It's Friday and you're thinking about your weekend plans. Do they include hobbies? Spending time with family and friends? Relaxing?
This is often not the case for landlords trying to stay afloat and do everything on their own. Their weekend plans likely include repairs, property maintenance, getting units ready for new renters, or handling lease signings and rent collection.
The weekend is too short as it is, and when you spend much of it handling menial tasks for your rental properties, you have little to no downtime. Purchasing an investment property is supposed to make you money, not become another full-time job.
If this sounds like you, read on to learn more about how you're wasting your weekend and what you can do about it.
Tenant Screening
Tenant screening is an important part of the rental process. You should verify their income and employment, run a background check, and look into their rental history. If this isn't something you do on a regular basis, it can take time to do all of these things.
A property management company can handle the entire process for you. They will market your property, gather applications, conduct screenings, and background checks, and sign the lease with the tenant. You can be completely hands-off throughout this process.
Small Repairs
Think about all of the small repairs you regularly do around your own home. As a landlord, you'll be responsible for many of those repairs at your rental unit as well.
Tenants should do some small repairs on their own, but landlords typically handle any sort of painting, repairing broken appliances, etc. If you have more than one property, you could spend an entire weekend day handling these menial tasks.
Property management companies usually have people on staff or contract with a handyman service to take care of all of these repairs for you. They will often require a reserve account and pull the costs of these repairs from there.
Collecting Rent
Going from property to property to collect rent from your tenants is a huge time suck on your weekends. Instead of collecting rent or accepting paper checks, have a property management company handle rent collection.
Most of them will set up an online payment system where your tenants can pay their rent and the money is transferred directly to your bank account. This saves time and effort for everyone and ensures that you get your rental income in a timely fashion.
Routine Maintenance
Other routine maintenance, such as washing windows, power washing driveways and sidewalks, landscaping, mowing the lawn, and cleaning up leaves and other debris takes a ton of time. If this is something that is not required of your tenants, you'll have to find the time to handle it.
Again, a property management company can handle the day-to-day routine maintenance for you, giving you the ability to actually enjoy your weekend.
Enjoy Being a Landlord by Hiring a Rental Property Management Company
Chances are you didn't become a landlord to spend your weekend taking care of your rental properties. Like most people, you likely invested in real estate to make money. You can save yourself time and headaches by taking advantage of the services offered by property managers. They can handle as much or as little of the rental process and day-to-day management as you'd like.
If you're ready to have some of the responsibilities of your properties taken off your shoulders, contact us at Residential Equity Management. We offer a full range of property management services from marketing to rent analysis in the Folsom area.
