If you’re looking for a way to diversify your investment strategy, bring in passive monthly income, and build a strong financial foundation, one option is buying a rental property. According to Statista, around 44 million housing units were occupied by renters in the U.S. in 2021. It adds that this number has been climbing gradually since 2010.
But even if you want to buy an investment property, do you also want to be a landlord? Wearing the hats of owner and landlord comes with many responsibilities that will eat up your time. You might even find that managing your rental property means you can’t have much of a life.
Consider these three ways to save time by hiring a property management firm.
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The Property Manager Will Offer Customer Service
A property management firm will help by providing customer service to your tenants. If you don’t get help, you must be on call 24/7. You’d probably rather not have to field calls from tenants when you’re eating dinner at the kitchen table with family, out and about on errands, or in bed trying to get a good night’s sleep. But if you’re the landlord of your investment property, you’ll have to be ready to field calls at all hours. You won’t have any free time.
Whether tenants want to report non-working appliances, issues with other tenants, or something else, you must respond quickly and adequately to keep tenants satisfied. After all, you don’t want to turn off good tenants with shoddy customer service. The sort of tenants you’ll want to keep for the long term will leave at the end of their leases if they’re not treated well.
A property manager will treat tenants the way they deserve to be treated. Requests will be handled the right way and in a timely fashion — and the process won’t eat up any of your time.
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Property Manager Will Take Care of Maintenance and Repairs
Another way a property manager will save you time is by leading out when it’s time for maintenance and repairs. Do you want to spend all afternoon at a home improvement store speaking to sales representatives who might not know what they’re talking about?
When you retain a property management firm, you can trust the service provider to take charge. It can leverage its contacts to find labor, materials, and equipment at the best rates. So, you won’t only save time by letting a third party assist. You’ll also potentially save a small fortune.
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The Property Manager Will Screen Tenants
Finding quality tenants isn’t as easy as you might think. In fact, you might know a landlord living through the nightmare of having tenants who won’t pay their rent. There’s no way to guarantee you won’t end up with a tenant who causes you headaches. But proper screening can significantly increase the odds of getting quality tenants who cause no problems. A property manager can manage the extensive process of screening tenants. The process involves the following:
- Getting credit score records
- Doing background checks
- Requesting employment history and proof of income
- Asking for landlord reference letters
- Conducting interviews with would-be tenants
Doing all of the above on your own will require time and effort. And even if you do try to do it on your own, you need to do it properly to get results. It’ll be much easier to hire a property manager that can screen applicants and find you the right tenants.
These are some ways a property manager can help you save time — time you can use for other things. Do you have a full-time job, family commitments, or other items on your plate? If so, you might not want to be a landlord. With the right property manager, you can be an investment property owner who still has a life. It can make owning a rental property a more pleasant experience.
Interesting Related Article: “5 Crucial Tips to Hire the Right Tenant for Your Rental Property“