Happy New Year Real Estate Investors!
We hope you had an amazing and successful 2016 and we know that you are ready to do even better in 2017! To that end we have compiled the top three resolutions that every real estate investor should make to ensure their business continues to grow and produce at optimum efficiency.
#1 Conduct Quarterly Inspections of Your Properties
There is so much that can happen to a property throughout the course of the year and minor problems can turn into major disasters for your tenants and your wallet. Many landlords only do yearly inspections on their properties and some even only inspect the property when they change tenants. This is much to long to wait and will inevitably lead to repair issues that could have been prevented.
Think of leaky faucets, termites, bad electrical connections and the list goes on and on. Each one of these issues is something that as a homeowner you would notice immediately in your own home and call for repairs. But tenants just don’t have the same pride of ownership as owner-occupants and they will more likely than not just ignore the warning signs until it becomes a major inconvenience for them. This is why we recommend Quarterly Inspections of your properties that way every 3 months you know exactly what condition your property is in and you can prevent major disasters from happening which ultimately protects your bottom line.
#2 Maintain a Strict Late Payment Policy
If you talk to most beginning property investors or those who say that owning investment real estate is a bad idea they will usually say that the biggest problem is that tenants don’t pay on time. And they are right but the real problem is actually with the owner who is not doing enough to protect their legal rights by enforcing the 3 day notice. The law protects landlords by giving them the legal right to post a 3 day notice as soon as the tenant becomes late on their rent. This notice serves to warn the tenant that if the full amount of past due rent plus interest penalty is not paid within 3 days then the eviction process will begin and the tenant will be required to vacate the property within 30 days.
The problem is that most landlords are too lax with the posting of the 3 day notice. They try to be nice and give the tenant a chance to pay so a week will pass and then another week and still no money has been received. Tenants have their own problems that they are dealing with and these often involve money so if they can hold off on what is usually the largest bill they have to pay then they will do so as long as possible. What you have to remember is that this is a business and deadlines must be met or there will be penalties. You should impose at least a 5% late payment fee but we would even recommend a 10% fee as that is more intimidating. And the very next day after a rental payment is due a 3 day notice should be posted, because nothing motivates a tenant to pay more than the word Eviction.
Now it is important to note that we don’t want you to become a mean or abusive landlord you should never get into a confrontation about late rent, it is simply a matter of the lease you have signed as being a legally binding document that both parties must uphold. Do you think if the roof was leaking your tenant would not bother you to fix for a few weeks because you are nice person?
#3 Make Upgrades or Preventative Improvements to Your Properties
So we have discussed protecting the properties and your rights as landlord so lets talk about improving your investment and your tenant relationship. Every property needs regular upgrades and improvements to keep in top condition. Whether it is a new paint job or new tile or even upgraded windows the small improvement that you make to your property will result in several positive results. First you will improve the overall value of your property. Second, you will avoid future problems as typically you will make upgrades to parts of the property that are beginning to show the wear and tear of use over time. And third, they will make your tenant happy which will ensure a good relationship where they will notify you of any minor warning signs of bigger problems and they will pay their rent on time and even early. Of course when the lease is up and it comes time raise the rent to keep up with the market you will have a much stronger case in your negotiations.
So these are the top three resolutions that every real estate investment property owner must make this year in order to grow their business. But there is also one thing you can do to take care of all of these things and ensure your property is kept in the best possible condition. And that of course is to hire Real Property Management Miami as your professional property manager. We will conduct the quarterly inspections for you as well as post 3 day notices, communicate with your tenants on our 24/7 tenant help line and we can even get estimates from our top rated vendors for making repairs and improvements to your properties. In short we take all of the hassle out of managing your property so you can focus on the more important tasks of growing your business and spending time with your family.
Call us today at 305-517-3900 for a free inspection of your property!
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