A Newbie’s Guide to Managing a Multifamily Property

Newcomers to multifamily investing often get overwhelmed by the number of tasks they will have to handle.

From handling tenant complaints to finding contractors who can turn any rundown apartment complex into a livable dwelling, good management skills are needed by any well-meaning first-timer to attain better profitability.

Here are a few things you might want to apply:

Don’t start too big

If it’s your first time managing a multifamily property, then starting out small would be the wisest decision.

While it’s easy to get tempted into acquiring a 200-unit asset, it can also be too much of a burden on your part considering you have to test the waters first. To be on the safer side, you might as well start off small and then work your way up to bigger and larger buildings as your experience grows. Ambitions are better attained when you take the journey step by step.

Set your ground rules

You’re going to be having a lot of families living in your multifamily property, so expect problems aplenty to surface, starting with difficult and too demanding renters.

If you manage to set some ground rules, you maintain order and prevent mishaps from happening. Still, you might want to be diplomatic and fair to your tenants. Otherwise, you run the risk of turning tenants away.

Add some perks to your property

Why should anyone live in your multifamily in the first place? With a few perks exclusive to your building, you can give them a good reason! Adding new features and upgrading existing ones will definitely make your multifamily property stand out. A few good options would be to build lifestyle amenities like a gym or fitness centers and update the interior paint job using trendy colors.

Check in on your tenants

A good form of management is to check in on your tenants

This allows you to learn about the issues you should be focusing on and get a good idea of what action plans you might want to consider to improve tenant experience.

Make only necessary improvements

A good property owner should always know what improvements are the most crucial for tenants. However, you might want to be careful when it comes to financing repairs. There is always the risk of paying more than you actually require.

Managing a multifamily property offers a lot of challenges that will surely put newbies on edge. Then again, what real estate investment doesn’t come with hard work and taxing issues? If management is handled well, the payoff will be worth it in the end.