4 Ways to Lower Your Property Management Cost

property management cost

Property management does have its perks. One of those perks is not the cost. There are a ton of mistakes that many people make when they are first starting out that can drive the cost way up.

Sure, you can try to make a budget but that doesn’t always go as planned if you don’t take care of your maintenance as you should. If you crack down and do your homework though, you can avoid spending a ton of extra money.

We’ve done a little bit of that homework for you. Here are four tips for cutting your property management costs.

1. Always be Aware Of What You’re Buying 

A property may be in a popular location but that doesn’t mean that it’s a good investment to make. If you buy it for this reason alone, you may be left with a building that needs more maintenance than you can afford.

Always look at how much money you’ll have to sink into fixing a place up. This will save you a ton of headaches later on down the line. 

2. A Little Maintenence Goes a Long Way 

You can save money if you do a little maintenance on a property before things get too bad. Trust us, a little sprucing and small repairs are a lot cheaper than having to do full repairs on down the line.

To make sure you never have to make huge, expensive repairs be sure to perform this property maintenance around two times a year. 

3. Get Quality Tenants 

You need to be sure to do heavy background checks on every tenant that is interested in renting out your space. If you don’t then they may leave you with a ton of repairs that you now have to do.

You need quality tenants who aren’t going to cause any horrible damages. If the longest they’ve ever lived somewhere is a few months then chances are you don’t want them.  

4. Have a Good Relationship with Your Vendors 

Your vendors are going to be the people that come in and make repairs to your property. You don’t want to have to change vendors every time something needs to get done. It’s best to pick one that you like and create a good relationship with them. 

If you do then repairs will get done on time and who knows, you may even get a nice discount. 

How to Lower your Property Management Cost if You’re Paying Too Much 

There are a lot of benefits when it comes to property management. One of these isn’t the cost. When you first start out you could be making a ton of mistakes that is driving things up. 

If you pay attention to the property you’re getting and keep up with regular maintenance though, that should put you on the path to lower property management cost. 

Are you ready to find out how you can become a better property manager? Contact us with all your queries. 

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The Dos and Don’ts of Evicting a Tenant Every Property Manager Needs to Know

evicting a tenant

Property owners nationwide filed four eviction notices every minute throughout 2016. In all, 2.3 million Americans got evicted.

Unfortunately, evicting a tenant is sometimes necessary. Are you prepared to handle an eviction if a tenant refuses to pay rent?

Keep reading to learn what every property manager needs to know about evictions.

Evicting a Tenant 101

Choosing the perfect tenant through screening measures will prevent many evictions. Even so, you’re likely to have to evict someone at some point as a property manager.

You should start taking the first steps to eviction under the following circumstances:

  • The tenant has violated the lease
  • The tenant refuses to pay rent
  • The tenant is posing safety or health hazards
  • The tenant is breaking health, noise, or occupancy ordinances
  • The tenant has broken the lease in other ways

Once you have a valid reason to begin the process, you’ll need to learn how to evict the tenant.

The first step is to provide the tenant with a notice of eviction. The document should include a deadline to either pay or move out.

You’ll need to serve the notice by both mail and on the property’s front door.

If the deadline passes, then you’ll need to file the eviction notice with the courts.

Mistakes to Avoid When Evicting a Tenant

Evicting tenants can be emotional. Don’t let the stressful situation make you stumble into one of these common mistakes:

  • Taking the tenant’s property from the rental home
  • Changing the locks
  • Physically removing the tenant from the property
  • Shutting off essential utilities
  • Failing to perform requested maintenance tasks
  • Making threats to withhold the security deposit

Under the law, these actions are not acceptable regardless of how the tenant is behaving. It leaves you vulnerable to a potential lawsuit.

After getting an eviction notice, tenants may try to give you partial payments. Never accept money after the eviction process has started unless it is the full amount owed.

If you do, then you may be forfeiting some of your rights if you have to go to court later.

Tips to Remember During an Eviction

The eviction process is costly and tedious. It’s a lose-lose situation for all parties involved, and it’s usually used as a last resort.

Keep these tips in mind when going through the motions:

  • Always document everything
  • Consider alternative resolutions
  • Don’t underestimate the importance of following the law
  • Consider consulting with an attorney or expert

A property owner can hire an agent or management company to assist with evictions. Such an action can help ensure you are following the laws every step of the way.

The Eviction Process Dos and Don’ts

A tenant’s failure to pay rent is the number one cause for eviction.

This high-stakes process of evicting a tenant is often stressful and emotional. Despite this, it’s necessary to keep your composure throughout the process.

Keep these tips and pitfalls in mind next time you need to evict a tenant.

If you have questions about how an agent can help you, then reach out to us on our online contact form.

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How to Choose the Perfect Tenant for Your Rental Property

the perfect tenant

Are you looking for ways to ensure you find the right tenant for your new building?

Renting is a great way to earn extra cash. However, you want to make sure your renter is trustworthy and dependable.

This article will give you 5 tips on choosing the perfect tenant.

1. Post Your Property Online

The first step in finding a good tenant is creating an online listing for your property.

You need to make your listing as forthcoming as possible. Be sure to clearly state how much rent and utilities will be.

Tell people what the laundry and parking situations are. The more honest you are about your property the more time you will end up saving.

You won’t get dozens of emails from people who need more information. You’ll only get emails from people who are serious about what you have to offer.

2. Set Standards

If you want a good tenant, you need to set standards.

You should have an income requirement for your tenants. For instance, you can make it a requirement that your tenant must earn three times what the pay in rent.

This will ensure you aren’t renting to someone who can’t afford the place.

3. Hold Showings

Showing your home or apartment before renting it is a way to ensure your tenant knows what to expect.

Be wary of anyone who wants to rent your property without seeing it.

