by Barker Realty, Inc. | Sep 3, 2018 | Local Property Management, Property Management Blog, Tenant Management, Tips for Landlords
Educating Tenants at Move-In to Avoid Unnecessary Work Orders
Real estate is a significant investment that can potentially yield high profits. As a property owner, you need to educate yourself with the necessary information about your rental property, the housing market and the region in which you have your rental(s) in order to build a better, more healthy relationship with your tenants. Building these relationships gains their trust and your credibility to ultimately reduce and avoid unnecessary work orders.
The best way of educating a tenant and maintaining them for longer periods of time is by hiring the services of a local real estate management company, like Barker Realty, who have experienced rental property managers on staff with years of experience.
Companies like Barker Realty should be in a position to handle any tenant need and make sure that your investment property is kept up efficiently and in your best interests.
Let us share some basic tips in dealing with tenants to ensure a healthy, balanced relationship:
1. Provide Utility & Home Service Information
As a rental property manager, tenants should be provided information about important local service providers, such as utility companies, phone, TV, internet and city/town contacts before they move in. Providing these details to your tenants shows value and benefits in proving you care about their smooth transition. Your tenants should have enough time to make the calls to get tech’s scheduled and services activated at their new home (your rental).
2. Provide Parking Information
Parking can be a pain anywhere, but it shouldn’t be at your tenant’s new home. Some tenants may have cars and others not, but those who do should know where they can and cannot park and if there are restrictions on time of day or night as well. Allowing your tenants time to check out the area to find parking or use a lot or a driveway is key and will also cut down on possible neighbor or neighborhood complaints.
As a property management company, our team at Barker Realty knows to ask tenants how many cars they have as well to help identify a potential issue before it arises or give the green light that everything will be fine.
3. Provide Important Details About Payments, Maintenance Requests, and Any Deadlines
When it comes to rental payments, many landlords face challenges from tenants who may be late or delinquent or provide false excuses on why they can’t pay on time. Same applies to maintenance requests or needs from tenants over the days, weeks, months, years. Property owners don’t want to be hassled with this each month, so that is where hiring a property management company becomes of great value.
Your rental management provider, like Barker Realty, will be able to give clear guidelines to your tenants regarding the date of payment, and consequences of delaying the payment. Also, in case of property damages by a tenant, tenants need to understand they are liable. Alternatively, if an issue arises with the property that is not caused by the tenant, then you the landlord are responsible to fix in a timely manner to uphold your end of the lease agreement. Tenants have rights too, and abiding by these situations to help each other out makes for a long lasting relationship.
Supplying your tenants with the above three pieces of quick, useful and helpful information may reduce unnecessary work orders and tension between you and those occupying your rental property.
Contact our Raleigh property management company today to speak with us about your rental management needs or to discuss any of our services. It’s our goal to provide each and every one of our clients the best service!
by Barker Realty, Inc. | Aug 4, 2018 | Property Management Blog, Repair & Upgrades, Tenant Management, Tips for Landlords
Owning an investment property in Cary could be a great long-term investment option. While there are benefits that come with owning investment real estate, it can also be a challenge at times. Even when following the best tenant retention tips and choose qualified tenants, there issues that arise things that need to be dealt with. Fortunately, there are tips that you can follow that could help you to better manage even the most challenging situations.
Consistent Approach
One of the most important things to do is follow a consistent approach. You should have policies and procedures set up to follow if a tenant falls behind on rent. Our Cary based property managers are experienced in these processes.
Keep Records and Documentation
When struggling with a tenant that consistently falls behind on rent, or threatens lawsuits, our experienced Cary property managers make sure to keep proper records at all times. It is very important that you document interaction with emails, letters, and other forms of correspondence. This could be valuable in the event the case goes to trial.
Deposits and Insurance
Another headache for landlords is rental property damage. Accidents do happen. Make sure that you are covered in the event of rental property damage by contacting your insurance agent to discuss options to protect you and your home. Require your tenants to carry a renter’s insurance policy. Require a security deposit up front in certified funds to cover damages at move-out.
If you are a property owner in Cary, contact us today to learn more about the services Barker Realty can provide you on managing your investment property the right way.
by Barker Realty, Inc. | Sep 27, 2017 | Investment Property Blog, Taxes & Financing, Tips for Landlords, Tips for Property Investors
Real estate can be a powerful investment. Buy the right home, and you can rent it out to other families and individuals throughout the years, earning a hefty monthly income as you do. Of course, buying your first home for rent might not be as simple as it seems on the surface. There are a lot of legalities and other concerns to think about, so if you want to make sure that you stay ahead of the curve, then you’re going to need some help from a specialist.
If you want to discover the possibilities of buying a house to rent out, but you want to keep the stress factor to an absolute minimum, the following tips could help.
- Get the Right Advice and Do Your Research
The most important thing you can do to protect yourself when you’re thinking of buying a house to rent out is getting the insight and support of a professional team. The right property management team can not only give you advice on what you need to do as a landlord, but they can also take a lot of the hard work of owning an investment property off your plate.
At the same time, remember to do your own research too. Take courses where you can, read books on investment and talk to other people who have spent some time exploring the market. The more you know about real estate investment, the more confident you will feel when you start your new venture. Just as you wouldn’t move into a new house without help from a professional moving team like our friends at Bellhops Moving Raleigh, you shouldn’t start your venture without insights from specialists.
- Know What to Buy
Once you’ve got the right experts by your side, it’s important to think about how you can get the best house for your future. After all, you want a home that’s going to attract a whole host of potential renters, but you may have to make some compromises if you want to keep your initial investments low. The key is to figure out what you can compromise on. For instance, having to powerwash your home before you sell it is no problem, but if you’ll have to rebuild a roof before you can put the space on the market, then that’s something else entirely.
Check the structural integrity of the home carefully when you’re looking for a bargain, and remember that location is often more important than how a home looks when it comes to attracting renters. Ensure that the neighborhood has plenty of things that appeal to a wide audience.
- Make Sure You Have the Right Finances
Finally, reducing the stress of investing in a home to rent means making sure that you have a good idea of all the finances that you’ll need to deal with, including estimating repairs and other important maintenance costs. Remember that the mortgage cost is only one of the expenses that you’ll need to consider, even if it is your largest outlay. You’ll also need to consider things like repair and maintenance costs too.
Buying your first investment property isn’t always easy, but the more prepared you are from day one, the more comfortable the process should be.
