Property Management vs. Landlord: Less Work, More Profit!
So you’ve found yourself in a new and unknown world of deciding whether or not to sell or rent your current home. You ask yourself, where do I begin? What do I need to know in order to make this decision, and most of all, is this an investment into my future or will I end up drowning in debt? Well I am here to set your mind at ease and help you wade through this new and exciting adventure in life!
Financial Aspect
First and foremost is the financial aspect. Let’s be honest, money is the motivating factor in making this decision. First, I suggest you get your house appraised so that you have a good sense of what your current property is worth. There are more factors here than you would typically consider as well. For instance, if you have a single family home you are wanting to rent or sell, is it in a safe area with a reputable school? What is the long term projection in your neighborhood? There is an excellent (free!) resource in order to determine what your area will look like to others, city-data.com is a fantastic place to start! City-Data can give you information on anything from weather and restaurants to crime rates and the number of law enforcement officials. This site not only helps you to better understand the statistics for the city you’re looking to rent or sale in, but it also helps you to determine who you would be renting to. For instance, some areas have a higher population of college students, while others are families starting out. There are also online calculators that can help you to determine your projected profit for renting vs. selling. You can also set an appointment with Watson Management Services LLC (ahem…I know, I’m bias) to have a licensed agent come to look at your property and give you a better idea of what your property can rent for based on the current market and how much money you would actually need to get the rental up to standards.
Time Commitment
Landlords deal with everything from fixing leaky pipes to having to deal with neighbors, and even the worry of renting to someone they know little about. There are many aspects that go into finding the best renters you can to ensure that your new tenants will treat your property with respect. This takes time, a lot of time! Background checks, financial statements, credit reports, and reviewing applications are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a lot of leg work involved as well (let’s be honest, we all despise leg day at the gym). Proper advertising for the property, meeting potential tenants to do walk-throughs, and organizing any maintenance and repairs prior to move-in. Then…yes there is a then, you have the daunting task of move-out. You get to the property and even though your tenants did the best they could to clean, you still have to deep clean everything. Carpets need cleaning, yard work to be completed, there’s a scratch on the wall from the baby’s crib…the list goes on and on. Who in their right mind wants to take on all of these responsibilities?! I’ll tell you who, a full service property management company! At Watson Management Services LLC (I know, I know, I’ll try to be less bias in future posts!) we will handle every aspect from finding tenants, to scheduling maintenance, and providing an excellent cleaning service prior to showing your property to new perspective tenants. All you have to do is kick back and let the rent check get deposited into your bank account! Okay, so a little more goes into it than that, but for the most part we can contact you at your convince. So you’re thinking to yourself, this sounds great! But what’s in it for the company? Well, we take a small percentage of your rent to cover our costs and labor! See it’s a win-win situation!
Meeting a Professional Property Manager So after reading through the benefits of using a property management company, you’re still a little unsure about the idea of being a hands-off owner. My advice to you is to find a reputable company and schedule a meeting! You can get a better sense of the company itself and what their standards are for taking care of you, your property, and your current or future tenants. A few questions you may want to ask when interviewing a perspective property manager are:
1. How much can I charge for rent with my property as is? 2. Do I need to make any upgrades to the property before advertising? If, so what would you recommend? 3. How do you keep me involved with how my tenants and property are being maintained? 4. What do you believe will be my cost to maintain the property up to current market standards?
Don’t forget to ask questions about the company’s rates, what their process is for advertising, and how they screen potential tenants!
Thank-you for visiting our website! Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments, you can even leave me a handy note in the comments as well!