At the showing, you can get a sense for what kind of person your prospective tenant is. You can tell if they’re friendly and trustworthy by how they act during the showing and what questions they ask.

4. Conduct a Background Check

If someone is going to be living in your home for a long time, it’s important you know things about them.

You don’t want to rent to just anyone. Conduct a background check to find out if they have any past felonies or misdemeanors that might make you not want to rent to them.

It’s also a good idea to ask for a reference letter from their previous landlord. The previous landlord can tell you if they paid rent on time and how they behaved as a tenant.

5. Don’t Take Down the Listing Right Away

Even if you think you’ve found the perfect tenant, don’t take down the listing right away.

It’s common for tenants to get cold feet before signing a lease. Leave the listing up until after a week after the lease is signed to make sure the tenant you found is sticking.

Thank everyone else for their interest, you never know who might be looking when your space is available again.

Follow These Steps to Find the Perfect Tenant

These steps will lead you to the perfect tenant for your home or apartment.

The right tenant is one who cares for your property and pays rent on time, every time.

Remember to be straightforward with your property listing and to spell out everything clearly in your lease.

Have questions for us? Want to tell us about your experience leasing your home or apartment? Please contact us here.

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Unlocking the Mysterious Lease: Your Guide to Apartment Utilities

apartment utilities

Given that more people rent their dwelling now than any other time in the last 50 years, landlords hold an immense power in the current economy.

From added fees, taxes, to apartment utilities, landlords often attempt to pass their costs to their tenants to save money and increase profits. However, this isn’t always legal and often is unethical, especially if it deceives their tenants from paying what they assumed they would be paying.

Here are three questions to ask yourself if your bill seems higher than it should be.

1. Did You Agree to a Fixed Rate?

Your lease should have laid out exactly how much you’ll be paying every single month. Even the most stripped down lease will tell you what you’ve agreed to pay and under what circumstances.

If you got your rent bill and see all kinds of charges and fees, you might have to check whether or not this is legal in your region. Anyone who signs a lease agreeing to pay a fixed rate is only required to pay that rate. Landlords who ask for more are in violation of the law.

Pay the fixed rate that you agreed to. If you have time, seek out a lawyer who can help you. Ask around and look on message boards to see if this is standard or not.

2. What’s the Breakdown?

Check out the actual breakdown of your fees. In some cities and regions, tenants pay water bills on top of cable fees, gas bills, and electricity. In other regions, it’s standards to roll them all into the cost of rent.

New York City rents are often called some of the most expensive in the U.S. However, in most NYC apartments, heat and hot water are required to be provided by landlords no matter what. There are standard temperature requirements and calendar dates that they have to have heat running during.

Depending on where you live, those utilities should be rolled into your rent, not added on top of.

3. What’s Legally Required for Owners to Pay?

See what is legally required for your landlord to pay. If you’re being charged for trash fees, your landlord may be violating the law. Charging their carefully chosen tenants for something that they should deal with is unethical and should be reported.

Call 311 or your local tenant protection services if your landlord violates the law. They must be held accountable. You could be a hero to many of your neighbors for blowing the whistle on your landlord.

Never assume that you’re the only one being hit by a certain fee or an added cost. It’s likely that other people are dealing with it too.

Apartment Utilities Might Not Be Your Problem

In some areas of the country, apartment utilities are the domain of the owner of the dwelling. Rather than having tenants pay, cities and townships hold owners responsible for the costs incurred. If your rent bill seems higher than it should be, ask questions.

If you’re considering turning your home into an Airbnb, check out this guide to ensure you don’t become a bad landlord yourself.

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Finding Sun City property management

Sun City, CA is a great place to invest in a rental property. The locale is pleasant and clean, the locals are known as great people and the area is quite popular. A real estate property can do well in Sun City, but even in such an established environment, managing a rental can be a special challenge. Locating quality tenants takes a lot of time and energy, plus monthly collections, property repairs, and routine maintenance can easily overwhelm an owner. In many cases, turning it over to management professionals is the best course of action.

What is Property Management?

Property management is professionally maintaining and caring for real estate rental properties. Managing a rental property can be a difficult, time-consuming operation. Here are some of the most important duties of property management.

  • Locating a good renter. This might seem like an easy task, but getting a bad tenant can be an ongoing nightmare. They can make monthly collections difficult, cause extensive damage to your valuable property, or otherwise break with the contract of the lease. Diligent, careful checks into the potential renter’s history, financial condition and references are necessary to avoid tragic results later on.
  • Monthly collections. If you have good tenants, this can be a simple monthly process. But if you have renters who frequently neglect to pay on time, it can be an ongoing headache. If the tenant becomes a consistent non-payer or violator of your contract, it’s possible that at some point you may need to process an eviction and have them removed.
  • Maintenance and repairs. No matter how new or wonderful the home may be, it will eventually develop some sort of problem and require attention. This can leave a tenant with an urgent need at an inconvenient time, and they will need the means to contact someone for help. Minor issues may be able to wait for a better time, but a major problem may demand immediate attention.

What Does a Property Management Company Do?

If your property is in Sun City, you need a local Sun City property management company. You need a professional team on your side, to diligently manage your rental for you. They can handle all the processes of accepting tenant applications, screening the applicants, performing all the required security and eligibility checks, collecting deposits and getting all the contracts modified and signed. They also collect your monthly rental payments and forward those payments to you. If the property develops an issue, they send a local team to correct it, or contact and schedule a contractor to correctly service your property. Your tenants are satisfied, everyone is happy, and your rental income remains steady.

Property Management in Sun City

To contact a quality property management company, click here for help finding Sun City property management experts. Our management team can take care of all your property needs, and keep your investment producing for you effectively, efficiently, and hassle-free. Turn your management needs over to the professionals today, and let them take care of everything for you.

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