You may have found and purchased an investment rental property in a neighboring city that initially seems great – low property cost, high rent, great residents, and only some minor maintenance that needs to be done. The drive is only about 45 minutes each way, and you only plan to visit about once per month. Everything looks great, so what could possibly go wrong?
To begin with, residents do not last forever. the average resident for a single-family home will last a year and a half. People purchase their own homes, move for job opportunities, and other life events can result in residential turnover. Once your resident leaves, you will need to get the property cleaned and prepared for the next residents. You can hire professionals to do this work but at the very least you will need to drive to your rental property to do an evaluation of what needs to be done, and then a return trip to ensure that your vendors did the work as expected. If your vendors have missed a few small things then this may require additional trips on your part.
Once your property is ready, you will need to advertise your property. Did you remember to take pictures when you inspected your vendors’ work? If not, then you will need to do another trip. Also, for each showing, you will need to make a trip. On average it takes 7 to 15 showings to find a quality and qualified applicant. You could try to schedule multiple showings for the same day(s), but often what works for your schedule does not work for applicants’ schedule, and so you should plan on several trips.
Once you have found a solid resident, you will need to make an additional trip for the move-in process. However, residents often have a number of follow up requests soon after moving in, whether it be a question on how to operate the dishwasher to small maintenance requests, and so you will need to plan a handful of trips within the first few weeks after move-in.
Now that you have a great new resident who’s responsible and pays their rent on time, you feel as if you might finally get a chance to sit back and relax. Everything goes smoothly for a few months but then the toilet overflows. Your resident works full-time and is unable to be at the property when the plumber comes which means you will have to be present to ensure that the job is done right.
Although that 45-minute drive seemed so easy when you first purchased the property, it’s now draining not only your time but costing you gas in addition to the wear and tear on your vehicle. How much is your time worth? That 45-minute drive each way for all the various aspects that you will need to take care of will add up.
Purchasing a property in a neighboring city can be a great investment with the low purchase price, high rent, and solid residents that you had initially anticipated. However, the time and cost of the day-to-day duties can turn that dream investment into a nightmare.
The professionals at Real Property Management Investment Solutions can assist. We will show your investment property to prospective residents, screen applicants and handle the move in, deal with resident emergencies and 3 AM phone calls and attend to maintenance issues. Additionally, we continually attend training in resident-landlord laws, such as fair housing and evictions. We’re also licensed and insured to keep your property successfully managed and in compliance with regulations and statutes.
If you are interested in having your property managed by Real Property Management Investment Solutions, have more questions, or just want to speak to one of our team members, then contact us online or call us directly at 616-419-8880 today!
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
