Property Manager

Have you ever played the lottery game? Everyone goes around and says what they’d do if they won the lottery. Some would buy a nice car or boat to cruise around and look cool doing it. Others would travel around the world, sending you a postcard every week of where they happened to be.

Then, there is always the practical person of the group. They would invest their money in a hedge fund or make smart purchases. One of those “smart purchases” is usually almost always land or property. You don’t have to be a real estate genius to know that property value tends to increase over time.

Even if you don’t win the lottery, choosing a career in property management is still a pretty good idea. Home ownership recently hit a 50-year low, and that number seems to keep growing. With so many potential opportunities out there, it makes sense to move into property management.

Below, we’re going to talk about four quick tips for breaking into the property management business. You may not win the actual lottery, but you can always win the job lottery.

Figure Out the Money Side

In case you haven’t noticed, property isn’t cheap. You’re also going to be competing with tons of other people out there who are either looking to buy their own place or open up their own rental property like you.

That’s why it’s important before you start out to figure out the money side of things. Will you be going in with a partner? What about a family purchase?

If you’re planning on striking out alone, then you’ll want to look at all options when it comes to finding a loan. Banks aren’t the only place you have to go in order to find loaning options. While banks do offer plenty of benefits, they are often slow and take time before approving your loan.

With all this, we cannot recommend taking your life savings and investing in lottery tickets for the chance to win big.

Research, Research, Research

When checking out rental properties, you want to know everything there is to know about each individual property. You’ll want to look at the rental market in the area to help give you a ballpark idea of what to charge.

How much you will charge is going to affect how fast you pay off the mortgage or determine when you’ll actually be turning a profit.

You also want to research the location. Even though the property is great, is this an area where people would actually want to live? What can you do to make this rental property attractive? Real estate agents may look to sell you on certain places, but you shouldn’t just be relying on real estate agents. Take the matter into your own hands to make an informed decision.

Be Ready to Wear Many Hats

As a property manager, you have may the vision of knocking on your tenant’s doors demanding the rent check every month. While it may come to that, you’re also going to be pulling plenty of other duties.

Places you purchase may need a makeover. Hiring contractors can be expensive, so you may want to take it upon yourself to make the necessary repairs, paint the kitchen, or lay down new carpeting.

You’ll also have to study up on how best to market your business. Look to join local online groups, make a killer website, and be ready to network like crazy. Plopping down a “for rent” sign in the front yard isn’t going to cut it.

Screen Your Tenants

While you may jump at the first possible tenant who answers an ad, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re properly screening tenants and getting the right one for your property.

Many property managers set up pre-screening, online forms that are to be filled out in order to give you the basic idea of who is applying.

Once this has gone through, it helps to meet with the tenants face to face. If you own a building with multiple rooms, it might be a long process but a necessary one. For an extra layer of security, take out a background check on them to make sure you’re housing the right people.