A lot of people are shocked when they find out that almost 60,000 people in the Canada alone work in the property management industry. This industry is now earning about $95 billion in revenue in a typical year. You can find more than 32,000 property management services around the country.
As more people get into managing rental properties, there are also more people who want to know how to improve their management processes. There are a lot of different strategies out there for rental property management that can be successful if used in the right situation.
The good news is that using these strategies can often help you get more done while putting in less time and stress. Read on to learn all about the top strategies for successfully managing rental properties!
Many rental property managers want to start out on a positive note with their tenants. This is an excellent strategy, but it should be combined with as much clarity as possible.
The longer you wait to inform tenants about important rules and boundaries, the lower the chance they will follow them. After all, if they get used to living in a certain way in one of your rental properties, it might be harder for them to change to follow rules that they find out about later on.
Sit down and make a list of everything your tenants should know about living in one of your properties. This can include things like whether or not you allow pets, what kind of noise you allow, and what kind of fees there are for late rent payments.
It can be helpful to write down as many items on this list as you can think of at first and then put it aside for a while. When you review it later, you might think of some new things that did not occur to you at first.
Then, it can be helpful to come up with the most graceful way possible to make sure that all of your new tenants understand these rules right from the beginning.
You probably don't want to give prospective tenants this list the first time they inquire about your rental properties. However, you should make sure to give them the list prior to signing a contract with them.
You might also want to give them the list and discuss it with them at least a day before you sign a contract. That way, you can read their reactions and get a sense of how likely it is that they will follow these rules if you approve them.
Although it can be tempting to accept any willing tenant, you can cut down your stress by a lot by only signing contracts with tenants who seem completely willing to follow your rules.
In fact, when it comes to rental properties management, tenant screening can be one of the most valuable things you can invest in.
Many experienced rental property managers notice that most of the problems that they have with tenants come from a small minority of tenants. When it comes to resolving complaints or surprise maintenance problems, tenant issues often follow a Pareto distribution rule. That means that 80% of the extra work comes from only 20% of your tenants.
If this dynamic resonates with your own experience, you might be able to save yourself a lot of time and stress by investing in careful tenant screening. The good news is that screening your attendance is often simple and requires only a little work.
First of all, when your prospective tenants provide you with information about their employment and income, take the time to verify it.
If you have not been asking for references, you might want to start doing so. Then, it can be helpful to actually call up those references.
That goes double if you can ask for references from past landlords. They can often tell you exactly what you need to know about whether or not a tenant will add to your workload or not.
You might even want to invest in background checks. Although that might sound extreme, getting background checks for prospective tenants is much simpler and easier than you might think. There are plenty of services out there that can help you identify prospective tenants with any kind of criminal background.
One of the biggest complaints many tenants have is that it is hard to communicate with their landlords or property managers. Sometimes, the messages that tenants and landlords exchange are not the most pleasant. However, even unpleasant communication is often more satisfying than silence.
If you invest in effective communication systems, you might find that your tenant relationships are much more amicable in the long run. For that reason, consider making it a priority to respond quickly to tenant messages.
Give your tenants an easy way to send you important messages and respond to them as soon as you can, even if it is only with a brief message that says you will respond at greater length later.
Some rental property managers are reluctant to do this because they know that some tenants might send a huge number of messages. However, you can always make an exception to your general rules when dealing with unusual cases. Especially when it comes to your easier tenants, it can be worth focusing on quick communication to help preserve your relationships with them.
That can build a lot of goodwill and make your tenants more willing to listen to your side and accept new rules.
Many rental property managers end up managing more and more properties over time. In some cases, that means that they end up with different organization systems for different properties. Many managers allow this situation to continue because it seems like so much work to standardize everything.
However, in the long run, it is worth putting in the necessary work to create a single organization system for everything. This will make it much easier for you to stay on top of responding to your tenants. It will also decrease the chance that you lose important documents like leases and maintenance records.
You can also find property management companies to help with standardization.
Some rental property managers feel like they are running around putting out fires all the time. This feeling gets worse when they have to deal with recurring maintenance problems. Although it can be difficult, it is often worth investing in preventive maintenance.
That means scheduling inspections to find problems when they are small and no one is complaining about them yet. If you have good relationships with your tenants, you can also invite them to tell you about any maintenance concerns they notice. After all, your tenants often know a lot more about the exact state of your properties than you do.
When you find maintenance problems while they are still small, you can repair them before they develop into more expensive problems. On top of that, it often takes less time to maintain things than to repair them.
In the long run, starting to focus on preventive maintenance will cut down on your workload and expenses.
Not every rental property manager feels like they need to spend money on insurance. However, if you have not tried insuring any of your properties before, you might want to try experimenting with insuring one of them.
That way, you can experience for yourself how insurance affects your peace of mind. It is often easy to neglect this factor when analyzing how much value rental property insurance will provide.
There are more and more tools out there that can help you manage your rental properties with less work. Even a simple tool like a rental property calculator can save you a surprising amount of time.
Take note of any tasks you perform that seem simple and repetitive. These are exactly the kinds of tasks that there are software tools and AI programs to help you with.
We hope that the tips in this article will help you find your best approach for managing rental properties. As the rental property management market becomes more mature, there is more advice than ever before to help people succeed. There are also tech tools and services that can help you make rental property management more efficient.
To learn more about how you can find the best rental property management help for your situation, reach out and get in touch with us here at any time!
As more people get into managing rental properties, there are also more people who want to know how to improve their management processes. There are a lot of different strategies out there for rental property management that can be successful if used in the right situation.
