Properties

How To Manage Your Properties Better?

Managing investment properties can become all-consuming when you own more than one or two.

Whether you’re a San Antonio property manager or investor, what are some proven strategies to manage your investments more effectively?

Know The Home Or Building

When you buy or manage a new property, make sure you know the home or building well as soon as you can. It’s important to know every system in the building and know all of its weak spots.

Every system in the property has a lifespan and maintenance schedule that you need to know by heart. The worst thing is if something goes wrong with a major system when you rent it and this is because of lack of maintenance.

It’s possible to streamline property maintenance today with a variety of property management software. It helps to keep the home serviced and you won’t need to spend any more time than necessary to keep the home well repaired.

Never Procrastinate

Successful property owners and managers don’t put off things for next week that need to be done today. It’s especially important to take care of property maintenance and repairs on a timely basis to make sure things don’t get neglected that can cost you.

For example, it’s tempting to put off that occasional leak you see coming from upstairs that leaves a water stain in the kitchen ceiling. An occasional drip from upstairs should be investigated the moment you see evidence of it.

A leaking faucet or pipe that is a minor issue for a while can become a nightmare than causes major damage if neglected long enough.

Every time you walk a property, always look for signs of water leaks. If you suspect something, make sure every faucet and toilet is shut off, then check the water meter to see if the dial is spinning. If so, look for the water leak until you find it.

Find Better Tenants

If there is something other than poor maintenance that can cost owners and managers money, it’s getting bad tenants that don’t pay and damage property.

It’s important to have a streamlined system to find the best tenants. This system should make it automatic to do credit and background checks and receive rent on time.

You may think about letting down your guard on acquiring tenants if there is a vacancy or two. But getting a tenant who doesn’t pay can cost you a lot more money than one missed month of rent. Sometimes it’s better to let the unit stay vacant until a better tenant is found.

Reinvest In The Property

Plan to reinvest some of the rental property’s profits every year in maintenance and repairs. You should set up an account for each property that has maintenance funds you can tap into as repairs and maintenance issues come up.

Remember that the more the property is rented is a good thing, but that means more wear and tear.

What you don’t want is to have enough money available when repairs are needed.

Watch Your Pricing

Rents change as the real estate market changes, so it’s critical to check what real estate prices and rentals are doing in your community. Every quarter, talk to your real estate agent about what’s going on within prices and rents in the neighborhood.

It’s important for your monthly rents to be competitive with the others around. Rents shouldn’t be too high or too low compared to the competition.

Remembering these essential tips when doing property management will ensure you will make as much money over time as possible.