Maintenance & Upkeep of Investment Property

Property management is a very important part of property investment. If you find the right property but do have poor property management, you will not get the most out of your investment. Although good property management takes time and money initially, it will save you further time and money in the future, and will effectively help your property to run itself. Property management is not simply a case of maintenance and upkeep, but involves how you choose your tenants, security, and other practices that contribute to the effective running of real estate. Here are some ways in which you can improve your real estate property management skills, and so keep yourself and your tenants happy:

Get the right tenants

An important part of good property management is making sure you pick the right tenants. If you have bad, unreliable or destructive tenants then you will lose money and time trying to get rent or repairing broken items. You will also damage your reputation with other residents of the area, and this may harm your ability to let properties in the future. The most important things to consider when choosing a tenant are:

• Use written screening criteria for all applicants, such as a questionnaire or information sheet.
• If possible, run credit and criminal checks on all applicants. An applicant may seem perfect, but in reality they might have very little money and an undesirable background.
• Make sure you view the applicant’s identification.
• Get rental history for the applicant, from at least their present and one past property owner. If they have never rented before, then obtain references from work establishments to verify character.

Although these property management steps can take time, it pays to have good reliable tenants. With good tenants who respect your property and their neighbours and pay on time, your job as a property manager will be made much easier.

Before renting the property

Before a tenant moves in, there are a number of property management areas that need to be looked at. This will make sure that the property is in the best condition it can be, and will mean that less work will have to be done in the future. It will also help attract possible tenants to the property, and so ensure you can rent the property more quickly when needed. The measures you should take before a tenant moves in are:

• If you are renting the property furnished, make sure it has all the necessary items ready for use, and that they are working and in good condition. Prospective tenants will require a certain standard, depending on the price or size of the property, and you have to make sure your property is up to scratch.
• Repaint the property and replace any items that look old or badly worn, or no longer work. Good property management here will mean that your tenant will not have to contact you as soon as they move in to get things changed. This will get you are your tenant’s relationship off to a good start.
• Exchange names and telephone numbers with the close neighbours to the property. That way they can alert you if anything happens during a tenant’s stay, and you can react quickly to problems.
• Assess the property’s safety and security, and install the necessary measures to make the property secure. Simple real estate property management techniques such as installing adequate lighting and keeping gardens tidy can prevent crimes occurring. If your prospective tenants see that the property is safe and secure they are more likely to want to rent your property. Also, if the property is secure you can avoid the unwanted problems of burglary and vandalism, which will cost you time and money.

Get everything in writing

When handling tenants, you must make sure that all the terms and agreements between you and the tenant are clearly set out in writing. This includes things such as the inventory of items in the property, the terms of the security deposit, and how the tenant can contact you about complaints or repair issues. Poor property management and a lack of written information will lead to disputes with tenants that are hard to solve, and possible legal action. If you are your tenant know where you stand with each other, then there is no room for confusion and possible legal issues.

Ongoing maintenance

Once your tenant has moved into the property, you must make sure that your property management continues on a regular basis. If you simply let things run their course throughout a tenancy, you will have to start again once the current tenant moves out, which will mean you cannot rent the property as quickly as you might want. Furthermore, if you adopt poor property management techniques once the tenant has moved in, they will become unhappy and may have grounds to leave before their agreement has expired. Ways in which you can maintain your property include:

• Perform regular inspections of the property to make sure it is in good condition.
• Ask tenants regularly if everything is working, so that any problems can be sorted quickly and without disruption.
• Make sure tenants can easily contact you if they have any problems, so you can respond quickly and effectively.

Benefits of good property management

There are many benefits to good real estate property management, both for you’re your tenants and the local neighbourhood. These include:

• A stable and more satisfied list of tenants
• An increased demand for your property when available, and the possibility to charge higher rent due to your good property management reputation.
• Lower maintenance and repair costs
• Increases in the value of your property
• Peace of mind for you, in that you have to spend more time on simple routine management than on crisis control and problem solving.