Purchasing property and letting it out provides a healthy income stream to willing investors over long-term periods. However, managing commercial or residential, single-family, or multi-units is a hassle and headaches are inevitable.
Patience and hard work go into finding the right tenants and maintaining the property. Hence its vital to find the best property management firm. So what type of services does a property management company offer?
Property management includes screening the credit histories, backgrounds of applicants, drawing up leases and processing rent payments. Maintaining tax and legal records and dealing with maintenance issues and complaints.
Before choosing the option of dealing with a professional property management company, the first thing to consider is if you have the time and expertise to manage your own property. Can you conduct basic handyman tasks?
Are you a reliable electrician and are your plumbing skills solid? Do you mind being on call 24/7 to handle issues that will without doubt inevitably arise? Can you confront tenants over complaints or late payments?
Hiring a property management firm can eliminate after-hours phone calls and mitigate day-to-day hassles. Some maintenance issues (such as determining whether to repair an old dishwasher or replace it with a new one) are sure to require you to assess the situation and determine how to proceed.
A big part of what any property management firm (or hands-on landlord) is dealing with tenants daily. Responsibilities vary from advertising open units, screening prospective tenants, drawing up leases, handling move-ins and move-outs. Dealing with complaints, collecting rent, handling late payments and managing evictions.
Property management firms have legal knowledge in law aspects of the landlord and tenant relationship. This Includes understanding the rights of each party and how to proceed legally in the event of any problems that arise.
According to a Fitzanne Estates property management agent, “hiring a property management firm a good ideal especially if you do not want to deal with a lot of paperwork. A property management firm can easily draw up lease agreements and handle the billing and accounts for monthly rent.
However, if you only have one or two rental properties with long-term tenants, dealing with paperwork shouldn’t take more than a few hours each month. Nor should it occupy more than one drawer of a filing cabinet.
But if you own an entire building with a high turnover rate, that volume and time commitment can add up quickly. Therefore, property management is an essential need that can free up some of your time.”
