Real estate investments are a solid vehicle for anyone looking to break out of the 9 to 5 lifestyle, achieve financial stability, and secure retirement. However, growing a profitable real estate investment portfolio takes a lot of responsibility—especially as your Seattle rental property holdings increase.
Here are some helpful hints from seasoned Seattle property management firms on how to carefully manage a growing real estate investment portfolio—headache-free.
Being on top of your game requires that you maintain order as a rental property owner. One way to stay organized is to have an individual file for each property you own, even if it happens to be digital.
Sure, you can always use the good, old-fashioned arch lever file with sections for lease agreements, bank statements, renter profiles, and more. However, it pays to have digital copies and backups of each document to protect your assets—and yourself.
To further keep up with the times, have e-statements saved to a computer folder so that you can always access bank statements, loan documents, and other files as the need arises.
Aside from having a central document folder, you must also have a fully operational spreadsheet detailing any personal expenses that you may have with regard to your rental investments. All of these documents and spreadsheets will be sent to your accountant annually to facilitate effortless tax filing.
This crucial paperwork is invaluable in the event that you find yourself in court facing down a dispute. Of course, when your portfolio is managed by professional property management services, this is less likely to happen from the start.
As an experienced Seattle property management professional will tell you, it’s impossible to grow a real estate investment portfolio without having the right team in place.
The more rental properties that you invest in, the harder it becomes for you to spend time managing the entire portfolio. This is especially important if you choose to continue working full-time whilst keeping the rental properties as a means to further your income.
At some point, it becomes vital to bring in staff (unless you plan to quit your day job), but this can quickly get costly if you plan to pick and choose by profession. A professional attorney is usually an excellent investment, no matter how you decide to care for your rental homes. This is also a great opportunity for them to help you in setting up the right business entity.
Make sure to shop around so that you can find an experienced and qualified attorney who is familiar with the latest industry regulations and is easy to work with. Do this right from the beginning to avoid getting into legal trouble with renters, and you won’t have to deal with any legal disputes by yourself.
If you’re a smart real estate investor, then you’ll want to invest in a wide range of investment properties that are nicely spread across the Seattle rental market. In fact, it’s best to avoid buying too many rental properties of one type or in the same neighborhood. That way, if property values decrease, this will not hinder your investments as heavily as it would if all your eggs were in one basket!
That said, what happens when you’ve amassed more real estate investments than you can handle? Look for a reputable Seattle property management company that specializes in maximizing return on investments.
It’s more cost-effective to assign the task to a Seattle rental management company than to hire individual staff to do it for you. Keep in mind; every rental property that you own will come with different types of renters, and you must be on the ball when it comes to storing details and information on each one of them. Each property must be managed in a way that caters to renters’ needs without sacrificing profitability.
This means staying on top of maintenance and repairs, handling renter disputes with care, navigating rent collection, and managing 'the books' accurately. Hiring a property manager is time saved, and hassle avoided.
Be sure to find property management services that will work on and for your portfolio continuously; as you add more properties to the mix, your success is sustained. Sure, you’ll spend more upfront to bring in a property manager, but this investment will yield greater financial returns and help you to cultivate a well-established portfolio.
Building a real estate portfolio is no easy feat, and managing it is harder still. A Seattle rental management company will add value to your portfolio by managing your Seattle home rentals properly. Plus, they’ll offer priceless advice on a vast array of property-related matters!
It always works out for the better if you work with professionals to manage a thriving real estate investment portfolio. Learn more when you download your free copy of our resource, Real Estate Investing: Grow Your Portfolio.