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Having a property manager can lift a lot of weight off your shoulders as a property owner, but once that’s no longer the case, considering other options may be more beneficial to your business. After all, the success of your rental business is contingent on your property manager’s efficiency and expertise. Knowing what signs to look for can help you make the right decision, and we are here to help you with that.
Key Highlights
- Issues such as delayed rent collection, high vacancy rates, neglected maintenance, frequent tenant turnover, and unaddressed lease violations indicate a property manager isn’t fulfilling their responsibilities.
- A careless property manager can put your business at risk by failing to comply with landlord-tenant laws, neglecting inspections, or mishandling legal processes like evictions.
- Inefficient management directly affects cash flow, property value, tenant satisfaction, and ultimately the profitability of your rental business.
- Core responsibilities include marketing rentals effectively, screening tenants thoroughly, coordinating timely maintenance, enforcing lease rules, managing rent collection, and maintaining accurate financial records.
- A competent property manager should reduce stress for owners, provide reliable vendor networks, ensure compliance with laws, and handle complex tasks like evictions, allowing landlords to focus on growth rather than daily problems.
1. Delayed Rent Collection
Since rent payments are the lifeblood of a rental business, delays with rent collection can throw everything off balance. Your cash flow will be negatively affected, and it can lead to late payments on important bills. Even if tenants pay rent late, it is the property manager’s job to enforce lease rules by sending out late notices and issuing late fees.
2. High Vacancy Rate
If you pay for full-service property management, marketing should be included in the package. That means the property manager must devise a marketing plan to attract tenants and fill vacancies. While rental market conditions play a part in the outcome, professional property management should be implementing the marketing strategies that can help your business survive low rental demand.
3. Poor Property Upkeep
Property maintenance is vital to maintain or even increase your property value. Without regular maintenance or prompt repairs, your investment property can fall apart fast. Even when your property manager addresses maintenance issues, poor-quality work can lead to recurring problems, resulting in higher costs for you in the long run. It’s best to hire property management companies that already have a reliable network of vendors to contact when the need arises.
4. Frequent Turnover
Good tenants may leave if they feel neglected by management, such as being unresponsive to maintenance requests or ignoring complaints. This may also be because you end up renting to bad tenants due to poor tenant screening. A good property manager uses comprehensive criteria to prevent disputes and violations.
5. Unaddressed Lease Violations
As mentioned before, it is a property manager’s responsibility to enforce your lease rules. When tenants sense that your property manager is less vigilant, they may be encouraged to disregard the rules, potentially causing disturbances to other tenants in a multi-unit property. In turn, this becomes another contributing factor to high turnover rates.
6. Non-Compliance with Landlord-Tenant Laws
Many real estate investors turn to property managers to avoid violating landlord-tenant laws, given that it requires a certain amount of knowledge to navigate them. It is within a property management professional’s purview to ensure that there are no missed legal requirements, such as inspections and permits. Your rental business’s reputation could be impacted if the property manager fails to comply.
7. Incomplete Services
The primary benefit of hiring full-service property management is that you can earn passive income while being a stress-free landlord. If you have to handle tasks or intervene to fix things, then you are not getting your money’s worth. If anything, you’re handling more since you have to put out fires that your property manager caused.
What Should Your Property Manager Do For You?
Marketing
The services should include marketing your rental property to maximize visibility when finding potential tenants. Ideally, they should offer a dedicated leasing specialist to update listings and show applicants the property.
A professional rental market analysis can also help you set the right rent price. Some services include taking professional photos of your rental property, as well as online advertising exposure, both of which are crucial to renting your property quickly.
Tenant Screening
Meticulously screening your tenants is the best way to ensure that you get quality renters. Hire a property manager who uses comprehensive screening criteria, such as credit score, eviction history, employment verification, criminal history, debt-to-income ratio, and calls to previous landlords.
Even if the applicant seems like the perfect tenant, a good property manager would still ask the important questions about matters outside the criteria.
Maintenance
Maintenance is what keeps your rental property in good condition, which keeps tenants safe and retains property value. This generally covers regular maintenance, routine inspections, and maintenance coordination. A seasoned property manager will also have a network of reliable vendors to ensure quality service.
Rent Collection
Collecting rent is easy enough, but your property manager should be able to handle tenants who pay late or do not pay at all by enforcing your lease rules, all while considering necessary tenant protections. Property management companies can also offer you access to their in-house tenant portals for seamless payment methods.
Accounting
Getting your business financials in order helps you monitor how well your investment is doing, allowing you to take the necessary steps to make it as profitable as you can. It is also crucial for handling taxes and covering other financial obligations. Without accounting knowledge, inaccurate financial statements can lead to missed payments, negative cash flow, or even legal issues.
Eviction Protection
Your rental property manager should avoid eviction as much as they can, but should it become unavoidable, they should be able to oversee the entire eviction process and navigate while considering eviction laws. In more extreme cases, your property manager should be capable of prosecuting actions, recovering the property, and collecting due rent.
Austin Property Management, At Your Service
You deserve the best property management service you can find in Austin, Texas, and with our years of experience in the local market, we can provide what you need. With our expertise and resources, your rental business will thrive under our care.
Our services cover all the core responsibilities a property manager should, and execute them with efficiency and vigilance. With Austin Property Management, you can truly be a hands-free landlord.
Contact us now, and let’s get started!
