When you buy your first rental property, you may experience a lot of emotions: excitement, fear, ambition, or anxiety. If you're new to managing a rental property, you might feel simply overwhelmed.
Are you wondering how to manage a rental property if you're new to the real estate investment space? Read on to learn more.
Communicate With Tenants
Tenant communication is key to a successful landlord-tenant relationship. It will help you to take care of issues quickly when they arise.
Building tenant relationships may also save you money in the long run. Tenants who feel satisfied with their landlord or property manager may want to renew their lease, saving you money on having to find a new tenant.
Try to stay on top of tenant requests and respond to emails or texts quickly. For better efficiency, encourage your tenants to use a portal to communicate, so all of your correspondence is in one place.
Stay on Top of Maintenance
Regularly maintaining your properties can save you quite a bit of money. It often costs much less to fix an issue as it develops, rather than waiting until you need an expensive solution.
For instance, if your tenant has a broken appliance or a leak in their unit, it is vital that you fix it as soon as possible to prevent further damage from occurring.
Make a list of tasks that you can do regularly to maintain your properties. You can also perform regular inspections to see if anything is out of order. Keep seasonal maintenance tasks in mind as well, such as checking the roof before winter.
Use a Property Management Company
Property management services are a great way to lessen your burden when managing a rental property. They act as a third party and can manage many things regarding your property, such as:
- Tenant screenings
- Rent collection
- Managing tenant requests
- Tenant communication
- Lease renewals
Property management companies can take care of the bulk of your administrative work for a fee. This means you can focus on other issues or priorities and free up some of your time.
Regularly Evaluate Your Finances
You need to stay in the know about whether your properties make money. When managing a rental property, the goal is to at least break even on your investment.
If you find yourself making well over breaking even every month, then you may have extra funds to invest in property upgrades, or even add a new property to your portfolio.
However, if you continue to lose money, it may be time to raise the rent or see where you can cut back on your monthly expenses.
Know How to Manage a Rental Property
Still wondering how to manage a rental property? By working with a proper management company and learning along the way, you can get started sooner than you think.
With over a decade of property management experience, Advantage Property Management Services is here to help. If you're interested in buying property in the Livermore, CA area, get in touch with us today.
