Real estate is a very lucrative investment, but the income may not be as passive in the early days. Managing your first rental property involves much more effort to maintain the highest standard of service and profitability. There are several options to successfully manage rental property, especially when you are still getting started. Here are some tips and tricks to make your first rental property successful.
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Effectively collecting rent
Collecting rent from tenants is a significant issue to some landlords, and solving this problem right at the beginning will mitigate other issues that may arise down the line. There are plenty of payment method options now, including EFT, recurring debit orders, and other gateway methods. It is up to you as the landlord to decide on the best choice for the property you own. Consider the local circumstances and tenant preferences to ensure that rent is paid in time every month.
Consider having multiple payment methods available to make this convenient for the tenants. In this case, property management solutions in Chattanooga will reduce your stress as the landlord. You won’t have to set up various payment methods or follow-up the rent or numerous hassles that the tenant might create. A reputed property management company like Evernest, KeyRenter, FirstPM USA or any other that you like will handle all of that on your behalf. At the same time, you won’t have to follow up on late rent with tenants since the property manager will also handle all of this.
Handling tenant complaints
A solid tenant complaints management system is vital to successfully managing your first rental property and also builds a positive reputation for future properties. Implementing a dedicated tenant complaint system will help with following up until there is a solution to the concerns. Instead of solely relying on tenants putting up their complaints verbally, dedicate a mailbox for complaints and assign tasks from those emails. Tools like Microsoft Outlook make this easy since you can generate tasks with reminders and actions steps from the emails.
On the other hand, new rental property owners find using a third-party rental management solution efficient. Professional consumer complaint experts handle all complaints and grievances reported by tenants from properties managed by their company. Since these professionals are also skilled in consumer relationship management, they can also follow up on the queries until they are resolved. From then, you should swiftly handle the complaints, whether it could be other tenants breaking house rules or building maintenance problems. Also, coming to the property yourself when problems arise will instill more confidence in the tenants.
Implementing a preventative maintenance system
Do not wait until something is dysfunctional to fix it. The odds are that it will be much more expensive to repair or replace when it gets too bad. To be proactive about this, implement a comprehensive preventative maintenance system. First, periodically conduct site inspections to see if any of the major elements of the building are deteriorating. Then, when implementing the preventive maintenance system, do a life cycle analysis of those major elements.
At the same time, inspect fixtures such as roofing, cabinets, closets, plumbing, and electrical systems. If anything is not up to standard, note it down and repair it as quickly as possible. You can hire a professional from plumbing Scottsdale to fix plumbing issues. These routine maintenance inspections will also boost tenants’ confidence, building a more substantial reputation for you. Establishing this on your first rental property will set precedence for future properties and even entice more potential tenants.
Approving tenant lease applications
Filtering the types of tenants you want to live on your property is an underrated step that prevents significant problems down the line. For example, implementing a tenant screening and approval process can help avoid having interpersonal issues between tenants. At the same time, selectively approving tenants can prevent maintenance-related issues from constantly arising.
For example, renting apartment complexes to students could result in more breakage than a family. If you decide on having a variety of tenants, instituting a higher deposit could help cover the costs. In whatever you choose, having a simple application form that answers essential questions will contribute to a smooth sailing first experience as a landlord. A third-party property management company can also help navigate this aspect of managing one of your first properties.
Carefully tread through legalities
Agreements, correspondence, and other documentation are essential when managing rental property. Dealing with tenants in good faith could result in legal issues; hence it is imperative to work this aspect properly. Treading through these waters could require a lawyer or experienced property management company. These professionals can guide you when drafting the lease agreement and other correspondence to tenants.
As a result, the tenant onboarding experience will be more efficient and have as few legal problems as possible. At the same time, having all the legal paperwork readily available from the beginning will also prevent other issues down the line. For example, if a tenant does not pay rent for the set number of months, evicting them will be conducted legally using the legal terms that were defined in the agreement.
