Is Stress-Free Rental Property Ownership a Myth?
Running any successful business is rewarding, but can also be a busy, 24-hour a day sort of job when you don’t have help. While owning a rental property in the San Antonio area can be rewarding, it does have it stressful moments. The market is ever changing in Texas, and now may be the perfect time to consider having a rental property to generate extra income. Purchasing several properties in the San Antonio area can be a great way to grow your business, but with that business of owning multiple properties, the stress can be just that, multiplied! There seems to be no end to the needs of each property and tenant, and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the constancy of these needs. However, here are several practical tips to help. Using a property management company who specializes in the industry and has access to property management software can provide you with the necessary tools to manage these needs more efficiently, making it much simpler to run your business.
Find and Maintain the Right Tenants
Finding the right tenants can reduce your stress immeasurably. Using a property management software program can make this process so much smoother. You can set up systems that remind you to check references, do credit checks, and store data about tenant concerns and complaints. This information can come in handy if you do need to address those concerns with tenants later on and you’ll have an impeccable record of all of your interactions.
Improve Communication
If you’d like to have less stress in your rental property business, improve the communication you have with your tenants. Having access to a website where your tenants can communicate online is extremely helpful and almost necessary in today’s digital age. When you include a tenant portal on your website, this allows your tenants to communicate with you easily after hours. They can add their repair requests or place information that you need into their system. They can also pay their rent and other related bills easily. Tracking data about tenants and properties also means that tenants can look up the answers to their questions without needing to try and contact you by phone to ask you directly, saving you from the dreaded phone tag game!
Keep Your Documents in Order
An online document management system helps you keep vital information in order. From scanned receipts to bill and invoice tracking, having a specific software for property management allows you to input data and generate reports. You can look at trends and determine areas where you can improve. You can also set recurring activities and reminders so that you don’t forget to complete the intake process for a tenant or conduct routine maintenance on a property. Knowing the laws in Texas real estate on how to handle the storage or requirements to shred documents of a sensitive nature can be overwhelming, but a real estate professional will have the answers.
Watch Your Cash Flow
Where’s the money? If you have a hard time maintaining records of tenant payments or bill payments, an online property management system can help. It allows you to send out payments and invoices, watch your cash flow, and see who’s paid for what. Cloud-based software makes it possible for you to log in and access information from any place and at any time. This makes it easy to resolve questions and concerns on the spot.
Reduce Legal Concerns
Having information, improving communication, and screening potential renters well, can all reduce a huge stress point: legal action. Having good information will help keep you on top of rental property management processes, such as tending to repairs and maintenance. This can help you reduce the likelihood of tenants suffering injury or damages. No one likes to plan on going to court, but unfortunately it does happen. Having all your information readily available is a must. Having a tenant portal where information is easy for tenants to get and share can help make them feel their concerns are being attended to. When tenants feel like they can communicate their concerns and get the information they need, they’re less likely to take you to court. And if a court case does happen to be brought your way, you will be prepared to show the judge that you did communicate on the issues at hand. Having a property management company can also be helpful in that they can represent you in court if it comes to that.
Properly screening tenants is a key to making property management less stressful. With the use of property management software, you can setup systems to coach yourself through the process of screening and bringing in a new tenant.
According to Forbes, “While being your own boss may appear to put you in the driver’s seat, working with external business partners, clients, investors and other outside parties put you in a position where you lack control.” The use of cloud-based rental property management software can help put you back in control of your data and create convenient ways for your tenants to control their information flow as well. Using a property management company can allow you the freedom to still make the decisions, but to not have to deal with the day to day management of your properties. Contact Real Property Management Alamo for more information on our software system that can reduce stress in your rental property business. We are here to help. Contact us today at 210-787-3876 or [email protected].
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