Rental property management and investment often go hand-in-hand. Whether you’re a mostly passive investor with your hands off the wheel or have a role in every single daily decision, you stand to gain from mastering property management.
At The Short Term Shop, we connect vacation and short-term rental investors with prime real estate investment opportunities. These properties are historically stable, located in some of the hottest markets for some of the most reliable and predictable returns on investment (ROI). Get in touch with us to find gorgeous, profitable investment properties today!
Learn How to Streamline Short-Term Rental Investment
If you’re an interested investor seeking lucrative earning potential from passive income streams in short-term rentals, our property insights may be perfect for you. First, however, you should learn the important steps and aspects of managing rental property.
Managing rental properties not only includes addressing the daily operational and regular maintenance requirements but also managing the acquisition and holding of properties throughout the investment lifetime.
If you own a rental or seek to own rental property, you need a management structure that is streamlined, cost-effective, and consistent. Learn today how to successfully manage your rental assets in 2024, to ensure maximum income potential for years to come.
Successful Investment Property Management Is the KEY to ROI
Whether you employ a property management company or take on the daily operations and stressors entirely yourself, you must ensure that your managing process is clean, consistent, and profitable.
Do you have multiple properties?
Are you invested in one large-scale institutional asset?
Are you working alongside co-investors?
If you’re the sole owner of a rental, the management responsibilities fall on your shoulders. That doesn’t mean you can’t outsource certain duties. You can always employ maintenance crews, hire experts for bookkeeping and financing, or rely on seasoned brokers and investment specialists.
How you proceed, however, is up to you.
By managing tenants, properties, and finances, either directly or indirectly, your actions can save you money in significant ways, or cost you dearly. Before you ever welcome your first tenant or determine what constitutes a ‘good tenant,’ ensure you have a plan in place.
The Main Responsibilities When You Own Rental Property
As you conduct market research and learn how to manage rental property, you’ll quickly encounter three primary responsibility areas. Property managers are not only tasked with handling repairs and upkeep, but also securing and tracking monthly rent, streamlining economic inputs and outputs, and addressing all issues related to current and prospective tenants.
If you would like to save capital by foregoing traditional property management companies and hiring more affordable local service providers, such as contractors and tradespeople, it’s not that difficult! As a DIY landlord, so to speak, you’ll likely face three core obligations.
Managing the Property (Structure and Land) Itself
Landlords must maintain a property that is safe, secure, and amenable to tenants. It’s always a good idea to hire experts if you are unfamiliar with maintenance and structural issues, as a small inconvenience can quickly become a major expenditure. Weather damage and utility mishaps are just two salient examples.
To stay on top of current and potential property issues, you may elect to have a checklist. This list will be used to assess conditions, situations, and circumstances relating to the property and land. This formal documentation is also important in case you face legal issues as you manage a rental property.
You can always use a security deposit to cover damages caused by any tenant. Whether you assess the investment property yourself or have a professional property manager or contractors do it, be sure to include the following in your move-in checklist.
- HVAC Systems
- Roofs & Gutters
- Ceilings and Floors
- Windows & Doors
- Amenities & Appliances
Proactive property inspections can ensure you have the necessary legal documents, repair requests, and property conditions you want. This is one of the best ways to save money in the long run and avoid paying tens of thousands of dollars in exorbitant repairs.
At The Short Term Shop, we facilitate easy management by connecting all our investor clients with local trusted names in cleaning, contracting, and trade services. This makes starting and maintaining your own rental property business increasingly easy.
Managing Tenants: Late Fees, Lease Agreements, and Everything Else
A fully DIY landlord may have to handle every current and potential tenant, in some capacity. Oftentimes, landlords require social or interpersonal skills to excel in this area. After all, not all tenants are great tenants.
Occasionally, tenants may leave the property in poor condition, be consistently late on rent, or even force DIY landlords to start the eviction process.
That said, DIY landlords must also uphold their end of the bargain. They need to ensure the property is in a safe and habitable condition, that the property adheres to local laws and codes, and that major repairs are made in a timely fashion.
Using the Lease for Tenant Screening, Managing, and Evicting
All lease agreements vary, so it’s vital that both landlord and tenant understand the contract inside and out. At times, a new tenant may need rent reminders, such as rent reminder emails. If the tenant is unfamiliar with a customized lease agreement, this may be as much a fault of the landlord as it is of the tenant.
In some cases, you may have to simply evict the tenant. How much notice you must give the tenant may vary, so you should consult your local jurisdiction’s rules and regulations before beginning the process.
If you choose to be a fully self-managing investor in a rental property, make sure you follow your state laws, local landlord-tenant laws, and those rules outlined in the Fair Housing Act. This is your legal responsibility.
With proper tenant management and rental property management, you can streamline your cash flow while avoiding major pitfalls.
Handling Rental Property Finances and Economic Considerations
This is the final area of management responsibilities, and potentially the most important to investors. As you understand how to manage rental properties, you’ll also understand that finances can become very complicated.
Fortunately, there are countless ways to streamline your money management as a smart, informed property investor.
Whether you’re a full-fledged property manager or have others handle it from across the world, you’ll want to be on top of your money!
Ideally, the rental property generates monthly income from the monthly rent. Depending on tenant turnover and property demand, you may be able to maintain a very consistent cash flow.
Just make sure all sources of income are properly documented as appropriate line items. You’ll also need to carefully document all costs and expenditures.
