Blog Layout

What You Need to Know About Renting Out Your Home in 2021

November 10, 2020

2020 was one heck of a year, and now that it's 2021, it's time to make plans. If you are renting a home or considering becoming a landlord during the pandemic, you'll need a strategy to work with tenants and services to manage the property profitably.

The business model of home rental is also set deep in tradition. Homeowners and applicants meet in person and tour the house together. In that time, the applicants interview the house and the landlord interviews the applicants. This is a time-honored ritual that helps everyone feel more confident about signing the lease. From there, the landlord will meet their tenants once to several times a year for repairs, inspections, and the annual lease renewal.

Home Rental During the Pandemic

These traditions have worked for hundreds - in some cases thousand - of years. But COVID has made the situation a little more complicated. It is currently not advisable to meet face-to-face with your tenants. It certainly isn't a good idea to shake or share lunch. Even inspections and repairs have become an immunology concern, as technicians must enter households to make repairs.

Tenants are trying to conduct most of their house-hunt and even touring online, and we fully understand. This is why all rental home owners should be preparing for contact-free property management. It's time to go digital, work with contact-free partners, and embrace the recent changes in the housing market.

Right now, housing inventory is low and it's a Seller's market. This is true for both home sellers and residential landlords. While families are shy about relocating during the pandemic, the demand that drives these moves is still present and tenants are looking for the safest possible transition process. That includes finding a landlord who can work with them on safe house-hunting and property maintenance.

Host High-Quality Virtual Tours

Touring is essential when finding a good match between homes and residents. Home touring poses one of the biggest challenges to do no-contact. Applicants need to get a feel for the space, quality, color, and light to know if they want to move in. But with the no-contact rule, it's become masks-only, and many tenants relocating can no longer travel to tour destination properties.

The solution is to provide high-quality virtual tours that allow applicants to explore the home almost-fully online.

Professional Photography Tours with Captions

The quality of your photographs matters more than ever. A few snaps with the phone camera is no longer enough when tenants are substituting a live tour with photographs.

Instead, hire a professional for a well-lit complete tour. Move from room to room in a logical way that is clear to the viewer how the spaces mesh. Then be sure to caption every photo with the room depicted, prominent features, and the shot angle if relevant.

360 Photography and 3D Video Tours

The more advanced option is a virtual tour using the latest in photographic and video technology. A 360 photo tour is made of composite 360 degree images shot from a tripod through the house - much like a Street Level Google Maps tour. Applicants can "look around" by dragging their mouse over the view, simulating the ability to truly stand in and experience the space.

Another option is a 3D video tour. With similar technology, you can create a live walk-through tour video that tenants can also "look around" as they watch. Roller coaster simulations are done this way.

Advanced Tenant Screening

Landlords often want to meet future tenants in-person. It's good to get to know the family who will be living in your property. With the pandemic limitations, additional screening steps may fill the need for in-person confidence.

Video Chat with Tenants

While you can't meet face-to-face without masks, you can hold a live video meeting with future tenants. Any applicants that pass the initial screening process can attend a virtual meeting where the landlord can ask important follow-up questions and get a feel for the applicant.

Host a Telepresence Tour of the House

Normally, the homeowner or property manager will walk applicants through the home. They converse, get to know each other, and share reactions or information about the house. Together, it becomes clear if tenancy is a good fit. One option is to use telepresence. In other words, tenants tour the home with the homeowner on Face-Time, or the other way around. This allows for an almost-live tour of the home.

Pandemic Income Verification

Because the COVID market changes affected many careers, It may become necessary for more thorough income verification. This can be done via credit checks, calling references, or checking tax statements. Be sure to choose your actions based on what is legal in the property region.

A Website for Easy Contact-Free Management

Right now, tenants are understandably worried about landlords that either arrive in-person for problems or can't be contacted. Likewise, you need a plan to provide attentive tenant services with minimal in-person meetings. The best solution to both concerns is an online tenant portal.

Host a website that allows for both applications and tenant service management.

Tenant Self-Service Portal

Modern professionals are always looking for brands with a self-service portal. This means no waiting, no phonecalls, and automated record-keeping. With a self-service portal, your tenants can pay rent, request repairs, and send messages without having to catch you on the phone.

From the portal, you can even help tenants self-schedule services with your partnered technicians and handyman teams.

Online Application & Document Management

Then use your portal structure to add online application. Use a smooth virtual-form tool so that applicants can quickly fill out their information and upload the necessary documents. This is not only convenient, it also assures your tenants that you are a high-tech landlord and likely provide thoughtful no-contact property management.

Partner with No-Contact Property Services

Last but certainly not least is the need for no-contact property services. You will occasionally need to send maintenance and repair personnel to the rental home while tenants are present. This creates a unique challenge with the pandemic ongoing. You need service teams that you can trust to provide both high-quality and no-contact service to your tenants.

Property Inspection
Roofing Contractors
Plumbing Service
Electrician Service
Appliance & Handyman Services

Plan for No-Contact Inspections

No-contact inspections can be done in two ways. If your tenants are capable and cooperative, you can take a camera-video tour of the home just to check-in and see that the walls are still upright. For more detailed or maintenance-related inspections, you will need to send in someone masked, gloved, and trained to maintain no-contact procedures at all times.

Working with a Property Management Service

If you're looking for an all-in-one plan for renting a home in 2021, consider a property management service. A property manager takes responsibility for maintaining the house and taking care of tenants - whatever that may require. Today's property management teams are already adapting to the no-contact method, from tenant portals to trusted no-contact services.

For more insight on managing a rental home in 2021, contact us today.

Newer Post >

Mail

Blog

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.