As a real estate investor, you may think it’s a good idea to forgo the use of a property management service and save money by managing your property yourself. However, managing your own property may not be your best move, even if it gives you added control and saves a bit of cash.
An effective property management company will have the experience and tool-set to find you the best tenants, handle all property issues, and manage rent and records so that you don’t have to.
Not only are the services a property manager provides a huge time saver for you, they can also save you enough money to make their fees an investment decision that pays for itself.
Here’s how.
Property Managers Keep Vacancies and Damages Low
Screening potential tenants is vital for keeping your properties well-maintained and rented, but many investors do not fully understand the importance and process of a thorough tenant screening. Background and credit checks in combination with a reliable vetting process helps ensure that the people you’re renting your property to are responsible and take good care of their space.
Effective property managers have turned this process into a well-oiled machine, knowing exactly where to look for red flags and potential tenant issues before the lease is even signed. The kind of vetting process a property manager will have the time and know-how to complete will save you money by keeping vacancies and damages low with responsible and satisfied tenants.
Property Managers Expertly Manage and Record Your Finances
Managing a property entails a lot of work in keeping the books balanced. From maintenance and rent tracking to handling security deposits and vendor payments, the financial aspects of dealing with multiple or multifamily properties can become a full-time job in itself. This is an area where the aid of a property manager can be invaluable.
Property managers will track and take care of everything that needs doing to maintain the business of an efficient and profit-making property, taking a lot of time and stress off your plate. They’ll also keep records of a variety of key performance indicators that will allow you to directly see the status of your investment and build value for your property.
These are the kinds of things many investors who self-manage their properties may be unaware of and will let slip through the cracks due to an overfull schedule. Property managers, on the other hand, will take expert care in recording these key performance indicators to find you every last dollar you might be missing out on.
Property Managers Handle the Customer Service Side of Your Investment
Another key reason property managers are so vital to the success of a property often gets overlooked by investors: property managers set and maintain a much-needed boundary between you and your tenants.
No manager can be expected to be available at all hours of the day to answer tenant concerns and handle maintenance requests. You need to sleep, and a property management service can make sure that happens with built-in communication networks and maintenance lines that ensure your tenants can feel heard and helped without the need for you to physically be there all the time.
This boundary is also extremely useful in managing problems that arise among tenants, issues like late rent payment or neighbor disputes. Not every investor is trained in the management of these situations and can have a hard and ugly time attempting to resolve issues that customer service professionals like great property managers handle everyday with ease.
Bottom-line: Property Managers Build Value on Your Investment
So much is involved in the effective management of real estate. Investors may think it’s a good idea to manage their properties themselves, but you run the risk of missing out on value opportunities that a good property management service will be able to create. Contracting good property managers is the perfect way to ensure the highest returns on your real estate investment through expert screening processes, record tracking, and customer service.
For more information on property management and real estate investments, contact 208.properties today.