Property Income Sources
- Rent Payments,
- Late Fees
- Security Deposits
- Parking Charges
- Property Amenities
Operating Expenses
- Maintenance and Repairs
- Property Taxes
- Insurance Bills
- Utility Costs
Be wary of understating or overstating certain expenses and income streams. Many real estate investors may hire financial managers or investment specialists to calculate, maintain, and safeguard their rental property finances.
Now that we’ve broadly covered the areas of the DIY property manager, let’s dive a bit deeper into the details. The following steps will help any property manager and/or investor maximize property cash flow and earning potential.
How To Maximize Profit As An Investor/Property Manager
Find a Rental Property in a Hot, Predictable Market
The first thing you want to do is locate a rental property in a productive market. Just be cautious. When it comes to short-term rentals, many small-time management companies lack the market tools, technologies, and wherewithal to fully maximize property profit potential.
This may lead to misleading historical data that implies the property is not worth an investment or that causes issues come tax season. Fortunately, there are many ways around this.
Get Expert Help Managing Rental Properties
At The Short Term Shop, our specialists not only carefully analyze and understand markets but also have entrenched networks to help investors maximize investment potential.
Our partners and associates, including an Airbnb consultant, allow clients to set up a great listing, determine the rent price, streamline screening tenants, and boost rental business.
There are even many potentially lucrative Airbnb alternatives perfect for managing a rental property. Vacation rental property can be great for any rental property portfolio, especially properties with special amenities and high sleep capacities.
Our real estate agents can connect you with a top rental listing, based on critical regional information such as:
- Tenant Demographics
- Median Household Income
- Per Capita Income
- Median Rent Values
- Property Amenities
Understanding these values may be key to not only acquiring and managing a rental property but also to consistently collecting rent from high-quality tenants.
Market Your Rental Property and Streamline Managing Tenants
Whether you’ve purchased a lavish residential rental or own a small but cozy vacant property, you’re going to want to market and advertise appropriately. If you’re using Airbnb, Vrbo, or TripAdvisor, you’ll need to ensure your descriptions and listings are both accurate and appealing.
You can always hire a consultant to begin advertising.
To attract new tenants that are good tenants, you can opt for an online rental listing and tenant screening process. One example is a site called Avail, which is a multifaceted service provider that allows any property manager to screen potential tenants, sign leases, and collect rent online.
Using Integrated Online Services for Your Marketing and Lease Agreement
Such sites also make it easy for tenants to pay rent online, leave tenant complaints, view the rental agreement, and communicate other issues.
As a property manager tasked with managing a rental property, you can use these online platforms to:
- Create detailed rental listings
- Transfer listings to rental listing services
- Generate leads for prospective tenants
- Host tenant applications and screening services
- Start criminal and credit background checks
- Request and file eviction reports
- Customize and sign tenant-landlord leases
Not only do these online platforms make tenant screening and tenant retention significantly easier, but they also let you highlight the great attributes of your rental property.
Assuming you charge fair market rent, attract the appropriate tenant demographic, and have a strong lease agreement, your property profit potential may be lucrative!
Perform Regular Inspections and Critical Maintenance
Like any property manager or landlord will tell you, inspections can pay for themselves. If a problem festers until it becomes a major issue, the repair expenses may take a big chunk out of rental income. This may also affect tenant turnover.
That’s why getting ahead of the problem can help save substantial money down the road.
As previously mentioned, it’s important that property managers use a checklist before and after the tenant moves in. This can help determine the types of damages, the cause of damages, and the timeline for damages.
Critical Inspection Requirements for Landlords
Landlords should also ensure they have the names and numbers of highly credentialed contractors and service providers. At The Short Term Shop, we link all of our investor clients with local, boots-on-the-ground handypersons. This ensures our investors save money and get issues resolved quickly.
Landlords are usually expected to conduct the following five types of inspections:
- Move-in Inspections
- Move-out Inspections
- Periodic Inspections
- Drive-by Inspections
- New Management Inspections
By performing regular inspections required by your local laws, you’ll maintain a better investment property, establish a good reputation, and attract more tenants. If you’re a short-term investor, regular inspections and cleanups are definitely important, given that guests may only be staying for shorter periods.
Not to mention, a property in good condition may command a higher rent!
Manage Investments Through a Top Rental Property Accounting System
Speaking of securing your rent and enforcing leases, it’s always a good idea to have a centralized system, especially if you have a diversified portfolio. Rental property management can be made immensely easier with integrated accounting software.
Through automated accounting systems, investors and managers can record, store, analyze, and adjust various financial reports, performance metrics, income statements, cash flow projections, and more.
These streamlined automated systems typically allow investors to:
- Track a full range of rental properties
- Track expense and income data
- Perform and collate financial reports
- Monitor financial performance metrics
- Organize and secure important documents
Combined with online services for tenant management and rent collection, automated financial systems allow investors complete control of the investment process. If you’re an investor seeking lucrative income potential, you can realize it with the right tools and technologies.
Ready to Become a Top Real Estate Manager in 2024?
At The Short Term Shop, we have on-the-ground connections, premier market access, and years of specialized investing experience to help investors just like you.
Are you wary of management and all it entails?
We’ll guide you to the best investment properties available, and once you’ve secured your financing and made the purchase, we can help you rent out your investment for years of continuous profits.
From magical Orlando, Florida to Blue Ridge, Georgia, Outer Banks, North Carolina, Crystal Beach, Texas, and the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, these properties have it all!
Book a call today and let’s make your investment dream a reality.
