10 min read11 Tips for property rental management
1. Identify your ideal tenants.
The key to success in rental property management is asking who would be happiest living in your property. Is it best suited to families, single professionals, students, etc.? Because each has different motivations and expectations.
Once you’ve identified who your ideal tenants are, it’s easier to attract and maintain them long-term.
This is especially important when looking to fill multiple rooms in a house share. Tenants tend to interact better with people close to their age groups who have similar interests. Identifying your ideal tenants helps you make the right decision.
2. Look for opportunities to edge the competition.
Tenants often pay more each month in rent than they would for a mortgage on a similar-sized property. So they’re expected to keep an eye open for better deals. Stay ahead by thinking of creative ways to keep tenants happy. There’s more to consider than the amount of rent they’re paying.
How to make your rental property more attractive:
- Offer flexible leases: Tenants are used to 1-year renewable contract. But continually signing them puts some people off; people want flexibility. Switching to a rolling monthly contract after the first year is attractive. While it may seem counterintuitive, the security of knowing people only need to give a month’s notice after a year may make them stay longer.
- Provide ‘work from home’ facilities: Hybrid and remote working soared in popularity since the 2020 global pandemic. So if you have space for it, an office set-up may make your property a more enjoyable place to live.
- Hire a cleaner: Who says no to letting someone else clean up? Hiring a cleaner every week is a nice bonus, especially for houseshare properties as tenants get annoyed when others leave communal areas messy. This can also help avoid the build-up of waste that could lead to health and safety issues.
- Make it pet friendly: Most rental properties don’t allow pets as landlords fear they’ll damage the property and be noisy. This makes it hard for tenants with pets to find somewhere to live. A pet-friendly property may attract and keep people happy at your property for a long time. Protect yourself by stating in the contract that the tenant is responsible for any damage or disruption.
3. Post top-quality property listings.
Rental property management starts before tenants have moved in. It takes a lot of work to get tenants in your property even if everything goes smoothly. Showing viewers around your property is a time-consuming task for landlords. Top-quality listings rule out unsuitable tenants while attracting high-interest viewers.
How to create top-quality property listings:
- Upload high-resolution photos: Great-quality photos help you stand out on a page full of properties. So if you’ve recently decorated your property, update your photos to show it off.
- Use virtual tour software: There’s a saying in marketing, “A confused mind always says no”. A few pictures of your property may not be enough for people to see if it’s suitable. Virtual tour software like Kuula helps people get a good feel for living in your property.
- Write a detailed property listing: Do the heavy lifting for people by listing key information such as the nearest bus stop/train station, how long it takes to walk to the city center, the nearest gyms, etc. It’s details like these that get people excited. You can use AI tools like ChatGPT to help if you don’t enjoy writing.
4. Screen tenants.
Tenants can make rental property management a breeze or a headache. Difficult tenants can cause havoc to your property, finances, and stress levels! Invest in tenant screening services to help you gain a better understanding of who is applying to live in your property, and whether they have the proven financial capability to live there.
5. Define communication rules.
Managing rental properties involves plenty of communication. Establish clear communication rules for tenants to follow. Not only does this reduce unnecessary communication, it also makes it much easier to track conversations. For example, you may want to suggest communicating via email and only calling/texting your private phone number if it’s an emergency.
6. Create templates and checklists
Rental property management is repetitive. You’ll find yourself sending similar emails and contracts multiple times across the years. Templates and processes can save you buckets of time and reduce errors.
Create a list of email templates and processes in your property management system or use simpler productivity tools like Trello and Todoist. Use email templates to save yourself from writing the same email multiple times per year. And create checklists for:
- Tenant screening
- Moving-in
- Property maintenance
- Evictions
- Moving-out
- Legal compliance, etc.
7. Automate as much as you can.
Rental property management is far from ‘set it and forget it’ but automation can get you pretty close. Relying on spreadsheets, post-it note reminders and paperwork invites mistakes. You can automate tenant screening, rent collection, lease management, and much more. Check out popular software for landlords such as Landlord Studio and Buildium.
8. Use a 24/7 answering service to streamline communication.
It’s challenging enough to oversee rental property management for a single property. So when you have a handful of properties to manage, it feels like a full-time job. The income may be great but the ‘passive’ part feels miles away…
There’s always lots of communication involved even when tenants are happy. The email can stack up and you aren’t always going to be available to answer the phone.
A 24/7 property management answering service can take calls on your behalf and offer call routing and screening services too. They can take calls within set hours or answer every call 24/7. An answering service worth its salt will create protocols for after-hours responses, tenant inquiries, lead capture and qualification. Think of it as your 24/7 front desk.
A live answering service for rental property management also offers many integrations to help you streamline data transfers, appointment scheduling, maintenance requests and much more.
9. Schedule regular property inspections.
Landlords are allowed to inspect their properties in adherence to state and local laws. Typically, you must give least 24 hours notice before doing so. Tenants have the legal right to refuse your entry if you don’t.
Regular inspections help you:
- Catch any damage or problems before they get worse
- Make sure tenants are looking after your property
- Build rapport with tenants.
10. Create a system to stay up to date with rules and regulations.
There are many things landlords need to be aware. But, they don’t want to be glued to their emails and websites each week to stay up to date. The key is to treat ‘staying up to date’ like any other task: make time for it.
Create a checklist of things to monitor and schedule in your diary every month or so:
- Check rent prices: Use online services like Zillow and Realtor to see what other landlords are charging for nearby properties similar to yours. Charging too low means you’re leaving money on the table. And charging too high may cause tenants to leave. And never forget that some tenants are ok with paying higher rates if your property has the edge over others in the area.
- Bookmark a list of websites to check: Make a list of websites that keep you up to date with the latest legal guidance for landlords such as the National Apartment Association, and local state and government websites.
- Create an email filter for newsletters: Create an email filter and label your favorite newsletters to ‘skip the inbox’. Let them build up and read them when you have time.
11. Keep learning about rental property management.
There are endless opportunities to find ways to increase profits, boost productivity, and keep tenants satisfied. Whether it’s new software or finding a fantastic contractor, there are endless opportunities to keep learning and growing.
- Join forums for landlords
- Attend courses and events
- Subscribe to newsletters
Managing rental properties can be overwhelming. Organization, automation, and a commitment to stay up to date make the difference. Safe, well-maintained properties help keep tenants satisfied. And that helps you keep your profits healthy.
Want to see how SignMore can support your tenants around the clock? Book a free 15-minute consultation today.
