Blog Post

3 Property Management Tasks to be Prepared for When Managing Your Own Property

Dustin Edwards • February 26, 2021

Be Prepared to Handle these Tasks and More

Tasks
Starting the journey of owning and managing rental properties can be both exciting and nerve racking.  

We do property management in Long Beach on a daily basis and we get asked questions regularly from owners who want to manage their own properties. They want to try being a landlord first before engaging a property management company.  

Many of the calls we receive from these new landlords have similar questions. We wanted to share three key aspects that we mention on nearly any call when someone asks us “so what should I be prepared to do if I want to manage my own property in Long Beach?”.

Interviewing Tenants
After you have screened the candidates (i.e. evaluated the same metrics for each possible tenant) then you have the task of interviewing tenants. 

Interviewing tenants, much like interviewing candidates for a job, takes patience and skill. Be careful to avoid asking questions that could lead to a discriminatory complaint. 

Ask each prospective tenant the same questions to help you make the best possible decision.  

The interview should give you additional information above and beyond the screening process. It should help you develop a well-rounded view of your next tenant.

As a property management company we can perform 100’s of interviews for prospective tenants in any given year and we are the first ones to say it takes practice. When you are managing your own property be patient with yourself and take the time to interview tenants with a goal of finding the best fit for the tenant and property.

Collecting Rent
Gone are the days where you visit a tenant at your property to collect rent. Today, for property management companies, there are numerous solutions that allow us to efficiently collect payment from tenants and some of these solutions are also available when you want to manage your own property.

A key method to collecting rent on time is to make it easy for your tenants. While the professional property management solutions can be expensive there are low cost and even free solutions when you are managing your own property. Take into consideration the following options:
  • https://cozy.co/ - This free property management solution gives you the ability to easily collect rents online. There is a delay in receiving your payments but if you want your payment faster you can pay for that as an upgrade.
  • https://www.zillow.com/z/rental-manager/collect-rent-online/ - The property listing behemoth provides a rental manager for landlords. Their objective is to get you to list your rentals there to attract tenants where there can be costs. It is a powerful tool and like Cozy.co there is a delay in receiving payments but it does make it easy on your tenants.

When deciding on how to collect rent we would encourage you to leverage technology as this is what will help you and your tenants the most to have a long lasting relationship.

Property Repairs
Property repairs can occur while a tenant is occupying your property or when you are preparing your property for rent.  

Generally speaking the repairs when a property is vacant are much easier as you don’t have to coordinate around a tenants occupancy, nor do you have to worry if the repair is something major (i.e. a mainline, water leak, heater, etc.).  

If you choose to manage your own property the key part is preparedness. Long before you ever need a repair on your property identify 1-2 trade professionals for each item that is associated with your property.  

It is also a good idea to have a handyman ready as well for smaller items that a tenant could call about. Repairs are inevitably going to be needed and in order to reduce your stress and the tenants stress being prepared ahead of time will help you the most.

If you’d like to find out more about the variety of tasks we can handle on your behalf when we manage your Long Beach rental property we invite you to call us today at (562) 888-0247 as we’d be happy to help. When you want a quick check to see how much your property could fetch in rent we invite you to fill out our Free Rental Analysis where we perform a comprehensive comparison to share your rental stacks up to the competition.

Share this post

By Dustin Edwards January 17, 2025
A new year is a new chance to start new ideas to bring in prospects to your property. Consider the following 5 ideas to engage prospects and get new tenants.
By Dustin Edwards January 10, 2025
Having clear communication with your tenant is essential for maintaining a healthy landlord-tenant relationship. By being transparent in all relevant interactions, landlords can prevent misunderstandings while resolving repairs and disputes efficiently while improving tenant satisfaction. Having good communication with your tenant is beneficial for landlords too. Effective communication also protects your investment property. Remember that while your tenant is living in the property, landlords need to take care of the repairs. Below are the three best things to do during tenant communications. Prompt Responses Addressing tenant concerns quickly is essential for building trust and maintaining a positive relationship. Tenants feel valued when landlords respond quickly, knowing that their needs are being prioritized. Building this trust not only enhances your tenant’s satisfaction it lowers the possibility of conflicts or misunderstandings to arise. This ultimately creates a healthy and successful rental experience for you and your tenant. Some of the most common inquiries will oftentimes include repair requests, among others. As an example; if your tenant reports a leak under their faucet and the repair is delayed, this can be damaging to your landlord-tenant relationship, as well as your property. If left ignored, that leak can result in hundreds of dollars in water damage and a vacancy . Which can further affect our bottom line negatively. For landlords with multiple properties, this can become difficult to keep track of. A property manager can help with scheduling repairs and communicating with your tenant on your behalf. Document Everything Keeping a detailed record of all interactions with your tenant is an important element when managing a property. There are many choices for documentation including email, text, or written notices. Although many property management companies and landlords have opted to use apps or dedicated tenant portals to log communications. A great example, for instance, a tenant may claim they’d reported a repair issue that was never addressed, if everything is to be documented, both you and the tenant would have a copy of the request. Maintaining transparency with tenants. Having thorough documentation ensures agreements and requests between all parties are clearly tracked. Documenting communications with your tenant provides landlords with a foundation for addressing misunderstandings, or disputes if and when they arise. Provide Regular Updates Regular updates show tenants that their landlord is organized and has an attentive approach to managing their property. Giving tenants ample time for maintenance, inspections or policy changes is a simple way to build trust with your tenants while showing your professionalism. Giving tenants advanced notices reassures them that you’re aware of how changes can affect them and you understand that time might be needed in order to adjust. Surprises are best kept for birthday parties. Proactively notifying tenants of changes helps clear the communication channels and minimizes disruptions which helps tenants feel valued and satisfied. These small yet consistent efforts can contribute to a positive tenant stay, which can encourage lease renewals and long-term tenancy. Additionally, having a good relationship with your tenants can give you a great reputation which can provide you with leads when looking to fill a vacancy . It cannot be understated the importance of communication for a healthy landlord-tenant relationship. Even if your tenant may not agree with some of the decisions a landlord needs to make, by giving your tenants ample time to process the change tenants generally are more accepting of said change. If you’re having trouble communicating with your tenants or if you need help managing Beach City rental property, we invite you to call us today at (562) 888-0247 or complete our Owner Application online .
By Dustin Edwards January 2, 2025
Keeping tenants safe, translates to happy and long-term tenants. Read to discover 5 Inexpensive ways to keep your tenants safe.
Show More
Share by: