6 Ways To Efficiently Manage Property Investments
One of the most attractive ways to earn additional income today is through passive income opportunities. They refer to ventures that bring in money to your account without you playing an active role in it. You can start earning as you receive the returns from your chosen passive income-earning opportunities.
It’s said that one of the best passive income-earning opportunities out there is said to be real estate property investments. Usually, the route to take to maximize your investments is to invest in a certain property, flip it, and then have it rented out later on.
To enjoy earning your income from your investments, however, there’s one prerequisite you first have to meet: good property management. With that said, here are six best ways to efficiently manage your property investments:
1. Focus On Occupancy
Surely one of your main driving forces for investing in property is to earn more income on top of your monthly job pay. To achieve this purpose with your property investments, a big portion of your efforts in efficiently managing your properties should be focused on occupancy.
Positive cash flow out of your investments naturally calls for a steady stream of tenants. So, it makes a lot of sense why, out of all the effort you’ll put in, having a high occupancy rate should be a top priority.
Having a high occupancy rate can be achieved with these tips:
- Be very stringent with how your screen potential tenants to avoid falling into those who are only going to give you stress when it comes to rent payment and damage to your property. Putting an effort to screen tenants necessarily involves the following steps:
- Checking the financial capacity and credit report of tenants;
- Talking to previous landlords of your potential tenants; and
- Checking eviction histories from other rental properties.
- List your property on rental sites and apps to make it easier for potential tenants to know your property exists and to find you. This should be a part of your marketing strategy. One of the many sites is Rooftoprentals.net and the like.
After applying the tips above, once you find good tenants who also stay for the long-term, it pays to hold on to them and ensure they stay happy and satisfied.
2. Keep Up With The Maintenance
It’s regarded that no property investment will ever be successful if it’s poorly maintained. There are two main reasons why you must prioritize this.
The first is to keep up with the local requirements of the tenant-landlord law for you to not have to pay any fines or penalties for not complying with their standards. These requirements, as a part of your property management system, include seemingly mundane things but could be easily forgotten by landlords like providing a place where tenants can throw their garbage and the like.
Second, you can’t have tenants wanting to rent your properties if their condition is less-than-desirable. Tenants want to feel at home while they’re staying in your rentals and they’ll also want to feel they’re getting their money’s worth.
With that in mind, here are some insightful tips on how to keep up with your property’s maintenance:
- Care for the floors after every tenant leaves.
The floor is one of the most abused parts of any property simply because of the wear and tear it goes through. So, it’s just but fitting to give it all the attention it needs when there are obvious signs of a need for repair. Conduct the necessary fixes soon after a tenant leaves and before a new one moves in.
- Inspect the roof for any holes and missing parts.
The roof provides shelter against nature’s harsh elements. Make it a point to check it regularly to ensure there aren’t any leaks, missing, old, or broken shingles present. If you have trees around the property, also check to see if there are branches extending dangerously close to the roof. You need to have these cut right away to avoid those branches penetrating the roof and causing damage.
- Check common outdoor spaces and windows’ condition.
Ensure the lawn is mowed regularly, and all the plants are regularly watered. Additionally, inspect all of the property’s window conditions and see if any gaps are sealed to avoid any undue accidents from occurring.
Maintaining your property investments is very important. If your properties are all in top condition, then it’ll be easier for you to demand a higher rate as tenants won’t even question the rates you’re asking for. Your properties’ condition is an advertising agency for itself.
3. Review Your Rent Amount Regularly
Even if you’ve long been in the property investment industry, there’s always room to learn more. One of the biggest areas of improvement you need to focus on is rental amount management.
It’s a very smart business practice to regularly review your rental amount to determine if it’s in line with your current market. If your property is priced too high, you’re going to lose potential tenants. If your property is priced too low, then you won’t earn as much as you ought to from your investment property.
You have to be impartial and data-based with your rental amounts. And be sure not to change these within the contract period if such increases aren’t stipulated. This is the reason why you should also take extra caution in drafting the contracts of your property investments to ensure every clause is reasonable and protects your and your renter’s best interests.
4. Follow The Landlord-Tenant Law
The landlord-tenant laws vary from one state to another, thus, there’s no absolute explanation for what these requirements are here. This is placed here to remind you that once you open up your property investments to the public, you have to be very certain to abide by your local landlord-tenant laws. Once you don’t follow local statutes, you may have to face penalties. This can slow down or destroy your property investment’s earning potential.
To be on the safe side, it’s best to have the assistance of a property manager and a lawyer in drafting your contracts. They may also give you insights into those laws. All the more is this necessary if you have properties located across many other states or overseas to make property management much easier on your end.
5. Understand Your Different Types Of Clients
Different kinds of property investments also call for different clients. There’s no universal approach to this. So, to ensure your property investments are efficiently managed, you have to go above and beyond with understanding your different types of renters. By doing so, you can tailor each of your marketing strategies for each kind of property you have and for every client type you’re trying to reach.
Generally, it’s said that the fuller your portfolio is, the more types of investment properties you’ll have. This means a wider variety of client tenants to cater to. For instance, one-bedroom properties are most attractive to single clients. Meanwhile, those who have just married and are starting a family might need two bedrooms or a small house. Perhaps you’ll have to cater to seniors too that are looking for overseas retirement homes. Or, you may opt for short-term rentals for other properties to cater to frequent travelers.
Whatever your choice, take the time to really study and go through each option to ensure you get the best marketing and property strategies to make your rentals appealing to your target market.
6. Hire A Property Manager
If you’re managing only a handful of properties in the same state or local area you’re in, you may be able to handle all those investments by yourself. But, if you have quite a lot and some of them are overseas or out-of-state, then you’ll definitely need the help of a property manager. These are professionals who, as its title implies, are tasked with the responsibility of managing their client’s properties.
Here are some advantages you can enjoy when you have a property manager helping you out:
- They’re professionals who are organized enough to keep all information, data, and files pertaining to your property investments stable and ready; and
- They can communicate to your clients and tenants, on your behalf, and when you aren’t around.
Takeaway
As you can see, managing your property investments can also be a lot of work. Nothing ever comes easy and you have to be willing to put in extra effort to ensure your investments stay profitable. Taking all the tips above can be a great start for newbies in the property investment game.
But the most important piece of advice for you to remember is you don’t have to go through all of the nooks and crannies on your own. If you don’t know where to start and especially if you’re still a beginner, you can always take in the help of expert property managers. Learn as you go, and soon enough, you’ll start to enjoy the returns on your investments as soon as they come in.
