Back HomeTips for managing your rental property remotely
Renting out a property when you’re a remote landlord can be either smooth sailing or a nightmare. Whether it’s stress free or a headache very much depends on what type of tenant you have and if you’re lucky enough to avoid issues. One way to make things easier as a remote landlord is to mitigate and minimize risks by hiring a property manager and checking in every now and again on what’s happening to the property.
Many aim to get passive income from rentals without having to do too much to facilitate that income. Here’s what you can do as a remote landlord to maximize your chance of successfully renting over a prolonged if not indefinite period of time.
Hire a property manager
Being a remote landlord is not impossible but there’s so much that needs to be attended to and so much that could go wrong that it’s best to hire a property manager. Full service management will take care of everything that a local landlord will do and have a network of professionals to do so.
They Screen
Property management can screen tenants for you. This makes it much more likely that you’ll have tenants who are diligent in their payments and much more likely to treat your house properly. This is especially important for property management in College Station and other areas which have a large student population.
You want to be sure that you open your vacancies to as many people as possible to keep your rental occupied all year round but at the same time you want to have some security that you’re renting out to the right people.
They keep on top of laws and regulations
You may be familiar with laws and regulations in your own state and the guidelines for your own neighborhood but understandably you won’t know the regulations for other areas. Your local property manager will, better than most private landlords. They stay up to date with any changes and can inform you of any changes that you need to know. They’ll help you ensure you stay above board with all the legal requirements of being a landlord in that locality.
They maintain the property
As well as collecting dues and making sure it gets to you, property managers maintain the property with minimum if any need of your attention. Any maintenance requests can be directed and handled by them. This saves you from having to find a plumber in a completely different state at whatever time it may be.
Having professional people locally there to address any problems a tenant might have is one of the key elements of retaining good tenants and getting great referrals for future ones.
Is a property manager worth it?
Of course, this is a very subjective question. You’ll be paying a property manager between 6% to 12% depending on the services they provide and the quality of the management firm. However, when you take into consideration that they can screen, maintain, market to lease, and help you run a rental with minimal input and fuss on your end, the fee outcome justifies the fee.
Keep in touch with what’s happening locally
You may want to just look at your income from your rental every month but it does pay to know what’s happening locally, especially in the market. Currently there is a large swell of people moving into Texas from places like California. For many who choose to move to Texas, the state is seen as a place where you can have a much better quality of life and have much better returns on your taxes.
Keeping in touch with these matters will keep you informed about the security and profitability of your rentals.
Make occasional contact with your tenants
It doesn’t hurt to make the occasional courtesy call to your tenants. Many would appreciate you calling just to know how they are and if everything is well with their (your) house. This does 2 things. First you get direct feedback from a tenant as to what living in your property is like, and second, you get to know your tenant that little bit better. If they seem like nice enough, reasonable people, you can be satisfied that any property management company you’ve hired is doing the job you’ve hired them to do.
If you’re looking for someone to take care of your property so you can be a successful remote landlord contact Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Caliber Realty and ask about their property management services. You can call at 979.694.8844 or send an email to sales(at)bhhscaliber(dotted)com.
