How to Succeed at Real Estate Property Management

Installment #19

For a successful real estate business that is involving rental property, you must make a decision as to whether you will manage the property yourself or hire a property management company to handle it for you. If you select a property management company you need to make sure it is financially acceptable, if you choose to do it yourself you need to make sure you have the time and energy to put into managing it.

If you elect to use a property management company you must ensure that all details are outlined in a contract, for example, what their fees are, hours of operation, what issues they will handle. Will the management fill vacancies for the normal monthly fee, or will there be additional fees associated with this, will they handle any eviction processes that present themselves, will they charge a surcharge to arrange for maintenance and repair to the property and more. Remember with any contract you want everything spelled out so that no surprises appear later at the most unfortunate times.

When you are doing rentals, it is important to insist upon the use of a lease. This protects both the renter and yourself in the event of a disagreement, you need to make sure that the lease is well written, and complies with all laws and ordinances in your local area. An attorney can look over your lease to ensure it is within the letter of the law, and suggest any changes to improve upon it.

You need to first and foremost ensure the lease specifies the amount that the rent will be, the late fees if rent is not paid on time, and the location where the rent shall be paid. This is never optional in a lease. Some property owners lean towards a discount rent system, where if the rent is paid by a certain day of the month they offer a discount off the rent, which is the actual amount they want. However, if it is late, it is usually $50 or more higher. This avoids any restrictions that may exist locally for late fees for renters. Other property owners prefer to keep things simple and charge one flat rate for the rent, with no discounts. The choice is up to you and the method in which you choose to operate.