Owning investment property is a great way to increase financial security goals. That said, property management will require a large commitment of effort and time. It is especially true if you own several rental properties.
For most people, managing rental properties isn’t practical, or it may be that they are just too busy with other matters. It is why most investors choose to hire a professional property manager.
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What Are Property Managers?
Property managers are individuals or a business hired by property owners to manage and oversee the daily activities and transactions in their real estate investments.
Property managers are often hired because the real estate owner may be living away from the property or don’t wish or have the time to personally manage their investment, especially if they have multiple properties.
A property manager acts on behalf of the property owner in order to preserve the value of the investment property while ensuring generating good income.
Quick fact, real estate agents can also be property managers and may offer property management as their secondary service.
So, if you’ve purchased the property through a real estate agent or company, you can also ask them if they can become managers of that property. It helps save time looking for another entity or agent to handle your purchased properties.
If you’re looking for real estate agents to help you find the best investment properties in Australia, possibly rely on them for property management, you can rely on web services that allow you to search and compare agents, including their fees, side by side. If you’re curious about more, you can learn here.
Property Managers’ Role And How They Can Help Homeowners
Understanding the property manager’s role will help you decide whether you want to do it yourself or entrust it to a reputed property manager. To give you an idea about their roles and how they can help you with your property management, know the following:
1. Managing Rent
Property managers help owners in setting up the right rent price in their area, ensuring that the space is always occupied and generating income.
They are also the ones collecting rent from tenants as well as dealing with unpaid rents or late payments. Managers come up with a clear rent collection procedure outlining collection policies, late fees, how non-payment of rents is handled, and how rental funds are paid out to the owners.
2. Overseeing Tenants
The primary responsibility of a property manager is to ensure that rental spaces are occupied.
Thus, part of their job description is to find and screen potential tenants. They mainly work in marketing your rental properties to find the most qualified tenant to occupy the space and enforce your requirements in screening and choosing a quality tenant who will follow lease terms, pay rent on time, and take care of the property. Property managers will conduct legal screening procedures such as:
- Employment verification
- Criminal background
- Rental history
- Income source
- Credit check
Property managers will also help in dealing with tenant complaints as well as proper handling evictions for non-paying tenants.
3. Handles Property Repairs And Maintenance
Part of owning a property involves ongoing repairs and maintenance to ensure that your investment is in good shape and your tenants are happy.
Whether a tenant complains about pest infestation, your building’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system broke down, or your landscape is due to trim. Your property manager can help handle these maintenance activities and other in-person upkeep of your property.
4. Deals With Legalities And Running The Rental Business
One of the most important benefits of hiring a property manager is that they have knowledge and experience of landlord-tenant laws. Most states require property owners to acquire the proper license to legally operate rental properties.
And working with a property manager allows you to let the “landlord” role fall on the manager. They can assume responsibility for ensuring full compliance with legal terms on the landlord-tenant relationship. They can help you in finding the right DDP property and assist you for the further process.
In addition, a property manager also ensures the best strategies in running a professional rental business that follows legal requirements, including the following:
- Proper licensing to conduct real estate transactions associated with leasing and managing rental properties
- Obtaining property insurance to ensure proper protection in your investment property
- Maintaining records of the property, tenants, and owner including a list of all incomes and expenses
- Paying real property taxes
- Working with quality vendors to ensure value-added service to tenants and protecting rental business’s value
Take Away
Property managers can be a great help to rental property owners and real estate investors who don’t have the time to manage their properties. Finding a reliable property manager can help take out the most effort- and time-consuming activities in managing properties while ensuring that you’re getting the most out of your real estate investment without the stress.