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7 Rewarding New Years Goals for Your Rental Property

December 17, 2020

The New Year is the perfect time to think about your goals and resolutions for the year to come. We reflect on the year we just finished and decide how we can do better. But don't stop there. Instead of just being hopeful for the new year, set a few real goals and New Years resolutions to inspire yourself to take specific steps to reach your goals. For property owners who rent residential homes (one or more), now is a great time to set a few property management goals for the new year. Resolve to do one or more of your landlordly duties better than you did last year, with a results-based goal you can easily meet if you try.

The best way to reach your goals is to take steps to make them happen. So this year, let's dive into our seven top New Years resolutions for rental property:

1) Keeping the Home Occupied with Paying Tenants

It's not as easy as it sounds to keep a rental home occupied all or most of the time. When a tenant moves on, the turnover process and attracting new tenants can be a challenge. This year, resolve to overcome that challenge and keep your house or houses occupied with paying tenants all or most of the year.

Keeping a steady occupancy is all about planning ahead. You will want to hold onto good long-term tenants by keeping them happy and attract new reliable tenants who might become long-term given a chance. If you have a seasonal rental like a vacation or college campus home, then plan your occupancy calendar around the usual times of year. Plan ahead for expected turnover and try to line up tenants to move in soon after any departing tenants move out.

2) Responding Promptly to Tenant Requests

As the landlord, it falls on you (and your team) to respond to any tenant calls or emails. When a tenant gets in touch, they need to hear an answer quickly. Any requested repairs should be taken care of as promptly as possible. This is not just courtesy, it's also the law. Of course, you also have a personal life and career to see to.

This year, resolve to stay attentive to your tenants and arrange for any needs with respectful quickness. You will be taking good care of your property(ies) and keeping your tenants happy at the same time. Quick responses can answer questions, avoid conflicts, and ensure that all maintenance issues are dealt with before the problem worsens.

3) Staying Ahead of Property Maintenance

Every home needs a little bit of annual maintenance - and some you can't expect tenants to take care of. This is the first of two reasons to conduct biannual (twice a year) inspections and provide appropriate maintenance services. It's also extremely common for property owners to be more hands-off, but also to fall behind on routine repairs.

For your New Year's Resolution on rental property, resolve to stay ahead of maintenance. Take care of any lingering little problems like the squeaky step or flickering laundry-room light. Pre-schedule repainting the house, putting on new siding, or roof work with tenants so these tasks are taken care of and your tenants can plan their year accordingly. This year, you can check off your maintenance list in a friendly way by planning way ahead. Forget nothing, and get the appreciation of tenants in a well-maintained home.

4) Improve the Landscaping and Yard Maintenance

What does your rental property yard look like? Most homes have a simple stretch of grass, a tree or two, and perhaps a stretch of under-managed flowerbeds. But you could do better. Your rental home(s) could have a desirable yard all year, if you landscape and/or provide maintenance services. Not all tenants can be expected to take care of mowing the lawn or tending flowerbeds, and it's a rare tenant who takes joy in lawn management.

So this year, take over the yards for any home where tenants do not expressly want to garden. Offer a regular mowing if grass length is an issue or xeriscape with decorative rocks and cacti to simplify matters into something low-maintenance and beautiful.

5) Remodel or Upgrade the Home for Better Rent

You may be looking for a resolution that will help you raise both rent and desirability. That answer lies in upgrades and remodeling. By improving the home beyond a simple routine-maintenance and fresh paint, you can attract tenants willing to pay more for the home. Kitchen updates, for example, are among the top ROI projects for both selling and renting homes, because a modern well-designed kitchen becomes the centerpoint of family life.

If you have some remodeling or upgrade work waiting to be done, resolve to take care of it this year. If you have a property under-performing for the neighborhood and curb appeal, this may be the perfect year for a home-improvement-project resolution.

6) Enact Fast, Efficient Tenant Turnover

This year, reflect on your process for transitioning between tenants. How do you close matters and clean house from the previous tenant? How do you prepare the home to be more inviting than it was the last listing? How do you attract, screen, and decide on the next tenant?

The fact is that we can always streamline this process further. Resolve to find the delays and opportunities in your process to get even faster at tenant turnover. The best turnovers are done by practiced landlords and property managers. A great tenant turnover ticks like clockwork starting from the moment of notice for non-lease-renewal.

As soon as you know a tenant will be moving on, put your plan into action. Get your house listings up and attracting applicants early. Then enact a smooth plan for cleaning, repairing, staging, photographing, and marketing the home once it is vacant. Your goal is to spend less than two months with the house vacant and not gathering rent for self-maintenance. It is possible, all you need is planning and practice.

7) Improve or Provide an Online Tenant Portal

Finally, there's the technology resolution. If you are not already using an online tenant portal for rent payment, repair requests, and communication, then this is the year. Tenant portals are the cutting edge of convenience for both tenants and landlords, with a shared and isolated platform for doing house-related business so that emails can't be 'lost in the stack' and rent is always submitted the right way.

Modern tenants already view a tenant portal as a good sign for a modern, on-the-ball landlord. With recent events and remote being the new way to do everything, a tenant portal can also help you stay connected and responsive while minimizing in-person meetings with your residents.

There are several ways to get your properties and tenants hooked into a handy online portal. You can get out-of-the-box software, hire a dev, or join a property management team with their own portal.

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Joining Teams with Century 21 Property Management

Most of the time, we pick one or two big resolutions for New Years. But with the right team on your side, you could make all these resolutions for your rental properties and meet them easily by next year. Here at Century 21 Americana Property Management, we can help you do all these things as your new team of property management pros. From our online tenant portal to making the turnover process easy, property management could be exactly what your rental business needs. In the spirit of the new year, we are offering 5% off the first 12 months for new landlord clients. You can count on Century 21 to help meet your New Years goals for your rental property.

