All Forum Posts by: Reagan Hopp

I would definitely recommend looking at the long term benefits of making some of these improvements now. 

To start, take an assessment of the condition of the paint at your property. If there are chips in the paint, holes from hanging photos, or patches of mismatched paint from repairs, I would highly recommend a fresh paint job with neutral colors. When your current tenants move out and you begin to search for their replacement, you want the property to be appealing and marketable. By painting now, you wont have to worry about it later.

In terms of installing Ring, I think this is a small price to pay for piece of mind. Given that the property is in a college town, I would not be surprised if future tenants and their parents make similar requests. Of course the monthly fee associated with this would be the responsibility of the tenant, and if they were not interested in using it, the service can be shut off.

Ultimately, the most important piece is that the property is rent ready and there is nothing that will impede the health and safety of your tenants. If that is the case, then you are not required to make any more improvements. You just have to determine what is worth it in the long run.

Wishing you the best of luck!

It may be true that no one will care more about your rental property than you, but that being said you are planning on self managing after the property is leased, so I don't think this will be as much of an issue.

One of the major perks to using a property management company is that they will market your property on their personal site. Many prospective tenants will use property management companies to find a property they want to rent. Another plus is that property management companies are dialed in to the laws and regulations for renting your property. If you aren't a lawyer, this is a great level of added protection as property managers will follow these laws strictly.

Lastly, I would recommend finding out if any property managers in your area offer incentives if they do not lease your property within a certain time frame. This may help to minimize vacancy costs which is assistance you would not have leasing the property on your own.

Wishing you the best of luck in finding a great tenant!

It is common for homeowners to increase the rental price for tenants wishing to sign a short term lease of 6-8 months. It makes total sense why you would want to try and offset the costs by raising the rent however, this is not something prospective tenants will take into consideration. 

The top priority for tenants is finding a property that suits their needs and does not cause them to be stretched too thin. If there are other options in your area that are similar in features but have a lower rental price, those properties will certainly be rented before yours.

Ultimately, the best plan of action would be to search for a well qualified tenant looking for a long term (at least one year) lease. This way there are less repairs, turns, and marketing costs for you to battle with on a yearly basis.

I would definitely recommend renting the property with a long term lease (1 year +). One of the major reasons for this is that vast majority of renters are looking for a rental that has at least a one year lease.

Keep in mind however, this is dependent upon the area the property is located in. For example, if your property was located in a mountain town or popular city destination, there may be a greater need for short term rentals.

Ultimately, the less turn over that you have the more money that you are going to make. Every time your tenant moves out you will have to cover the costs of cleaning, maintenance/repairs, and re-marketing the property. Vacancy is expensive so you will want to minimize it to the best of your ability.

In terms of keeping your eyes on the property, I would recommend scheduling either bi-annual or quarterly inspections. You should go into the property take photos to document the condition, and create a report from the inspection indicating any maintenance that needs to occur. This is a great way to ensure that your tenant is complying with your lease and that maintenance and repairs are being taken care of.

Congrats on your first rental property! Wishing you the best of luck!

Hi Aaron,

In my market we have seen that the pool of prospective tenants tends to shrink during the winter months, and especially the holidays.

In order to find a renter during this time of year I would highly recommend making a slight price drop. Make sure that you do your market research to determine what other homes in the area are listed for at this time of year. You want your property to stand out! 

Another great option if you are still having difficulty, would be to look into property management services for tenant placement only.

Property management companies have great resources that you may not have trying to rent the property out on your own. Things like professional photos, marketing on the company site and other popular platforms, having both agent and self-showings of the property, and a stringent tenant screening process.

Wishing you the best of luck on your search for a tenant!

I would recommend looking into Gkhouses property management.

Their most popular plan is a flat rate of $109/mo. with a 50% leasing fee and $200 renewal fee. They also have an investor plan at 8% of rent collected with a 50% leasing fee and $150 a year renewal fee.

Wishing you the best of luck!

I would recommend looking into Gkhouses Property Management!

Gkhouses opened its doors in 2008 in Birmingham, Alabama, and has since grown to manage 2,600 doors in 8 different markets including: Atlanta, Birmingham, Boulder, Chattanooga, Denver, Fort Collins, Little Rock, and Nashville.

Their most popular plan is a flat rate of $109/mo. with a 50% leasing fee and $200 renewal fee.

If you are interested in hearing more, feel free to shoot me a message.

Wishing you the best of luck!

I would recommend requesting a report from your property manager after the walk through has been completed. The report should include photos of the property and notes on it's condition. 

From this report your property manager may suggest repairs and create work orders. This is a great way to ensure that the property is being maintained throughout the lease term.

Many property managers will not allow the owner to be present during the inspections, but asking for a detailed report is a great way to stay in loop and make sure that your tenant is complying with the lease.

I hope this help! Wishing you the best of luck.

Take a look at the management agreement and make sure that you understand what you agreed to. If the cost of maintenance is too high with your property manager for simple repairs, you can ask them to be responsible for the maintenance. The requests would be forwarded on to you, and you could determine how and at what cost to have work completed.

This allows you the ability to manage costs on maintenance but reap the other benefits that come from property management including: rent collection and disbursement, tenant communication, eviction protect, inspections, etc.

If the cost of management is too high for this to make sense, I would recommend looking into other property managers!