Does investing in real estate rentals sound like a great way to invest your money? You aren’t alone.
Real estate is still considered one of the best investments around. The question is, do you have what it takes to manage a property once you find a good investment?
If you want to learn how to manage a rental property, this post will help you get started. Below are seven property management tips that will help you manage your rentals with ease.
1. Require Renters Insurance
Homeowners insurance isn’t the only type of insurance you need to worry about when becoming a landlord. You don’t only have to worry about your property becoming damaged. You also have to worry about your tenant’s property.
You don’t want to be on the hook if an accident happens and your tenants take a loss. It opens you up to a lawsuit. Even if the suit is without merit, it will still take time and resources away from you.
If you require your tenants to carry renter insurance, you don’t have this issue. Their property will be protected in accident cases.
2. Communicate Well
It isn’t always easy to find great tenants. You’ll need to screen well and make sure you don’t cut any corners when vetting potential renters.
The last thing you want is to find a great tenant and lose them because you don’t take care of their needs. Don’t wait around to solve your tenant’s issues when they reach out.
If you take too long, you can’t count on them to stick around after their lease is up. On the other hand, you can count on a long-term stay if you provide a great experience.
3. Know Your Local Laws
You can set a lot of house rules when you rent your property. Anything requirements you put in your tenant lease are binding for your renters. However, that doesn’t mean you can go crazy with what you ask.
There are many rental laws on the books, so you’ll need to know what you can and can’t require of your renters. These laws change based on your local area, so you’ll need to be up to speed on each location you have a rental property.
If you don’t have much legal experience, it pays to hire a lawyer to help. Have them look over your tenant leases to make sure everything in there is legal.
4. Properly Stage Your Home When Listing
Your goal when looking for tenants isn’t to just find someone who can afford the rent. You want to find someone that will take care of your property. If you want to find someone like this, you need to make your home shine.
Make sure you properly stage your home for photos and property tours for potential tenants. You don’t need to go overboard with vibrant colors and designs. Keep things neutral, so it appeals to the most people.
It also helps to add a little scenery outdoors. Plantlife can make a great first impression on homebuyers. Buy a few seasonal plants and containers from a shop like Pots Planters & More to place around your front door.
5. Automate Everything You Can
The tech world has come a long way in the past decade, and that’s nothing but good news for real estate landlords. You can now automate what used to be a manual process with online tools.
The first tool to invest in is online payments. Instead of collecting checks from your tenants and taking them to the bank, you can have your tenants pay online. Your payment portal can send payment reminders and automatically deposit rent payments into your bank account.
There is also software that lets you manage your tenants and properties. This software stores your rental property information, shows you who resides in your property, and lets you keep history for your property.
You can use this information to generate reports about your business. These reports can provide valuable insights that help you make better business decisions in the future.
6. Build a Reliable Repair Team
As your rental business grows, the chances are that you won’t be able to handle all the work yourself. One of the biggest challenges you’ll face is property repairs.
You likely don’t have time to spend the whole day on the road making repairs at your rental properties. That’s why you need to get in touch with reliable contractors who will get the job done for you.
Try to start your contractor search as soon as you can. The last thing you want to happen is to have many repair requests in a short period.
Ask around to see what contractors other people recommend. Take the top choices and send them on test jobs to see how well they handle the work. Once you find someone that does excellent work at a reasonable price, form a partnership with them and let them handle your repair work.
7. Do Regular Maintenance
There’s no guarantee that your properties will hold up over time. If you don’t want a costly accident in the future, you need to handle regular maintenance.
Create a list of standard maintenance tasks and have it over to your contracting team. They can head to your properties to make sure everything is running smoothly. Just make sure they check with your tenants beforehand, so they don’t show up unannounced.
Your contracting partners can also help you develop your maintenance plan. Ask them what they recommend and form your plan based on their advice.
Now You Know How to Manage a Rental Property
Investing in real estate rentals isn’t something you should do on a whim. It takes a lot to take care of property and tenants. However, now that you know how to manage a rental property, you can now decide if it’s a path you want to pursue.
Do you want more tips about real estate? Head to our real estate section to find more tips that will help your rental business.
