For as long as there have been properties there have been property management companies...ok maybe not quite that long. The reality is that there are many owners who manage their own properties and they love it. On the other hand we get phone calls monthly from stressed owners/managers who thought it would be a bit easier. If you are on the fence on whether or not hiring a
property management company in Long Beach
is right for you consider asking yourself the following three questions.
Am I prepared for the late night phone calls?
When you own your property you are responsible for everything that needs to be done...even if you're not the one who actually completes every challenge. When you rent out your property your tenant is going to count on you to be responsible for every aspect about the property because after all...it is your property.
As you consider managing your own property keep in mind that you could get the late night phone call. You will need to have a solution ready to help your tenant with the property. A few items we have encountered over the years include:
- Losing keys to the home (yes it happens more often than you’d think)
- Toilet/sewer line backed up at 2am
- Dishwasher flooding the cabinets
- Roof leak
These are a select few items that can occur with any property and while you might think they are unlikely it pays to be prepared ahead of the time where you are truly in need.
Am I comfortable interviewing many prospective tenants to find the best fit?
This is perhaps one of the toughest for property owners to get comfortable with. Quite often a property owner who is managing their own property (usually it’s their first time doing it) wants to rent to the first nice prospective tenant that fills out an application. While it is certainly possible that the first applicant could be the best tenant, ask yourself...did you marry the first person that you ever dated?
Finding the right tenant from a pool of applicants takes time and a consistent process. One wants to treat each prospective tenant fairly in regards to fair tenancy laws, but you also want to find a tenant who is the best fit for your property.
When you are managing your own rental make sure you are comfortable having in-depth interviews with each prospective tenant. Take time to review each application. Conduct interviews regarding their application information. See who will be the best match. This is a process where you can be rewarded with a great long term tenant.
Am I familiar with local and state laws that pertain to tenants’ rights?
This is perhaps one of the more challenging items when you manage your own property. When you own and manage your own property you are responsible for every aspect regarding the property. At the surface it may sound simple, but for a moment consider the following items that you could have to deal with:
- If you don’t fix a requested repair in a timely manner can a tenant withhold rent that is due?
- How are you logging tenant requests and the commensurate repairs associated with your property?
- How are you staying abreast of local ordinances related to rent increases?
- What steps do you take if a tenant is refusing to pay their rent?
Managing your own property is certainly a possibility; however, if you want to find out how we could alleviate stress and still help you to get top dollar for your Long Beach we invite you to call us today at (562) 888-0247 to hear how we can help. If you want to have 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.
