The Top 5 Problems Landowners Experience

There are five main problems that landowners have to deal with when they rent or lease their property or properties. These are problems that can be easily solved with the right real estate property management company. However, some people try to save money by handling these challenges themselves, and end up wasting valuable resources and burning themselves out in the process. If you see yourself struggling with some of these issues, this might be a good time to take a step back and reconsider your choices when it comes to property management.

TIME - You only have so much time in a day. If you’ve invested in property and still have a full-time job, you don’t have a lot of time left over - especially if you have a family - to give your property the attention it needs. Even if you are retired or semi-retired, there’s a lot of work to do when it comes to the day to day issues of renting and maintenance. It’s a 24/7 commitment. Your time is better spend arranging financing for necessary renovations or looking for new investment opportunities.

DISTANCE – If you don’t live near your rental property, checking on it and even interviewing potential tenants takes a lot of time and effort. Now add in dealing with tenant complaints, maintenance issues, emergencies, even just collecting the rent on time. If you manage your own property or properties, you’d need to live close by to be efficient and time effective. And the best investments may not be right around the corner. This limitation can affect your long-term success.

INEXPERIENCE – If you don’t know anything about residential property management, you’re in for a series of nasty surprises. There is so much involved that you’ll be overwhelmed just finding out all you have to do. And you not only have to do it, you need to do it quickly, correctly, and legally. Hire a bad or lazy repair person, or take too long filling vacancies and watch your profits melt away. Legal errors will cost you if you don’t understand the housing laws, or if you take too long to fix a furnace in the middle of winter.

MANAGEMENT – There is much more to it than you realized, most of it dealing with people: tenants, repair people, accountants, maintenance people, and lawyers to name a few. Along with collecting rent, maintaining the property to code, and dealing with complaints and problems, there is payroll and a pile of legal requirements and considerations. Basically, you’re an employer with all the accompanying headaches. And I’ll bet that’s not what you signed on for when you invested.

TENANTS – Finding and keeping good tenants isn’t easy. A vacancy is money slipping through your fingers. You need to create enticing ads with good pictures to attract the kind of tenants you want. You must respond to emails, interview people, show the unit, review applications, pull and review credit reports, call references and past landlords, prepare a lease negotiate the terms, get the lease signed…and this is still no guarantee of getting a good tenant – especially if you’re not experienced with renting. Good tenants need a quick follow-up for repair needs. Bad tenants cost you time and money and a few rounds with the legal system to get rid of them! Until they’re gone, one bad tenant can cost you many good tenants, and a lot of money.

The answer to all of these problems is simple. Hire a good residential property management company. They will handle every management issue from renting to maintenance…from emergencies – they get the 2am call that a pipe has burst – to evicting the nightmare tenant. They know the ins and outs of vetting and keeping tenants, all the legalities involved in any situation, and have the best repair people on call. They will lift the weight of property management from your shoulders, and let you relax and watch your investment grow. If you haven’t before, now might be the time to look into finding a good real estate property management company.