“What you do not know can hurt, or even kill.” That was Donald Rumsfeld definition of war.
The saying is still applicable in our daily lives, and in particular, landlording – if you chose to do it, it’s a lot like Donald’s definition of war – it can “kill” your investment plans.
It quite understandable that many property owners are often trying to maximize their profit margins by managing their property. However, the do-it-yourself approach can cost you money.
Why?
This is because unlike the professional property managers, you do not have the experience, expertise, and resources to run property efficiently.
If you are still wondering how a management company will save you money, here is how:
Prevent Vacancy
Vacancy results to the inconsistency in the flow of cash.
Professional property managers usually focus their energy on placing qualified tenants in your property. Contrary to what you get with shady tenants when you do it, the qualified tenants usually pay on time, decrease the likelihood of evictions and other potential issues.
This is not to mention that professional managers are usually responsive to complaints, and will resolve any tenant issues in time, leaving them happy.
Ultimately, the tenants will want to renew their lease and prevent the occurrence of vacancies in your property.
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Reduce Vacancy Times
While vacancy is inevitable, what is more essential is ensuring that your property does not remain vacant for a long period.
And this is where a professional property manager comes into play. The right manager will not only market your property strategically using targeted & high-quality advertising, but they will help you in setting a competitive rent rate.
Additionally, the right property management, using local expertise, understands the property landscape in the region and will develop ways to reach likely renters.
Get Fit Tenants
Tenants can greatly affect the profitability of your property.
For instance, if you find tenants that do not pay rent promptly, or worse yet, tenants that destroy property or have a criminal background they will cost you a lot in damage and repair fees, lost income and legal fees.
On the other hand, professional property managers have a legally sound, and comprehensive screening process for the tenants.
Typically, the screening process checks on a plethora of factors including:
- Credit rating
- Rental history
- Criminal background
- Employment status
Beyond saving you from undue costs, professional tenant screening and selection will minimize the possibility of violating fair housing and lawsuits.
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Efficient Rent Collection
A property management company, rather than an individual has a structured process of collecting rent.
They have the proper mechanisms of collecting rent, and this ensures that rent is paid on a timely basis. The benefit of timely rent payment is that it will ensure a dependable cash flow on your side.
Again, reliable property managers have a thorough understanding of the law and know how to deal with the issue of dealing with late payment or failure of payment. This will save you from the possibility of landing into legal problems in case a tenant decides to sue you.
Reduced Maintenance Costs
In case your property has maintenance issues or needs repair, you can benefit in several ways by working with a professional property manager.
For starters, assuming that your preferred company has an in-house maintenance team, your repair costs will be drastically cut as they are often included in your monthly fee, and this saves your expense altogether.
If it does not, a reliable company has in most cases a solid networking of licensed, insured and bonded contractors. Now, unlike an individual, these contractors have a good relationship, and will in most cases strike a favorable deal with the property management, and this is for your benefits.
Finally, assuming that the property management has other property, they will in most cases deal with the volume, and this helps them secure discounted prices for both the products and discounted services.
This is contrary to what would happen if you decided to cut a deal individually.
More Time for You
Time is money.
Rather than spend all your time micro-managing your property, you can profitably use your time for other important ventures, including finding other investment opportunities.
A property company will lease, screen tenants, collect rent, handle repairs, evict client and so much more for a comparatively low fee.
Most importantly, however, a property manager will provide you with the peace of mind you need in knowing that there’s someone professional and reliable to take good care of your property.
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Conclusion
The advantages of having a property manager by your side cannot be underestimated.
From having a peace of mind and getting help in running your property, a professional property manager will allow you to have time to focus on building your portfolio, take that extra vacation or even focus on your day job.