When you’re new to the real estate investment game, assuming the role of landlord seems to be the easiest way to save money when you’re first starting out. However, it doesn’t take long to see how costly that decision could be because time is money. Sterling White, investor and contributing writer to BiggerPockets, sums up the reality of self-managing,
“I can’t stress enough that from my personal experience, this has been the worst decision that I ever made as a real estate investing newbie. This is simply because now that I have been able to witness it first hand, I can finally understand exactly how much work, effort, and sweat goes into managing your own property. Therefore, trust me when I say that I am totally convinced that this so-called ‘passive source of income’ is far more active than it seems.”
You may be thinking, “It can’t be that hard to rent out my home in Norwalk, CT, and manage a single property.” Depending on your experience, you may be absolutely right. However more often than not, new investors are quickly overwhelmed by the process. With more than 25 years of experience, Real Property Management knows the exact pain-points that new investors face. Here are five reasons why hiring professional Norwalk property management is the smartest investment you can make with your rental property.
Reason 1: Finding Reliable Tenants is Difficult
Without reliable tenants, your rental is not an investment property, it’s an empty house. The reality is that there is no return on your investment without the consistent income from reliable tenants. That said, it takes a great deal of time and effort to find those kinds of tenants. Between advertising your property to application screening, it can take weeks or even months before you find a good fit. In your eagerness to fill your vacancy, you may overlook some crucial red flags that could end up costing you in higher turnover rates or even evictions. But hiring a professional Norwalk property management like Real Property Management of Southern Connecticut can save you time and money with their streamlined screening and leasing process. Handling everything from building targeted marketing and advertising strategies to performing thorough background checks all the way through lease signing. It all adds up to save you more of the one thing you can’t make: more time.
Reason 2: Handling Emergency Maintenance Issues is Inconvenient
You’ve heard the saying,”anything that can go wrong, will.” When you are a landlord, you are essentially on-call every single day of the year. There are no holidays or designated “do not disturb” hours for you, as you never know when a problem at your rental property will suddenly occur. Even when you are on vacation, you always need to have a contingency plan in place to handle any situation that can occur while you are away. This is probably one of the most time-consuming aspects of property management. Handling emergencies, and even routine maintenance requests, requires a timely response and quality repair to make sure you are complying with federal housing laws. With professional property management, you can rest easy that these urgent requests will be handled quickly and cost-effectively. This gives your tenant peace of mind and ultimately saves you time—your most precious asset.
Reason 3: Rent Collection Can be Discouraging
Even well-screened, qualified tenants can hit a difficult financial patch, and you may experience delayed or skipped rent payments. Unfortunately, not having an established rent payment system can force you into the collections business. As an experienced Norwalk property management firm, Real Property Management knows that having a clear and established process for rent collection makes it easy for tenants to supply their rent promptly. We have streamlined this process with our proprietary lease management software and systems. Offering an online payment portal for tenants has been proven to increase the rate of on-time rental payments. We also offer direct deposit to owners so you can easily receive your rental income quickly and efficiently.
Reason 4: Dealing with an Eviction is Frustrating
Let’s say that your new tenant suddenly lost their job or had a death in the family and they ask you to let them stay in the rental with the promise to repay you once they are employed. But after six weeks, they still haven’t paid rent. Would you know what to do in that situation? Though you’re inclined to be the understanding landlord rather than the strict lease enforcer, faced with a difficult situation, would you be able to handle the financial and legal ramifications of a delinquent tenant? At the end of the day, your rental property is a business and you must treat it as such. If you don’t have the heart to enforce your lease contract, then you risk losing more money than just the rent. The property managers at Real Property Management are trained to handle these situations with the utmost professionalism in a fair but firm manner in compliance with all regulatory agencies.
Reason 5: Preparing a Property for New Tenants is Expensive and Time-consuming
Your tenant has given you their written notice and are preparing to leave. Now you’re not only faced with the task of finding new tenants but you have to make your property “rent ready.” Preparing your property to be “rent ready” means that the home has been cleaned, repaired or remodeled, and is in good condition for new tenants. If you haven’t been proactive about keep up your rental, you may find a laundry list of items to deal with and that can add up to a lot of time and money just preparing the property, all without earning a dime during this in-between period. However, if you had our Norwalk property management firm working for you, our routine property inspections would have allowed us to catch small issues before they became expensive problems. That’s because we conduct seasonal inspections both inside and out to ensure tenant compliance and assess your property’s current condition. This kind of proactive maintenance saves you money over time, especially when it comes time to prep your rental for new tenants. Once the rental property is deemed “rent ready,” we would actively market the home to attract quality tenants quickly, making the transition between tenants as smooth as possible.
The Clear Choice for Your Norwalk Property Management Needs
Now that you’ve said, “I want to rent out my home in Norwalk, CT,” it’s time to decide if you’re ready to partner with a professional property management team. As a nationwide company, Real Property Management has over 275 offices nationwide and continues to work hard to redefine the Southern Connecticut property management industry. Our dedication to customer satisfaction keeps our clients on the road to success, avoiding the struggles of self-management. That’s why we’re the clear choice for Norwalk real estate investors. We also offer a library of free video resources and a friendly customer service team to help answer all of your questions. We love to help our clients reduce cost, ensure quality and build a lucrative investment property. Call us today!
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.