Real estate investors who have busy schedules, live far from their rental property, own many rental properties, or simply don’t want the hassle of managing rental properties can opt to hire you to manage their rental portfolios. With the many responsibilities, owning a rental property management company can be quite challenging. As a rental property manager, you are supposed to take care of everything related to your client’s property. You are required to act in the best interest of the property owner in order to maximize the return on investment through the efficient performance of different functions such as tenant acquisition, tenant management, and maintenance of the building.
Due to its low entry cost, if done right, the rental property business can be a lucrative venture. However, in the highly competitive world of rental properties and rental property management, you need to stand out. So, what can you do to have an edge over your competition? Here are ways to quickly become the best rental property management company in your city:
1. Offer the Extra Service of Finding Investment Properties for Your Client
A rental property management company takes care of a number of functions. However, the exact responsibilities of a rental property manager will vary depending on the specific contract they sign with their client. Here are the general roles of a property manager.
- Marketing vacancies
- Tenant screening
- Signing lease agreements between the owner and the tenant
- Staying up-to-date with the landlord-tenant laws
- Collecting security deposits
- Rent collection
- Overseeing or performing maintenance and repair of the property
- Handling tenant issues and complaints
- Bookkeeping
- Overseeing tenant turnover
- Evicting tenants
- Overseeing other employees such as contractors
As you can see, most property management functions involve managing rental properties already owned by the client. To have an edge over other top property management companies, you need to offer extra services- ones your competitors are not offering. One important additional service that your company can offer is finding investment properties for your clients. Property managers can easily do so with Mashboard. With this strategy, not only will you stand out in your city, but you’ll easily get more properties under your management.
2. Proper Bookkeeping
No business can operate efficiently without good documentation. As a rental property management company, you have several property management duties such as rent collection, paying salaries and other utilities, recording income, etc. It is easy to fall off track if you don’t keep proper records. Rental property managers should document everything so that they have something to fall back on when dealing with property owners, investors, renters, contractors, lawyers, and other real estate professionals.
Depending on your expertise and workload, you can hire a bookkeeper or do it on your own. You should also ensure that you have a good long term rental or Airbnb accounting software program that is suitable for property management. Such software can help you stay on track and be able to retrieve any information when needed.
3. Outsource Non-Core Functions
It is difficult to do all the property management duties on your own, especially when you are managing big rental portfolios. It is impossible to do everything. At some point, you will have to subcontract some of the work to another company or contractor. You should take your time to find an affordable and reliable contractor or company to do some of the tasks so that you can concentrate on the core functions of your company. For instance, you can hire an electrician, plumber, cleaning company, pest control company, and security.
4. Property Management Marketing
Property management marketing is very important if you want to be the best rental property management company in your city. It’s through advertising that you will be able to find new clients. To generate property management leads, you need to get your name out there for potential clients to find you.
Here are some common methods for marketing your rental property management company:
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Create a professional website
In this digital age, having an online presence is absolutely critical. You need to create a professional website for your property management company. A website is a cost-effective method of marketing your management company and its services to potential clients and tenants. Therefore, even before you launch a comprehensive marketing campaign, ensure you have created this online presence.
There are many online tools you can use to create and manage your own high-quality property management website for a small fee, including Duda and Wix. Once you have your company website up and running, you can also create a custom company email account.
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Social media marketing
Social media is another cost-effective way to generate property management leads and build customer relationships. Today, almost everyone is on social media. Chances are high that your target market will be on social media. So never underestimate the power of this tool. If you aren’t active on social media, your rental property management company is missing out. In the online world, it’s the best way for a rental property management company to increase its visibility, promote its brand, engage with clients, and build trust and authority.
You should design an effective social media marketing strategy to build a positive brand image. This way, you will be able to not only gain but also retain clients. A social media presence will also bring in more business through increased recommendations. Some of the most popular social media websites you can consider include Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
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Build your local network
Having an experienced professional network is very valuable to your property management business. Networking within the real estate industry will help your rental property management company to generate leads. Join property management organizations and go to local rental property association meetings where you can mingle with property owners, residents, real estate professionals, and other property managers in your town.
The more people you meet, the more well-known your rental property management company will become. As a result, you will get more business through word-of-mouth referrals and reputation. You will also be able to share knowledge and experiences and get exposed to the latest industry technology, tools, and news.
Some other property management marketing methods you can use include short videos, paid Ads, email newsletters, etc.
5. Provide Excellent Customer Service
The success of any business greatly relies on customer satisfaction. To be the best rental property management company in your city, it is important to keep property owners and renters satisfied and happy. Most clients will be willing to pay more for a better customer service experience. Therefore, make sure that your existing clients and tenants are satisfied. Even one poor experience can taint the name of your rental property management company.
Here are some ways you can improve customer service:
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Invest in training
To provide better customer service, property managers should consider investing in property management training programs for themselves and their staff. This will help to improve their property management and customer service skills.
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Quick response and action
In our fast-paced society, everyone values their time. Property owners and renters expect to get prompt answers or solutions to their complaints and concerns. Always make time to actively listen to renters’ concerns and take prompt action to ease them. So make sure you are organized and all your communications with clients are tracked as they come in.
Even when an immediate solution is not possible, they still expect and appreciate an immediate acknowledgment and effort. It is better to be honest with your clients than to make promises you can’t keep. For instance, when there is a maintenance request from the owner or tenant, outline a realistic timeline. If you can’t fix the problem within the time they expect, be honest and tell them.
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Consistent communication
To grow your property management business, you should communicate with tenants and property owners regularly. You should always keep the renters you manage in the loop on any activity concerning them. If you want them to participate in a certain activity, you should not wait until the last day to give them notice. Through regular communication with tenants, you will also be able to know their needs before they even ask for them. This is a vital part of pro-active property management.
Even when all complaints and outstanding issues have been addressed, it is still good to contact your clients about their real estate investment. Provide regular reports to let them know that things are going smoothly. This will not only help to build rapport with them but also show your professionalism.
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Get customer feedback
Ask the property owner and the renters for feedback about your services at all phases of the rental experience (from lease signing to moving out and eviction) and learn from it. If you or your company’s staff have made some mistakes, own up to them, apologize, and make sure they are not repeated.
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Use innovative technology
Invest in innovative property management software and tools to improve your efficiency in doing various real estate tasks. Being highly efficient ensures that all tasks can be completed in a timely manner to keep tenants satisfied and happy. If tenant satisfaction is guaranteed, tenant retention will be improved. It also frees you up to focus on other areas of your property management business.
The Bottom Line
Starting a rental property management company is a big decision that takes careful consideration and good planning. The business can be challenging but also very lucrative and rewarding. If you feel motivated to start your own company, go for it! However, that will only be the beginning. To be the best in the business, you need to dedicate yourself to learn property management strategies and be committed to handling the daily property management tasks.