By: Raymond James
About the Author:
Ray is a sought after thought leader and an expert in financial and money management. He has been published and featured in over 50 leading sites and aims to contribute articles to help novice financial planners. One of his goals is to impart his knowledge in finance to educate and help ordinary people create and achieve their financial goals.
A property manager plays a huge role in ensuring that your property is well maintained and you receive profitable returns on investment. If you are a first-timer in real estate, hiring a property manager is a no-brainer as they provide you with invaluable industry knowledge and tools to guarantee success for your investment. Below are some main advantages you can explore when hiring a property manager.
Legal Issues are Handled Faster
One bad tenant can cause serious financial and legal implications for you. You may not be well-equipped to handle such matters. With professional property managers, you are guaranteed to have fewer legal issues as most of them have connections with great attorneys that can easily navigate any legal issue that crops up. A good property manager will, by all means, ensure that lawsuits stay at bay through various measures. These measures include tenant screening, completion of property inspections, collecting rent & deposits, handling evictions, and the signing and terminating leases.
Rent Collection
If you have a property in Australia, for instance, Shield Property Managers can come in handy in ensuring timely and consistent rent collection. In addition to this, property managers ensure seamless, law-abiding evictions for uncooperative tenants. Contrary to popular belief, rent collection is not easy. With good property managers, you can realize a significant difference in the performance of your investment compared to similar investments by peers who are inexperienced but choose to manage their property on their own. As mentioned earlier, property managers usually do tenant screening, which helps determine whether tenants can meet their monthly rent obligation on time from the onset of the agreement.
Precise Rental Pricing
Rental rates are suited for attracting prospective tenants and great for maintaining them. Getting an experienced professional to accurately price your rental units to attract the best-suited tenant is paramount. Your rental rates should be fair, appealing, and competitive, and industry knowledge aids in making the right pricing decision. If you go at it alone and set the bar too high or too low, you miss out on revenue which hurts your income.
Identification of Areas to Add Value
Another key advantage of having a property manager is that they will often give suggestions of additions that you could make to your property to make it more attractive to potential tenants. These changes and additions may include re-painting walls, installing dishwashers or air conditioners, adding wardrobes, and expanding or redesigning your parking space. A third party will most likely give you insights that you probably would not have thought of or would have otherwise overlooked.
Outdoor Space Maintenance
What attracts tenants to your real estate first is your outdoor space and the outside appearance of your property. Property managers suggest what needs to be done to add ambiance to your property. Fixing broken windows, maintaining lawns and gardens, adding flowers and plants to make your property’s front porch more appealing, and re-painting scrapped surfaces are great suggestions a proactive property manager could give you.
Professional Marketing
A professional property management firm often has tools to market your property efficiently, ensuring higher occupancy rates. For instance, with professional photography services, your property can stand out and is marketed well in relevant spaces. While your real estate could be top-notch, only a small audience will be aware of its existence without a marketing partner in place.
More Time and Less Stress
Managing property on your own can be very demanding. Most people are not ready to make that full-time commitment which makes hiring a property manager essential. When you have a trusted partner catering to the smooth running of your property and giving you necessary reports and insights, you will most likely have peace of mind.
Bringing a property manager on board can be an extra expense for a property owner since most property managers charge a percentage of the total rent collected as a fee for their services. However, the pros of hiring a property manager outweigh the costs, making this a smart decision for both new and more experienced real estate investors.
