Do you own property? Are you a property manager? Property owners and property managers need to know the property management basics. Knowing the basics of property management will allow property owners and property managers to manage their property in an effective fashion while keeping their tenants as happy as possible. It is possible for property owners to take the easy way out and hire a property manager but nobody knows your property like you can and you can save a lot of money by managing your own property.
The first thing a property manager must do is advertise their property. If you do not advertise your property then nobody will now that your property even exists. There are a number of ways that you can advertise your property. For starters, you can put ads in the newspaper. You can also post signs around the area. Dont forget about putting ads on the bulletin boards found in most grocery stores.
You should do a little investigating before allowing a potential tenant to being renting your property. First, make sure that you make each and everyone that is interested in renting your property to fill out and submit a rental application. You should require these individuals to provide credit and employment references on their application. It is a good idea to run a background check on each individual. You should also check out each potential tenants credit history.
Property management is a never ending process. There will be times when something goes wrong with a piece of property and a repair will need to take place. You need to have everything all sorted out before something goes wrong. You need to have a maintenance worker who will be around all the time to fix problems on a short notice. You may also need to have someone from each niche ready in case something cannot be fixed by your basic maintenance worker. For instance, you should have a plumber on call as well as an electrician and a heating and air tech.
It is a good idea to check in on your tenants and your properties from time to time. An unscheduled visit is a good idea but be careful because some tenants will find this offensive. When checking on your properties, make sure that your tenants are following the rental policies and procedures. Sometimes you will find tenants that will not be willing to report problems. This is why it is important to check out the property yourself from time to time. Remember it is your property therefore you are responsible for having these problems fixed.
Property owners and managers need to find a way to collect their tenants rent payments each month. There are a number of different ways that you can accomplish this. For starters, it is sometimes possible to have your tenants hand deliver you their rent payments. You can also accept payment through the mail which is sometimes more convenient especially if you live out of state or farther away from your residents. More and more property owners are taking the alternative of accepting electronic payments.
It is important for property owners and managers to keep track of their tenants payment histories. You should keep records of those who have and have not paid their rent. You should also keep track of partial rent payments. This used to be done using pen and paper. However, new technology has made record keeping much easier and quicker. You should consider taking advantage of the available property management software to keep track of this information.