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COVID-19 Crisis: Should You Still DIY? Tips From Hampton Property Management

COVID-19 Crisis: Should You Still DIY? Tips From Hampton Property Management

As the experts in Hampton property management, we know that when you own rental investment properties, your main goal is to bring in a profitable, passive income. By having a steady stream of passive income, you can enjoy the benefits of restructuring your life away from the 9 to 5 grind (even when that grind is suddenly from home).

If your day job recently reduced your hours due to the COVID-19 crisis, it may be hitting home how crucial it is to retain a profitable investment property that supplements your daily income. However, that has certainly become more challenging for DIY landlords in the wake of social distancing and outright stay-at-home orders. With that in mind, you may be considering if the move to working with a Hampton property management professional might be the right one for your rental home. After all, a professional property manager will have access to the tools and technology that make being a remote landlord possible!

However, you may also be weighing the perceived cost of a Hampton property management company. Unless you're working with an inexperienced property manager, the value of property management—not only during a global pandemic but at any time—far outweighs the actual expense.

So, should you hire a property management company—or should you continue to try and manage your rentals alone? Here are some of the top benefits you’ll gain by hiring a Hampton property management company to care for your renters and protect your property.

Transparent Financial Reporting

Even if you’ve been a DIY landlord for a few years now, it can be easy to have unrealistic expectations about what your rental home can offer—and therefore get your financial projections wrong. How does this happen?

Man with laptop

One way this may occur is if you underestimate how much your expenses will be.

  • You don’t really know how many service calls you’re going to get throughout the month (especially now).
  • You don’t know if someone is going to decide to move out unexpectedly due to the impact of COVID-19.
  • You may not have a plan to replace lost tenants quickly—or any plan to handle sudden losses.

With a property management company, you know where you stand.

  • Your expenses will (and should) be upfront—and you’ll know exactly what they are.
  • You'll have access to the information concerning your rental property day or night.
  • You'll get clear, concise reporting concerning your investment home.

All of these are features that make financial planning and management even easier. While we're all facing a time of uncertainty concerning the health of our community, the last thing you need to deal with is uncertainty concerning your rental home. Working with a Hampton Roads professional helps eliminate the stress and anxiety of the unknown with hard facts and transparency.

Only the Best Tenants

When you work with an expert Hampton property management company, you essentially gain access to their specialized tools and techniques to ensure you find reliable renters. You'll never have to worry about whether or not you've accidentally placed a Professional Tenant in your rental home. When you work with the right property management company in the Hampton Roads area, you'll also be covered by their placement protection. In other words, you can be assured that you’ll have good tenants for your properties.

Why are exceptional residents so important for the health of your Rent Estate™?

  • Great renters are vital for ensuring on-time rent and reliable cash flow.
  • They will take care of your property and make sure it doesn’t get damaged.
  • Good tenants are sure to obey the laws and not engage in illegal activities. 
  • They treat your home with respect, thereby helping your property maintain its value.

In addition, excellent tenants generally stay in your properties long term with little turnover. That’s a big plus for you because no one wants to deal with the repeat expense of turnover or the costs of damage caused to their rental. Excellent residents also happen to be good neighbors: this keeps your home’s reputation positive in the neighborhood.

By utilizing careful screening methods, your Hampton property management partner can ensure your property stays profitable and protected by placing the right renter.

The Right Price For Your Rental

Knowing your bullseye price is even more crucial in times like these if you want to keep your rental home occupied and your renters happy. If you've been pricing your rental property based on a feeling or a guess, you've been missing out on the income your investment property can actually provide.

When your Rent Estate™ isn't properly priced, you're not only missing out on potential income: you might be scaring away reliable renters! This is exactly why finding your bullseye price is crucial during a time of uncertainty: if you want to find excellent residents, you need to price your property appropriately.

Several factors go into determining the correct rate for your property, and this is where a Rental Price Analysis really comes in handy. When you choose to work with Renters Warehouse Hampton Roads as your Hampton property management partner, we do the work of a Rental Price Analysis for you—absolutely free!

So, what types of things does a Rental Price Analysis take into consideration? The rate is determined by items such as:

  • What type of neighborhood is your rental home in?
  • What is the condition of your investment property?
  • What kind of square footage does your home offer?
  • How competitive are the upgrades you've made (if any)?
  • How many bedrooms and bathrooms does your home have?

Keep in mind; these are just a few of the factors we compare to your competition when finding your bullseye price. There's a lot more research that goes into determining the right rental rate during a crisis like COVID-19! Regardless, it's important that you never price your rental based on your feelings of what its worth might be: you need hard data!

Easily-Managed Maintenance

This is perhaps one of the most important—yet often overlooked—benefits to working with a property management professional. Shoddy maintenance is the top complaint many renters have, so providing excellent maintenance in a time of crisis is absolutely essential.Female Construction Worker - Safety

One of the significant downsides of managing your properties on your own is all the maintenance work that is a part of the job. Whether or not you're a pro at fixing faulty furnaces, figuring out leaky faucets, or patching up plumbing, it’s probably not something you envisioned doing during a stay-at-home order—not when you have the health of your family to consider.

Even during a pandemic, you're still expected to be on-call to manage the maintenance for your rental home—it's part of the job description. When you work with a Hampton property management professional, you can rest easy knowing your properties are in expert, capable hands. Not only do your residents receive prompt service, but you also receive the peace of mind that comes with knowing you don't have to worry about managing essential maintenance.

Let the Professionals Provide the Stability You Need

More than ever before, our community is seeing home as a place of stability we need to preserve and protect when the rest of the world is on uncertain footing. Whether you rent or own, you'll always have a home worth living in with Renters Warehouse Hampton Roads.

We work smarter for you—whether there's a crisis or not—to ensure your property continues to generate the returns you need to provide for your family. We also dedicate ourselves every day to the residents who call the properties in our care "home." As a community, now is the time to pull together: if you're a landlord who needs help, look no further than the experts at Renters Warehouse Hampton Roads!

Get in touch with us today to see how we can help preserve and protect your investment property.

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