You want your rental property to be a fairly hassle-free venture, and sometimes, it probably feels like it is. Sure, you have to answer the occasional phone call, stay on top of your bills and rent collection, and make sure emergency repairs are dealt with quickly, but for the most part, it’s pretty hands-off…right?
The truth is, you might be spending more time on your rental property than you think. Even small amounts of time can add up until you’re spending quite a lot of time managing your property and your tenants.
If you’re not sure how much time your rental property is taking up, it’s important to figure it out. If property management is taking up too much of your time, it might be worth hiring a property management company to take some of that work off your hands. There are handy online calculators that may help you see how much time you’re really spending. We’ve come up with a quick list of some of the things you do to manage your property that may be taking up more time than you think.
Figuring Out How Much to Charge
It seems like it should be simple enough: you charge enough to cover your expenses, with a little profit left over, right? Well, to get to that magic number, you’ll have to do some research. What kinds of repairs does your property need now? What repairs will it need in the coming years? What is a competitive rental rate for a property with a similar size and location? How much are its upgrades worth to renters? How quickly do rental properties get filled in the area? These questions may require some digging to figure out, and that digging could take up a good amount of your time.
Preparing and Reviewing Rental Applications
You want your applications to cover all the bases because you know how important it is that your potential tenant check all the boxes of your ideal renter. That means that you’ll have to spend time not only coming up with a rental application that covers all necessary questions, but also reviewing all the applications you receive. That time adds up—fast.
Managing Move-In
If you think all you have to do is meet your renter one time to hand over the keys, think again. Before you meet the renter at all, you’ll have to make sure the property is ready to be occupied, with maintenance and repairs already performed. You’ll want to get new locks and keys for the house and make sure you document the condition of the property before the new tenants move in. Then there’s coordinating with your tenant to sign the paperwork, collect deposits, and deliver the keys.
Dealing with Finances
It wouldn’t be too bad if your renter was never late, and the rent money showed up in your account automatically every month. But what happens if the renter is late? Then you have to deal with contacting them and tracking them down for payments and late fees. If, when they move out, the property isn’t in good enough condition for them to get their deposit returned, what then? You have to spend time fighting that battle as well. Making sure you get paid the right amount, on-time, every time, takes up more of your time than you might think.
Handling Maintenance and Repairs
Maintenance and repairs are ongoing problems with any property. By the time you find someone to handle the repair, communicate between repairman and tenant to figure out scheduling, and follow-up to make sure everything was done well, you’ll have spent way more time than you would like on the project. Add in the time you spend figuring out the finances behind repairs and maintenance, and you’ll really be wishing you could save some time.
Each individual aspect of property ownership may not be too time-consuming, but the things we’ve mentioned here are just a drop in the bucket of all the time-consuming things a property owner has to deal with. Combined, all of these tasks add up to take up a lot of your time. If you’re realizing that you spend more time than you thought on your rental property, it may be time to call in backup!
Real Property Management East Valley helps property owners like you free up their time for more important things. RPM takes all the hassle off your plate, dealing with things like marketing, showing, and maintaining your property, along with staying on top of your tenants for payments. They’ll even help with evictions (because nobody’s got time for that!). If you’re ready to save some time and still enjoy all the best benefits of property ownership, call RPM East Valley at 480-981-7000 for a free management quote.
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