Owning a rental property in Antioch, CA can open up many opportunities for you, both personally and financially. But what many new investors fail to realize is that managing a rental property is a lot of work.
Many people have good intentions when they set out to self-manage their investment properties. But the truth is, it can become overwhelming and cause you to start thinking about hiring help.
But don’t worry, using a property management company isn’t uncommon. After all, there are over 280K property management companies in the United States. And getting someone that is experienced to take on your day-to-day responsibilities can actually be a good thing.
If you’ve ever considered hiring a property manager to take on some of your work load, keep reading. We’ve rounded up some of the best reasons landlords invest in Antioch property management companies to help you decide if doing the same is the right choice for you.
TOP REASONS LANDLORDS HIRE ANTIOCH PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES
1. SELF-MANAGING IS TIME-CONSUMING
One of the most appealing things about hiring a property manager is the amount of time you’ll save as a landlord with some help.
Between property advertisements and tenant placements, lease drafting and rent collection, there isn’t a lot of time left over after finishing your landlord duties to enjoy your life. And that’s not including things like:
- Advertisement
- Tenant screening
- Property inspections
- Paperwork
- Rent collection
- Maintenance and repairs
- And much more
It’s noble to think you can handle it all on your own. In fact, it might even be doable – at first. But if you ever want to have some free time, it might be time to start looking into some Antioch property management companies to lighten the load.
2. DISTANCE IS A PROBLEM
There’s no rule saying you have to buy an investment property near your primary residence. However, if you’re self-managing a faraway property, you’ve probably wished this was true at one point or another.
The distance between your home and your rental property can have a major impact on whether you hire a property manager to help. After all, traveling to your rental on short notice for emergency repairs, to collect rent, or even just to hand over the keys at move-in time can become annoying real fast. This is especially true if your property is a few hours away.
To resolve this, you could limit yourself and only buy investment properties nearby. Or, if you want to reduce the time spent traveling back and forth to your distant rental you could just have a property manager do it instead.
3. ADVERTISING AND TENANT PLACEMENT IS HARD
You may not realize just how hard it is to market a vacant property or place tenants in your Antioch rental property until the time comes to do it.
Advertising your rental property takes a lot of effort if you want to attract the right kind of tenants. Plus, you’ll have to know how to:
- Promote your vacancy across many channels
- Take high-resolution photographs of the rental
- Write compelling descriptions that will make people want to lease from you
- Have an open line of communication with prospective tenants
- Show your property to those that want to see it in person
- Filter through tenants that aren’t a good fit
- Screen tenants using credit and background checks
And this is just the beginning. After you think you’ve found the right tenant for your investment property, you’ll have to draft a legally compliant lease agreement. You’ll also need to collect a security deposit and prepare your tenants for move-in day.
Hiring a property manager to do all this for you not only saves you time and money, it eliminates the headache that comes with filling a vacancy.
4. YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO SET THE RENT RATE
When you become a landlord, the whole point of investing in a property and leasing it to tenants is to make money. That means you need to charge enough rent to cover the mortgage and any associated property fees. For example, you’ll need to pay for maintenance and repairs, insurance premiums, HOA fees, and more.
The thing is, when it comes to setting a rent rate for your property, you’ll want to avoid these two common problems:
- Asking for too much rent and having an extended vacancy because no one is willing to pay that rent rate
- Asking for too little and losing money
This is where experienced Antioch property management companies come in handy. They understand property locations, trending markets, and the going rents for similar properties. Because of this, a good property manager will be able to market your property and get the highest rent possible.
5. COLLECTING RENT IS A HASSLE
Okay, you’ve invested in a rental property, found good tenants, and allowed them to move in. So, now what?
How you collect rent each month is going to determine your success as a landlord. But the truth is, rent collection can be a pain. And if you don’t collect rent, you don’t make money. It’s as simple as that.
There are many ways to collect rent from your tenants each month:
- In Person: this means making a trip to your rental property every month and collecting rent from your tenants.
- Through the Mail: be prepared for the “it’s lost in the mail” or “it’s on its way” excuses.
- Bank Deposit: your tenants will have to make a trip to the bank every month, which they may not like.
- Automatic Withdrawal: not only are you going to have to hope your tenants have money in the bank when rent is due, you’ll have to pay transactions fees.
- Using a Drop Box: worrying about vandalism, non-paying tenants, or having to pick the check up each month is no fun.
Of course, the methods listed above also have plenty of advantages. But wouldn’t it be better if you never had to worry about collecting rent again?
With the right property management company, all you’ll have to worry about is how you’re going to spend the money that lands in your account each month. And if there’s ever a problem with rent, you can trust your property manager will handle it for you.
6. YOU DON’T HAVE VENDOR CONNECTIONS
Self-managing your rental property means handling all maintenance and repair requests yourself. Unless you’re extremely handy, this also means hiring contractors to take care of any issues that pop up.
If you don’t have reliable contractors you know and trust, you risk wasting time and money trying to find someone to get the job done right. You also risk making your tenants unhappy, which can hurt come lease renewal time.
Most Antioch property management companies have a crew that handles minor repairs. In addition, most property managers have reliable contractors they can hire to take care of major repairs. And the great thing is, these contractors will be friendly, timely, and cost effective, so you don’t have to worry about losing money or irritating your tenants.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As you can see, there are many reasons why using an Antioch property management company is a good idea. If you’ve recently become a landlord and feel overwhelmed, get in touch with us to see how we can help.
At Blue Line Property Management, we work hard to make owning an investment property easier on you. We handle everything from maintenance and repairs to rent collection, tenant screening to property inspections, and everything in between. Because of this, you’ll have the peace of mind that our comprehensive property management services will generate a solid income for you and a great living experience for your tenants.
