15 Tips to Help Landlords Manage Their Own Property

 

Being a landlord comes with the duty to perform every task related to property management. According to a survey, over 42 percent of all the rental properties are run everyday by the homeowner.

There are advantages and disadvantages of Do It Yourself property management and the costs of hiring a property management company are sometimes a concern. Another alternative is to choose online property management platforms that conserve both your time and effort.

Efficient property management allows you to keep great tenants and keep your property in a good condition. Property management can in some cases become a hard task. Here are some tips to help you get it right, in your path to making yourself a successful landlord.

 

Tips to Choose the Right Rental Property

 

Getting the right investment property is the initial step towards much better property management. It is very important to set forth the parameters of your avatar of a financially viable investment property. This will allow you to find a property that has the possibility to become a rewarding rental property in the long run.

 

1. Get the Key Information

 

You must highlight the kind of property, size of the property, amenities that are offered (both in your property as well as the surrounding area), property location, etc. These essential details will assist you in making the ideal decision when discovering an investment property.

 

2. Select the Right Area and Place

 

Area and neighborhood play a major function in what type of tenants will approach you. A well-connected neighborhood from where the shopping centers, a school, regional transit, and restaurants are quickly available will bring in a pool of great tenants for your property.

 

3. Check for Average Rent and Vacancy Rate

 

You should look for the average rent as well as the vacancy rate around the area to ensure you get the expected response and monthly rental rate for your property. A lower vacancy rate suggests a much better capacity of making a great regular monthly return on investment.

 

4. Finance Your Purchase

 

After determining all the essential things ensure the property suits your budget and proves to be profitable enough to cover your home loan, taxes, and related expenses. Taking a loan to buy a rental property will decrease the risk of putting your own money and allow you to have sufficient money reserves. Remember, it’s always better to play with someone else’s money, so long as you know what you are doing.

 

Tips to Handle Your Tenants Successfully

 

Managing your tenants is a crucial aspect of property management. Treating your tenants with respect and having open interaction helps you become a great landlord, and forms the basis for your relationship in the long run.

A proper tenant screening offers landlords the essential details about the prospective tenants to make sure they pay the rent on time and upkeep your property.

 

1. Examine Credit Rating and Background for Applicants

 

A prospective tenant’s credit report provides you with valuable information related to their credit rating, payment history, any insolvencies, financial obligations, and so on, allowing you to make an informed decision. A background check permits you to verify the credibility of an individual and get an view of any criminal history.  Additionally, you should also become familiar with how to screen a tenant with no credit score, or credit history, as this may come up at some point in your journey. 

 

2. Check the Applicant Rental History

 

Together with the background check and credit history, you ought to think about checking out the rental history of a tenant to understand the period of the previous tenancy, habits with landlords, any late payment, and evictions.

 

3. Get an Ironclad Lease Arrangement

 

One of our major recommendations is to get a lease agreement, from a qualified lawyer, with a substantial landlord tenant practice in your state. It boggles our minds as to why anyone would simply download a lease agreement off the internet, and hope and pray it is good enough, or doesn’t have any flaws. You are already saving money managing your own property, don’t skimp out on the lease agreement.

 

4. Interact Effectively

 

Having open communication with the tenants makes it easier for you to understand their problems and take steps towards fixing them. Being more mindful and listening to their recommendations permits you to gain trust in them and establish openness.

 

5. Develop House Rules

 

Make certain the tenants comply with all your house guidelines established by you. You should explain to tenants the general rules and regulations like proper waste disposal unit, quiet hours, proper parking, whether the tenant can paint your rental property, and the general maintenance work of the property they are responsible for.

 

6. Gather Rent Online

 

You can flawlessly send out payment suggestions, collect rent online, tally related taxes, determine and monitor the month-to-month expenditures, and perform other monetary deals utilizing online property management platforms. Tenants can also make protected online payments using these platforms.

Related Article:  How to Screen Tenants

 

Tips for Property Upkeep

 

Regular maintenance of the property is the crucial to successful property management. Keeping your property neat and clean will encourage the tenants to maintain the property like an owner.

 

1. Inspect your Property

 

You should perform a property at least every four months or no less than every six months to figure out any upkeep problems that could have been left undetected by the tenant, aside from also viewing it as an opportunity to determine if the tenant is living up to the lease agreement.

 

2. Inspect the Essentials

 

Make certain to inspect and promptly repair any issues that are happening with your property. If the tenant reports them, respond in a timely manner, and keep the tenant informed. Also, and this goes without saying, make sure you are maintaining the property in a standard that is consistent with housing laws, as well as standards of habitability, this could come back to bite you in the rear in the short and long-term. You will be held to the same standard as a property manager when you are managing your own property.

 

3. Service and Upgrade Appliances

 

Timely service home appliances like dishwashing machines, washer-dryer systems, water heaters, etc. You should likewise check the service warranty on the appliances and upgrade them if needed. When you upgrade, however, remember that you are upgrading for a rental. What this means is that you should determine if the upgrade will raise your rental market rate; if it will be easy to maintain by the tenant; and the cost for replacement if something goes wrong.

 

4. Deal With Upkeep Requests Online

 

Although, as a owner managing your own property, it can be tempting to communicate exclusively through text and phone with tenants, we recommend not doing this in the long run. Start keeping track of maintenance requests through other means, which provide a clearer history trail. One method is to use a Google form to have the tenant submit maintenance requests. This allows you to have a clear understanding of the maintenance needs for your property, and a historical repository.

Some of the online services have a more robust system for tracking in the event you manage more than a couple of properties, but you don’t necessarily need those if you only have a handful. Just stay organized.

 

5. Safeguard your Tenants and the Property

 

Using smart home security systems will help you secure the tenants and your property. Surveillance video cameras are a fantastic way to keep an eye on unmatched activities or events. These cameras are very helpful in recognizing the criminal in case of theft or burglary.

Remember, however, that you cannot just pop in on your tenants. The security system should be under the exclusive use and control of your tenants, unless you have a multi-family investment property, and then the surveillance should be limited to common areas, and properly disclosed.

Smart smoke alarm utilize sensors to spot smoke in your home and trigger the alarm as an indicator of a potential fire. The carbon monoxide gas detectors are smart gadgets that discover the presence of carbon monoxide gas (CO) gas in the environment and immediately give alert on your mobile phones. Make sure you check with your state laws, as many require landlords to provide both of these in their rental properties.

 

Conclusion

 

Managing your own property can be both a challenge, as well as being rewarding. Your goal as an investor who has taken on the challenge of property management, should be to do it in the best, and most efficient manner.

While there is a learning curve, it is not insurmountable. Just make sure you are armed with the best tools of the trade to get the job done in the right manner.

 

 

The Team at Linchpin Property Management

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