Property management is not a simple job. It takes great effort to operate a business alone. Commercial property investors recognize this fact and often hire professionals. Other owners find themselves doing the hard work solo. This is because they find it difficult to spend a part of their profit on a management company. Commercial property owners who don’t hire property management companies do the difficult work to save money. Managing properties without a property manager is not impossible, although it’s quite tricky. Here’s how you can handle the work alone.
Inspection
You are going to have to inspect the property thoroughly. This is something that a property manager might have done. However, you can do it as well. You would just have to take time to do so.
In the case of finding some issues, you are going to have to find a maintenance company. Afterward, you will have to oversee the workers as they fix the problems around the house. Try not to be too cheap, but also don’t pay too much. You don’t want to get tricked. If you are not a professional, it might be difficult to deal with these issues. But if you choose to work alone, you can surely overcome these problems.
Create a plan
Once you have bought the property you need to set up a plan. First of all, are you going to rent it out daily or monthly? There are different approaches to take on the two types of rental properties.
Set up a payment plan. Sort out the rent amount. Get yourself ready to meet different people. Marketing is incredibly important. You need to post an advertisement for your property on multiple websites. The more platforms you get on the better.
Without a property management company behind your back, you will have to look up the statistics of what the tenants and guests are looking for. You will need to search for the best marketing strategies. Keywords and advertising are essential.
Make sure you take quality photos. Try to take pictures of every room from every angle. Put down the details of the property. Any features that are crucial for the applicants to know.
Daily Rental Property
When you have guests visiting your property daily, you are going to have to purchase quite a lot of items. Like towels and soaps. You would have to treat your property like it’s a hotel and clean it very carefully. This is going to take quite a lot of energy. If you have a property manager hired, they will find you a great cleaning crew. They would give you options on what type of payment you should take hourly and daily. However, if you work alone, you will have to do these things by yourself.
Monthly Rental Property
When you have tenants occupying your property for months, you will have to set up a contract. First, you need to make a list of your policies. Then you are going to have to go through the property law. Make sure to pay attention to the details. Sometimes laws are different in various states.
Then, you are going to have to make sure that you find the best tenants. Check their background, work status, and criminal history. Ask them to tell you about themselves. You don’t want to get involved in fraud. Take their income into account so you know that they can pay rent on time each month.
Without a professional, you will need to take time to learn these things yourself. Get accustomed to the management style. Be cautious and keep your energy.
Collect Rent and Communicate with the Guests
As a property owner, whether you have guests or tenants, you will have to set up a system on how you are going to receive the payment. Make sure that you always get transfers on time. Maybe you need to ask for prepayments.
Your tenants and guests are going to have some requests from time to time. It is your job to work on their experience. You need to meet and even exceed their expectations. Customer satisfaction is essential in any business. A property manager already knows what issues might arise, since they have education in the field. You would have to gain experience slowly. Learn what the tenants like or dislike about the property and find solutions.
You are going to need to track the payments, transactions, deadlines, and contracts. You will have to work on maintenance issues and oversee the tenants and guests so they don’t do any damage.
In the end, you will have to be extra careful. Every detail needs to be checked. You are going to have to gain a lot of experience in the industry. You can manage a property without a property manager, but your business will take more time to grow and succeed.
Most likely you will hire a professional after you have invested in more properties as it gets near impossible to keep track of every detail when you have several homes to operate.
