Investing in real estate is a great way to generate income. After all, whether you specialize in long-term residential leases, short-term leases like Airbnbs or month-to-month rentals, or commercial real estate, this is a competitive industry, and once your loans are paid, they’re almost all profit.
What many people don’t realize, though, is that although investors need to be savvy market navigators, they are rarely the ones who make these properties profitable. No, most often, profit comes from having a great property manager.
What makes property managers so integral to investment success? A great many things, in fact. Property managers drive value for real estate investors through a series of practices, including marketing, relationship development, and simple day-to-day oversight. Though hiring a manager may technically be optional, investors who want to succeed shouldn’t overlook their importance.
Marketing Madness
One of the most important roles that property managers perform for real estate investors is marketing available rentals. This may not seem very complicated, but it’s actually a much more multi-faceted responsibility than many realize.
A full-fledged real estate marketing strategy includes developing a social media presence, highlighting the property and community, developing advertisements and promotions, and identifying potential tenants. These things were tricky enough under normal circumstances, but since the start of the pandemic, they’ve been even more challenging.
In order to keep everyone safe, while keeping properties running smoothly, property managers have had to adapt their outreach practices in numerous ways, including increasing the use of virtual tours, using video to screen potential applicants, and much more. They’ve had to be creative and flexible, something many investors don’t have the skills to do. When you hire a property manager, this is the kind of value you’re paying for.
Managing Maintenance
Another way that property managers increase the value of rental property investments is by providing full-service maintenance and remodeling. Almost all property managers oversee day-to-day maintenance as part of their work, but particularly if you’ve invested in an older property with hopes of upgrading it to make it more profitable, finding a company that also offers remodeling services. Their existing connections will make the work more affordable, and their familiarity with local markets can ensure that you make changes to your investments that will be appealing to area tenants.
Robust Relationships
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, property managers drive value for investors by committing to relationships with tenants. As intermediaries, property managers get to build relationships with tenants in a way that feels less high-stakes than direct relationships between tenants and landlords are.
They are, in a way, your messenger, but they also have an opportunity and responsibility to get to know everyone. Their people skills are a huge part of what makes a property successful and most people are, in fact, willing to pay more for rentals with property managers because they know they’ll be taken care of.
No one knows these buildings and communities better than property managers, and investors who want to succeed should make sure they have the best on board. Consider these real estate professionals just another element in your investment plan.
Failure to hire a property manager could compromise your whole operation, so what are you waiting for?