Owning an extra home and renting the property out can generate some very valuable income each month. However, rental properties come with many trials and challenges and sometimes significant headaches! Hiring a property manager may help ease these headaches and relieve some of the stress that comes with leasing out your properties.
Property managers assist real estate owners with many things when it comes to managing their important real estate assets and investments. One of the services they offer includes figuring out the amount of rent to charge on a specific property, based on comparable rentals in the area. This way your rental can be listed at a reasonable rate and thus be more appealing to people who are looking at leasing your home. Managers also help to advertise the property through various avenues such as social media and the multiple listing service. Without advertising, no one would know that your property was available to be rented, and you would most certainly be unsuccessful in finding a tenant. This advertising also brings realtors to your property, and thus the realtors’ clients who may be looking for a rental.
In addition, property managers help find prospective tenants; they conduct the tenant search for you so that you don’t have to. Also, they usually complete a strict screening process on every prospective tenant, including background checks and income verification. This is important to ensure that your home is taken care of properly, and that you do indeed receive the rent due each month! In addition, property managers stay up to date on current and local laws in order to protect you, the property owner, from lawsuits from tenants, such as those regarding housing discrimination.
Property managers will also handle emergency repairs, allowing the real estate owner to avoid being inconvenienced by mishaps such as a broken water heater or leaky faucet. This is perhaps one of the biggest advantages to hiring a manager! And, around tax time, most property managers will ease your tax process and frustration as a real estate owner by ensuring that you get the appropriate tax documents in order to properly file your taxes.
Many managers also perform property inspections at least twice a year in order to ensure that safety equipment, such as smoke detectors, are working, as well as to ensure that the tenants are taking care of the property. You may also perform your own inspections, but having the manager to do it for you allows you more freedom to again be gaining extra monthly income but not even have to visit the property you are renting out.
So how do you go about finding a property manager? Use the Internet to find prospective property management companies, but make sure to do your research and ensure that they are a reputable company! Also, investigate the different companies to make sure they are used to dealing with the type of property you are renting out, whether it be a single family home in a neighborhood, a vacation rental, or a condo. You want someone well experienced in managing the type of property you own! In addition, research the cost to employ a property manager- typically they will charge five to ten percent of a month’s rent in order to manage the property. Decide what you can afford, and whether this very helpful service is worth the price. It could indeed be a very valuable investment in order to ease the overall stress of renting out your property.