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What Does a Property Management Company Actually Do? Behind the Scenes Look

November 26, 2024

A lot of people think property managers just sit back, relax, wait for the phone to ring, collect rent, and that's it. My name is Jorge Rodriguez, president of Americana Property Management in Las Vegas, and I want to show you what really goes on behind the scenes in property management. Should You Hire a Property Manager? Whether you own one property or twenty, there comes a point when managing everything yourself becomes overwhelming. At Americana Property Management, we typically help owners who: Own multiple rental properties and can't keep up with all the demands Live far from their Las Vegas investments Want their rental income to be truly passive Don't want to deal with hiring maintenance staff and contractors Can afford to invest 8-12% of their rental income into professional management The cost of property management isn't just an expense - it's an investment in protecting your property and maximizing its value. Let me show you exactly what I mean. How We Protect Your Investment A lot of owners don't realize how much liability they take on when they self-manage. At Americana, we: Stay current with all landlord-tenant laws Use legally-sound lease agreements that protect your interests Handle evictions professionally when needed Document everything to protect you from false claims Maintain detailed records of all income and expenses Take care of tax documentation Most importantly, we act as a buffer between you and your tenants. When there's a challenging situation - like late rent or lease violations - we handle it professionally so you don't have to be the "bad guy." How We Find Qualified Tenants The number one thing is making sure we find a qualified applicant for your home. At Americana Property Management, we market homes on over 50 websites, including: Zillow Trulia Realtor.com Apartments.com We also list properties on the MLS and work with other realtors to show our homes. We've found that applications from realtors tend to be better because the realtor pre-qualifies them before showing homes. Our Tenant Screening Process When we receive applications, we put them through a very strict verification process: Background checks Credit checks Rental history verification Employment verification Reference calls We want to make sure the person we're putting inside your home is going to pay rent on time and take care of the property. This verification process is vital to successfully managing your property. Once we complete the verification process, we always reach out to the owner with our findings and get their final approval before moving forward. The Move-In Process Setting Up the Lease We draft up a landlord-friendly lease agreement that protects everyone involved - the owner, the property management company, and the tenant. This gives us a legal binding contract that we all must abide by, preventing any misunderstandings in the future. Move-In Orientation Other property management companies might call this a move-in inspection, but we take it a little further. We: Document the condition of the home with pictures Demonstrate how the home functions, including: Where to shut off water if there's a leak How to reset breakers How to reset a GFCI How to relight a water heater How to change filters How to change batteries in smoke detectors and thermostats Ninety-five percent of work orders are very small and something the tenant can take care of. By showing them how during the move-in orientation, we save our owners money on unnecessary maintenance calls. How We Handle Day-to-Day Property Management Rent Collection We make sure rent is collected by the first of the month. Tenants have until the third to pay with no late fee - that's their grace period. On the fourth, they're charged a 5% late fee. If a tenant still doesn't pay rent, we start serving legal notices and ensure we follow through on our collection efforts. Maintenance and Repairs Tenants can submit work orders through our online portal - the same place they make rent payments. When we receive a work order: We inform the owner We dispatch our vendor to diagnose and repair the issue If the cost exceeds our approval limit, we contact the owner so we can make the right decision together Our vendors provide us discounts because of the volume of work we give them. These savings get passed on to our owners - you're getting highly qualified vendors for less than what you'd pay finding someone through Google. Working with Home Warranty Companies If you have a home warranty, we handle everything: Filing the claim Coordinating with the tenant Making sure the vendor goes out Following up to ensure everything is working properly HOA Violations If your property receives an HOA violation: For tenant-caused issues: We contact the tenant and ensure they fix the violation For owner responsibilities: We communicate with you, get bids if needed, and help choose the right vendor to resolve the issue How We Save You Money with Our Vendor Network One of the biggest advantages of working with a professional property manager is our vendor relationships. At Americana Property Management: We have trusted vendors for every type of repair and maintenance Our vendors give us significant discounts because of our volume We only work with licensed, insured professionals We know which vendors do quality work at fair prices We handle all vendor coordination and payment Think about it: When you search for a plumber on Google, you're paying retail prices and taking a chance on quality. Our vendors know they'll get consistent work from us, so they give us better rates - and those savings get passed directly to you. How We Keep You Informed We believe in complete transparency with our owners. Through our online portal, you can: See real-time updates on rent collection Review maintenance requests and approvals Access monthly financial statements Track property performance View all property-related documents Every month, you'll know exactly: How much rent was collected What maintenance was performed Any upcoming expenses or needs Your property's bottom line We take care of your property like it's our own, and we make sure you always know what's happening with your investment. The Lease Renewal Process We start the renewal process 90 days before the lease expires. During this time we: Compare similar properties to see if a rent increase (usually 3-5%) is justified Inspect the property to ensure it's being properly maintained Review the tenant's payment history We take all these factors into consideration before offering a renewal, and we always get your blessing before moving forward. Most of our initial leases are for one year. This gives us flexibility - if a tenant isn't paying on time or taking care of the home, we can give them a 30-day notice to vacate instead of renewing. However, when we do find good tenants, they tend to stay in our properties between 3 to 5 years. We really try to find long-term tenants so you can make consistent income from your investment. Looking for Property Management? Our main focus is making sure your interests are taken care of. You collect a nice check every month, and we handle all the headaches. If you have any questions about how we can help manage your property, you can reach us at 702-719-2100 or email us at pm@americanapm.com.