can see, hiring professional property management is the way to go for property owners. The team at AllView Real Estate are experts in LA, San Diego, and Orange County property management and can navigate local rental needs in ways that most landlords can’t or simply don’t have the time to.
From apartments and luxury homes to investment properties of all kinds, the professionals at AllView are here to help you optimize your rental. Connect with us online or call us at (949) 400-4275.