Did you know there are 19.95 million rental properties containing 48.2 million rental units in the U.S.? According to Census estimates, around seven in 10 rental properties are owned by individual investors. But just because you own a rental property doesn’t mean you have to manage it. You might find that hiring a property management firm is the right move.
Continue reading for five reasons why paying a property manager a percentage of the monthly rent is an investment worth making.
1. A Property Manager Will Maintain Your Property
Whether you want to own your investment property for a few years or eventually hand your portfolio over to your children, you’ll want to ensure the asset is taken care of. Hiring a property manager will help with upkeep since maintenance and repairs will be performed as needed.
Property managers are experienced at scheduling any work that needs to be done. They have the industry knowledge and contacts to get you competitive prices for labor and materials. Hiring a property manager will help ensure your real estate asset doesn’t suffer from neglect.
2. A Property Manager Will Help You Find Quality Tenants
You should hire a property management firm because it’ll help you find the right tenants for your rental units. Property managers have procedures to screen applicants. Failing to perform proper screening means you might accept tenants you probably shouldn’t.Â
For instance, the screening process will check credit scores, work history, and other things. You’ll want to know if any applicants should be red-flagged and eliminated from consideration. At the same time, a property manager will ensure the screening process doesn’t violate laws. It’s important to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s to avoid legal issues.
3. A Property Manager Will Help You Fill Vacancies
When you invest in finding quality tenants, you’ll want them to stick around for a while. But when tenants announce they’ll vacate at the end of their leases, you’ll need to start the screening process all over again to find replacement tenants. Finding a property manager will help you fill vacancies faster without jeopardizing thoroughness. They will do the following to help you:
- Create effective advertisements
- Publish ads in the right publications
- Screen applicants
You might be overwhelmed if you have to do all the above independently. It makes more sense to retain the services of a service provider specializing in these vital responsibilities.
4. A Property Manager Will Collect Rent
You can also count on a property manager to help collect rent from tenants. Many property managers use the latest technology to automate this process — so that the money is automatically deducted from tenants’ bank accounts at the end of the month. The help a property manager can provide will make your life as a property owner easier. You can also count on the service provider to follow up with tenants if rent is late.
5. A Property Manager Will Provide Customer Service
Yet another reason to consider hiring a property manager is you’ll get help with customer service. You won’t hold onto good tenants if the customer service is shoddy. But if you’re handling customer service on your own, you might find it challenging to be on-call all the time.Â
Your tenants can call the property manager directly to get the help they need. That means you won’t have to field calls from tenants. They’ll be well taken care of by the property manager.
You can see some good reasons to hire a property manager for helping taking care of your investment property. There’s no need to do it all yourself. If you want to achieve a good work-life balance, hire a property manager to lend a helping hand to you and your tenants.
