Owning rental properties is a great way to make money but it can also be a great way to run yourself into the ground. Especially if managing your properties isn’t your only job. If you own rentals in Bend, here are a few indicators that might mean it is time to find a good property management company.
Screening Tenants Feels like a Crap Shoot: Anyone can call references but if you aren’t careful and don’t do a little homework first, how do you know that the person on the other end of the line is who you think they are? There are a lot of unscrupulous tenants out there who love to see houses for rent by owner. Why? Because they figure you probably don’t run a background check so you won’t see that they have an eviction on their record. You won’t see that they are in collections with every utility company in town. And so you won’t see their felony conviction for fraud.
Maintenance Requests Got You Down: Maybe it isn’t even that you don’t have the time to deal with them but that you don’t want to deal with them. Real estate investors don’t buy long term because they like to fix a frozen pipe in the middle of winter. They buy rentals to make money and spending time dealing with even small maintenance requests generally isn’t the most cost effective use of an investor’s time.
Missing Economies of Scale: One rental property isn’t too tough to deal with but as you keep adding properties things like a tenant ledger, job costing for each rental, advertising, showings and just answering the phone can become a royal pain. You invested in rentals to make money not be a CPA, marketing genius, contractor and answering service.
Can’t keep up with Landlord/Tenant Law: Your friend Bob might know the law…but then he might not. Are you sure you want to put your rental property in Bob’s hands? The law is not a stagnant thing. There are constant updates from the legislature and court cases that can change how a law is interpreted. Then there is the Fair Housing Act? Are you confident that you know how a simple question like, “Are you married?” can be used against you in a fair housing discrimination lawsuit? And what about that generic lease form you use? Do you know for a fact that it doesn’t contain an unenforceable lease clause in Oregon?
If any of the above describes you, put your mind and body at ease and give us a call. (541) 508-2930