Properly managing a rental property requires daily attention and a wide range of expertise. From staying up-to-date on Landlord Tenant Law, knowing the best contractors to handle maintenance and repairs, performing quick and efficient tenant screenings, and more, the team at CrossRoads Realty & Property Management in Ocala is here to take care of all of your management needs. As a landlord, you have enough on your plate—especially if you are managing multiple properties. A professional property management company can add significant value to your investment by doing things like shortening vacancy cycles, helping retain better tenants, and tightening up the rent collection process. If you are on the fence about whether or not a property manager is right for your rental, continue reading to learn a few of the benefits of enlisting the help of a professional management team.
Improved Rent Collection Process
As a landlord, collecting rent each month in an organized and timely manner is of the utmost importance—it is, afterall, the only way for you to maintain a consistent cash flow! Whether you are a first-time landlord or you have been renting properties for years, you are always going to be met with tenants who are forgetful, unorganized or simply too lazy to pay rent on time. In these cases, it’s not always to be the “bad guy” knocking on your tenant’s door, demanding rent and looking for an explanation why the payment is two weeks late. With a professional property manager on your side, you put distance between yourself and your tenant, allowing your manager to play the “bad guy,” easing your stress and ensuring you receive rent payments on time, every single month.
If you are a little more laid back with your rent-collection approach, you are giving your tenants an opportunity to walk all over you and take advantage of your lax attitude. All it takes is a month or two of causal rent collection, and your tenants will be under the impression that paying rent late is OK. This can eventually lead to additional problems like the failure to report maintenance issues promptly and the dismissal of other regulations laid out in the lease. When a property manager is involved, tenants understand that the manager’s job is to enforce the terms in the lease and there is no bending the rules with a professional involved. A property manager will make sure you are receiving your rent on the proper date, each month.
Diminished Maintenance And Repair Costs
When you hire a property management company, not only are you receiving access to a team of professionals, you are also receiving access to a wealth of knowledge, resources and relationships built by the property managers with maintenance staff, contractors and other repairmen. Imagine a burst pipe at three in the morning—your tenant calls screaming because the basement is flooding, and in your waking moments, figuring out what to do next is surprisingly difficult. At CrossRoads Realty & Property Management, our staff responds to emergencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are highly trained and react to emergencies quickly and efficiently. Instead of having to thumb through the yellow pages to find a 24-hour plumber that won’t charge you an arm and a leg, we already know the best contractors to call to ensure your maintenance issue is resolved immediately. By hiring a property manager, you can rest assured knowing the maintenance staff handling your repairs is highly trained and the absolute best in the area—our contractors have already been vetted for excellent work at competitive prices.
Less Stress For You
Being a landlord isn’t always a struggle, but more times than not, the job comes with its fair share of stress. From late-night emergencies to evictions, rental scams, property damage and more, the responsibility can be overwhelming, especially if you are piling the duties on top of your already-busy schedule. Instead of having to keep your phone attached to your hip and on “loud,” in case of emergency, you can silence your phone and sleep soundly knowing your investment is protected by the professionals at CrossRoads Realty & Property Management.
What if you decide to move out of state or even out of the country? With a property manager to look over your rental, you can move wherever, whenever without having to worry about being away from your property. Or if your family plans a month-long trip to Europe, you don’t have to schedule the trip around when your tenants will also be out of town or when your property will be vacant. One of our property managers will protect and maintain your rental with the same care and attention that you would—you lay down the law and we will enforce it!
Better Retention Of Good Tenants
Retaining good tenants is always a landlord’s dream. Having to go through the vetting process time and time again can get frustrating, and when you find tenants you trust and enjoy, you won’t want to lose them. Not only is finding new tenants time consuming, it is also an expensive process. When tenants move out, the turnover process involves lots of cleaning, changing the locks, painting the walls, possibly replacing the carpet, as well as taking care of other minor (or major) repairs. All of these tasks require time and money. You will also need to market and show the property as well as screen and meet with potential tenants. What a headache! With a property management firm on your team, enforced retention policies will ensure happy tenants who stay in your property for an extended period of time. A qualified management team will decrease tenant turnover and make sure only the best and most trustworthy tenants occupy your rental.
Shorter Vacancy Cycles
When your property is vacant, you are spending, not making, money. A short vacancy cycle is always a goal, and a property manager can help shorten the span of your vacancy cycles. From pointing out areas on your property in need of improvement or repair to helping determine the best rent rate and knowing how to properly market your rental, a property manager can help shorten vacancy time ensuring you don’t have to spend long without a steady cash flow. Experienced property managers are familiar with real estate in the local area and are able to help landlords determine the best rent rates—if the rent you attempt to set on your own is too high, it’s likely you won’t receive many (if any!) applications. If you set rent too low, you will be losing money each month and the volume of applicants to sort through will be out of control.
Higher Quality Tenants
Going through tenant applications and trying to find the best candidate can be a long, time-consuming process. After reading multiple background checks and following up with too many less-than-qualified applicants, it is easy to get lazy in the screening process. When this happens, it’s possible that lower quality tenants could slip through, under the radar, and eventually be living in your house. A property management company is highly experienced in screening potential tenants—managers have seen thousands and thousands of applications and know what to look for right off the bat. By allowing a management company to handle the screening process, you will avoid bad tenants as well as scams, lawsuits, property damage and other legal problems.
Some landlords, when attempting to find tenants on their own, fall victim to “emotional screening.” For example, the young college student with a positive attitude, heavy course load and full-time job may remind you of yourself, at that age. So, whereas you should probably be weary of the college kid living paycheck to paycheck, you may be inclined to accept his application as a result of your nostalgic “I remember when I was in his shoes,” response during the meeting. A property management company is completely unemotional during tenant screening. At CrossRoads Realty & Property Management, your happiness and the safety of your investment are our priorities, and we will do everything to ensure you have only the highest quality tenants living in your rental.
Finding The Right Property Management Company
If you live in Ocala or surrounding areas, CrossRoads Realty & Property Management is your premier provider of the finest property management services. The full list of services we offer includes:
Prospect tenant screening
Rent collection and evictions
Maintenance coordination
Marketing and leasing
24/7 emergency response
Monthly and year-end financial reporting
Facilitation of insurance coverage
Service contract coordination
Supervision of outside contractors
We pride ourselves on creating renting and buying experiences that are beneficial and seamless for all parties involved. Whether you are looking to rent out your property, rent a property, buy a home or sell a home, you can count on CrossRoads Realty & Property Management to handle all of your real estate needs. Get in touch with us for more information or to enlist our professional services today.