The good news is that using these strategies can often help you get more done while putting in less time and stress. Read on to learn all about the top strategies for successfully managing rental properties!
1. Be as Clear as You Can With Your Tenants
Many rental property managers want to start out on a positive note with their tenants. This is an excellent strategy, but it should be combined with as much clarity as possible.
The longer you wait to inform tenants about important rules and boundaries, the lower the chance they will follow them. After all, if they get used to living in a certain way in one of your rental properties, it might be harder for them to change to follow rules that they find out about later on.
Sit down and make a list of everything your tenants should know about living in one of your properties. This can include things like whether or not you allow pets, what kind of noise you allow, and what kind of fees there are for late rent payments.
It can be helpful to write down as many items on this list as you can think of at first and then put it aside for a while. When you review it later, you might think of some new things that did not occur to you at first.
Finding the Right Time
Then, it can be helpful to come up with the most graceful way possible to make sure that all of your new tenants understand these rules right from the beginning.
You probably don't want to give prospective tenants this list the first time they inquire about your rental properties. However, you should make sure to give them the list prior to signing a contract with them.
You might also want to give them the list and discuss it with them at least a day before you sign a contract. That way, you can read their reactions and get a sense of how likely it is that they will follow these rules if you approve them.
Although it can be tempting to accept any willing tenant, you can cut down your stress by a lot by only signing contracts with tenants who seem completely willing to follow your rules.
2. Focus On Tenant Screening
In fact, when it comes to rental properties management, tenant screening can be one of the most valuable things you can invest in.
Many experienced rental property managers notice that most of the problems that they have with tenants come from a small minority of tenants. When it comes to resolving complaints or surprise maintenance problems, tenant issues often follow a Pareto distribution rule. That means that 80% of the extra work comes from only 20% of your tenants.
If this dynamic resonates with your own experience, you might be able to save yourself a lot of time and stress by investing in careful tenant screening. The good news is that screening your attendance is often simple and requires only a little work.
First of all, when your prospective tenants provide you with information about their employment and income, take the time to verify it.
If you have not been asking for references, you might want to start doing so. Then, it can be helpful to actually call up those references.
That goes double if you can ask for references from past landlords. They can often tell you exactly what you need to know about whether or not a tenant will add to your workload or not.
You might even want to invest in background checks. Although that might sound extreme, getting background checks for prospective tenants is much simpler and easier than you might think. There are plenty of services out there that can help you identify prospective tenants with any kind of criminal background.
3. Focus On Effective Communication Systems
One of the biggest complaints many tenants have is that it is hard to communicate with their landlords or property managers. Sometimes, the messages that tenants and landlords exchange are not the most pleasant. However, even unpleasant communication is often more satisfying than silence.
If you invest in effective communication systems, you might find that your tenant relationships are much more amicable in the long run. For that reason, consider making it a priority to respond quickly to tenant messages.
Give your tenants an easy way to send you important messages and respond to them as soon as you can, even if it is only with a brief message that says you will respond at greater length later.
Some rental property managers are reluctant to do this because they know that some tenants might send a huge number of messages. However, you can always make an exception to your general rules when dealing with unusual cases. Especially when it comes to your easier tenants, it can be worth focusing on quick communication to help preserve your relationships with them.
That can build a lot of goodwill and make your tenants more willing to listen to your side and accept new rules.
4. Standardize Your Organization System
Many rental property managers end up managing more and more properties over time. In some cases, that means that they end up with different organization systems for different properties. Many managers allow this situation to continue because it seems like so much work to standardize everything.
However, in the long run, it is worth putting in the necessary work to create a single organization system for everything. This will make it much easier for you to stay on top of responding to your tenants. It will also decrease the chance that you lose important documents like leases and maintenance records.
You can also find property management companies to help with standardization.
5. Prevent Repair Problems Before They Occur
Some rental property managers feel like they are running around putting out fires all the time. This feeling gets worse when they have to deal with recurring maintenance problems. Although it can be difficult, it is often worth investing in preventive maintenance.
That means scheduling inspections to find problems when they are small and no one is complaining about them yet. If you have good relationships with your tenants, you can also invite them to tell you about any maintenance concerns they notice. After all, your tenants often know a lot more about the exact state of your properties than you do.
When you find maintenance problems while they are still small, you can repair them before they develop into more expensive problems. On top of that, it often takes less time to maintain things than to repair them.
In the long run, starting to focus on preventive maintenance will cut down on your workload and expenses.
6. Invest in Rental Properties Insurance
Not every rental property manager feels like they need to spend money on insurance. However, if you have not tried insuring any of your properties before, you might want to try experimenting with insuring one of them.
That way, you can experience for yourself how insurance affects your peace of mind. It is often easy to neglect this factor when analyzing how much value rental property insurance will provide.
7. Make the Most of Tech Tools
There are more and more tools out there that can help you manage your rental properties with less work. Even a simple tool like a rental property calculator can save you a surprising amount of time.
Take note of any tasks you perform that seem simple and repetitive. These are exactly the kinds of tasks that there are software tools and AI programs to help you with.
Use the Top Strategies for Managing Rental Properties
We hope that the tips in this article will help you find your best approach for managing rental properties. As the rental property management market becomes more mature, there is more advice than ever before to help people succeed. There are also tech tools and services that can help you make rental property management more efficient.
To learn more about how you can find the best rental property management help for your situation, reach out and get in touch with us here at any time!