Real Property Associates is a property management company handling homes in Seattle, Everett, Bellevue and all of the cities and neighborhoods in between. We have been in business for 25 years and feel uniquely qualified to make the claim that we’re Seattle’s best property management company. In this blog, we want to talk about why you should hire a professional property manager.
If you’re a property owner and you want to create income for yourself, renting out that home is a great way to accomplish your goal. Your options are to do it yourself and represent yourself as a landlord, or hire a property management company to do the work for you. Obviously, there are cost savings when you do it yourself. You need to determine if the benefits of hiring a property manager are worth those costs. So, let’s talk about the benefits of hiring a manager.
If a property manager is doing the job correctly, they will provide the management duties as you see fit. The relationship between you and the property manager will develop and trust will increase. Trusting your property manager will lead to your peace of mind.
Property managers are there to locate, screen and place quality tenants. We look at placing quality tenants as job number one. If this is done correctly, things go fairly smoothly for both the tenant and the landlord. But if you make a mistake or take shortcuts, it can often lead to a nightmare experience. A property manager should have a great system for attracting high quality prospects. Once those applicants are located, there needs to be a rigorous screening process to ensure the tenants are qualified.
Your property manager will prepare the property and keep it maintained. Knowing how to best prepare your property for tenants can help you save money on repairs and bring you higher rent. You can expect expert advice on repairs that are essential or cosmetic.
Collecting rent and enforcing the lease are critical duties of a property manager. Knowledge of the landlord tenant laws is not for the faint of heart, and property managers are experienced in the rules and requirements for rental property.
Accurate and timely bookkeeping is another benefit of hiring a property manager. You won’t have to keep track of income and expenses, including your mortgage and utility payments. A property manager can provide you with monthly accounting statements and year end totals making tax preparation easy.
These are just a few of the benefits to property management, and there are many more. If you need additional help deciding whether or not to hire a property manager, please reach out to us at Real Property Associates.