If you’ve looked into investing your assets, you’ve likely heard about the benefits of investing in real estate. But once you start expanding your investment portfolio, you’ll discover that being a landlord can feel like a full-time job. If you’re a real estate investor that already has a full-time job, you might not be prepared for the amount of work you have to put into it.
Enter property managers. But, what does a property manager do on a daily basis? They are real estate professionals that can handle every aspect of running your business operations, for a fixed percentage of your rental income. And the best property managers are absolutely worth every cent.
In the long run, property management can save you tons of money. At Great Jones, we can speak from experience. We help real estate investors with property management in Gainesville, FL all the way to property management in Indianapolis. You’re paying for a team of experts that can help you avoid the common pitfalls a property owner faces. More importantly, we protect your valuable time and save you from countless headaches.
Wondering why you need a property manager? Here are some of the benefits of using a property manager:
1. Expert Real Estate Advice at Your Service
Whether you’re purchasing your first investment property or your fifth, it always helps to understand the fundamentals on how to buy and manage rental properties. An experienced property manager has the expertise to help you work through every step of real estate investment.
They can help you with market research on new homes to buy, how to negotiate the purchase, manage renovations, and set the rent at market rates. Real estate takes a keen eye, and not every cheap property is a bargain. Your property manager can help you project your expenses and income before you make a purchase and help you avoid sinking your cash into a money pit.
Want to sell an investment property? They can even help you do that.
2. Promotion of Listings
Property management companies can save you time and money marketing your property to find tenants, and that involves a lot more than sticking a For Rent sign out front. A good property manager will use a professional photographer to shoot high-quality photos of your property and to show off your listing.
There are dozens of websites and apps used to promote rentals, and self-show property management technology can increase the number of renters that can check out your space. Your property manager can utilize all of them to expand your visibility and to find the best potential tenant and reduce vacancies to protect your bottom line.
3. Tenant Screening
Property management companies can handle the grueling work involved in the tenant screening process. That means running credit checks, contacting former landlords, and personal reference checks for each prospective tenant until they find the best match for your rental property.
Having a professional handle this for you will save you a ton of time, but they also have the experience it takes to help you avoid discrimination lawsuits and scams. Plus, a reliable tenant will pay rent on time, keep your property in good condition, and rent long term so you don’t have to deal with as many move-in expenses. Over time, that can save you money and a lot of headaches.
4. Top-Notch Lease Agreements
While you can find standard lease agreements online, it may not leave you protected. Every property is different, and a property manager can write a lease that will account for these differences.
This may be anything from parking needs, rules on visitors, and different aspects of the property the tenant will be responsible for taking care of. Plus, they will do the work to make sure the tenants keep up their side of the bargain, including taking the time to sit down with them and review every item on the lease.
Not only will a well-written lease agreement protect you and your income property, but it will also protect your tenants. And it can help you root out a bad match. If a tenant doesn’t like the rules for the property, they can find a place that’s a better fit and save you and themselves a lot of hassle.
5. Rent Collection
If you’re spending the first few days of every month collecting rent payments, it eats into valuable time. Your management company can set up a payment system that makes paying rent painless for your tenants, and you won’t have to lift a finger to make it happen.
Your property manager doesn’t make any money unless you do. If a tenant is delinquent on rent, they are incentivized to handle delinquent rent collection quickly and effectively. That includes keeping in touch with your tenants, adding late fees for non-compliance, and issuing an eviction notice if necessary.
6. Time Back from Day to Day Interactions
A property management company will handle all of your tenant interactions for you. They can provide 24/7 service to answer phone calls from renters and address each of their concerns in a timely fashion, no matter how big or small the request. If you own an apartment building, they can handle nuisances as minor as a noise complaint from problem tenants without you ever having to hear about it.
Whenever one of your renters needs repairs, they’ll fill out a maintenance request with the property managers, and they can work with the tenant to schedule the service and keep you up to date on the maintenance that needs to be done.
7. Help with Finding Service Repair Professionals
Speaking of maintenance, a good property manager will have their own network of specialists to handle everything. They will know the roofers, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and more that are reliable and reasonably priced. You’ll almost always get a better deal through these vendors than you would if you tried to find your own, and they can save you a ton of money by catching problems early.
Better yet, your property management company should be able to keep you in the loop and get your approval on repairs without taking up too much of your valuable time. This will keep your tenants happy and your rental property in great shape for years to come without requiring you to do anything other than answering a text now and then.
8. A Leg Up on Your Accounting
Your property management company with state of the art property management software. With Great Jones, you’ll have access to your revenue stream through the Owner Portal, as well as valuable insights to inform your business decisions.
Transparent invoicing lets you keep track of expenses and never leaves you guessing at what it is you’re paying for, and they’re updated in real-time so you’re always up to date on your finances. Investing in real estate has some incredible tax benefits, but the only way to make the most of them is to stay organized with your income and expenses.
9. Handled Eviction Proceedings
Eviction is an ugly process, and no one wants to go through it. Unfortunately, there are times when the property owner is stuck with a bad tenant that is either refusing to pay rent or causing massive amounts of damage to the property. A property management service has your back in several ways.
The number one way your property manager helps you with evictions is by keeping them from happening in the first place. Through careful screening, your property manager will place a reliable tenant that’s unlikely to become a problem. In fact, they should be so confident in their work that they guarantee it.
Eviction is a little different everywhere, and your property manager will know the legal actions to take to avoid common eviction mistakes and provide your lawyers with everything they need to get it done. And if they guarantee their work, they should pay for any court fees along the way.
10. Guaranteed Compliance
Property management can help you stick to the letter of the law every step of the way. That includes inspecting a property for ADA compliance and making sure it’s up to the local safety codes. A single lawsuit can easily cost you tens of thousands of dollars, if not more. If your property manager can help you avoid even one of these lawsuits, they’ve more than made up for the cost of hiring them.
Local laws regulate everything from the way the plumbing has to be done to the amount of money you’re allowed to charge for rent. And no matter how much you research everything, it’s easy for newbies to miss something. Real estate experts are familiar with local laws and up to date on any recent changes to the law that you might miss.
Professional Property Management Done Right
So, why hire a property management company? At Great Jones, our team is prepared to handle all the hassles of renting to tenants. Whether it’s property management in Tampa, FL or Austin, TX, we’re on the ground for move-in and move-out inspections, finding the most qualified tenants for your listing, dealing with maintenance. In the meantime, you can use your extra time to reinvest your income and expand your portfolio so you can work your way towards financial independence and retire sooner. And we’re more than happy to help you with that, too.
