Make your investment properties more profitable with professional property management.
From vacation homes to apartment buildings, rental properties can be a lucrative investment and source of income. However, the more extensive your real estate portfolio, the more challenging it can become to manage everything you own. Outsourcing property management functions takes tasks like maintenance, tenant relations, and collecting rent off your plate, giving you and your team more time to focus on other critical business tasks.
Some owners balk at the idea of handing off property management to an outside firm due to the cost. Not to mention, ceding control of management functions may not be comfortable for property owners used to taking care of everything themselves. However, considering what these companies bring to residents and investors, it’s hard to argue that the value doesn’t outweigh the cost.
Ramfeld Immobilier, a leading provider of property management in Montreal, offers simple, customized solutions for real estate investors. Here, we explain how working with a company like ours can help you accumulate wealth through a diverse, well-managed portfolio of rental properties.
Why Real Estate Investors Should Work With a Property Management Company
Before we explain the benefits of outsourcing property management, we should outline what the service entails.
Outsourced property management involves paying a third party to handle specific tasks associated with operating your business. These tasks may include:
- Marketing properties for rent
- Screening tenants
- Collecting rent
- Financial reporting
- Insurance management
- Overseeing maintenance and repairs
- Managing resident benefits and programs
- Lease enforcement
In short, property management means handling the details of renting properties to ensure all parties comply with contract terms, the property remains in good condition, and you face less risk for disputes or costly legal problems.
Working with a professional property management company offers several more specific benefits, too.
1. Increased Efficiency
Outsourcing property management can help investors streamline their operations. Instead of assigning administrative tasks to your team or handling them yourself, you can focus on other priorities and be more productive and efficient.
For example, consider how much time you spend marketing vacant properties, showing them to prospective renters, processing applications, and pulling together leases. A property management company can handle all these time-consuming but critical tasks. You and your team can turn your attention to other priorities that optimize your portfolio and earnings and still feel confident that your rental investments are in good hands.
2. Happier Employees
As your real estate investment portfolio expands, so does the amount of work necessary to keep the plates spinning. If you have a team working for you, continuously adding more work to their plates can leave them feeling overwhelmed and lower company morale. Feelings of resentment and stress can emerge, especially when you must redirect your staff away from the work you hired them to do to other responsibilities they don’t have the desire or skills to do well.
Working with a third-party company to oversee your properties allows you to build a talented team to help you grow your business. They’ll feel less overwhelmed, have a better work-life balance, and be more loyal to you when they feel appreciated for their skills and have a chance to show them off.
3. Specialized Experience
Owning any property—even a relatively new one—requires dealing with maintenance issues. Whether tenants report a leaky pipe or a broken window, they expect their landlords to address problems promptly. When you’re busy running your business, you may not have time to respond to every tenant’s maintenance requests immediately, never mind things like lawn care or snow removal.
Even if you do have the time, you may not have the skills. Taking care of any property often requires specialized knowledge of plumbing and electrical systems, HVAC, and basic carpentry, which you may not have. When you work with a professional management service, they have a stable of contractors who can do this work safely and efficiently, ensuring your tenants have a safe place to stay. So you don’t have to spend extra time and money dealing with maintenance issues.
Property management companies bring other kinds of expertise as well. For example, you need to comply with real estate laws when renting property, and violating them can mean protracted legal battles and major expenses. Experienced property managers have in-depth knowledge of provincial and local regulations and will ensure that you don’t run afoul of them.
Marketing is another area of expertise that professional management services can bring to the table. They have the skills to get information about your property in front of prospective tenants and make it as appealing as possible. When a tenant moves out, you don’t need to worry about finding a replacement because your management company stands ready to screen potential tenants.
4. Cost Savings
You know the saying: You have to spend money to make money. Well, it definitely applies here. Outsourcing property management can actually reduce overall property ownership costs and help you make more profit.
For starters, you’ll pay much less to retain a reputable management company than hiring a dedicated staff to handle the same tasks in-house. You’ll also pay less for professional maintenance and repair work since the management company typically has tradespeople or a crew on retainer.
Leaving the property in the hands of an experienced company can also improve tenant relations. Relying on the company to manage rent payments can help reduce rent defaults and late payments, so you aren’t spending time chasing money. An outsourced team that handles lease enforcement has the time and tools to identify breaches of contract and address them, protecting your investment and bottom line.
5. Resident Retention
When you rent a property to a reliable tenant, you want to keep them there as long as possible. Vacant units affect your bottom line, and the longer they sit unoccupied, the more money you lose.
That’s why landlords need to hold up their end of the deal, provide a clean, well-maintained, and safe place to live, and make it appealing for tenants to extend their lease when the term ends. Property management companies can develop and manage tenant retention and incentive programs to keep your properties occupied.
Having someone available to help residents when they need it is another critical part of keeping your properties rented, and a property manager can help with that. Your residents will appreciate having a dedicated contact to call when they need help, especially when it means a faster response time in an emergency. No one wants to wait around for a handyman to fix the dishwasher or make several calls to get an answer to a question, and a management company can help prevent this from happening.
6. Risk Management
An experienced property management company knows what to look for in tenants and has well-honed processes for vetting applicants. From a risk management standpoint, this means your company is less likely to sustain losses due to rent defaults, property damage, or other tenant issues.
For example, if you’re not on the premises or don’t live nearby, it proves more difficult to check on the property’s condition, make sure the current tenants adhere to the lease terms, or confirm that they moved out on time. The last thing you want is for tenants to leave without notice when they owe you money, and a local property manager can help keep that from happening.
Outsourcing property management also helps reduce risks to your company’s reputation and finances via:
- Reduced legal liabilities
- Improved safety and security
- Improved compliance with applicable regulations
Ultimately, when you invest in professionals who make it a priority to ensure your property stays in good condition and offers a great place to live, you build a solid reputation. As such, your properties become more desirable to tenants. You won’t need to worry about vacancies due to disgruntled former tenants who warn others against renting from you.
7. Better Maintenance
Well-maintained rental properties can fetch higher rents and help with resident retention. As previously discussed, outsourcing property management allows you to tap into a network of experienced professionals who can handle emergency property maintenance.
However, a management company can oversee and ensure safe and professional ongoing general maintenance and care of the buildings and grounds. They can keep common areas clean, take care of outdoor spaces, and manage turnover duties when tenants move out. Fast cleanup, painting, local changes, and other turnover tasks are critical to shortening vacancies and preserving profits.
Property managers also take care of critical inspections and perform them on time. If you don’t live near your property or you don’t have the skills or resources to ensure that your buildings comply with relevant safety codes, leaving that responsibility to the management company can prevent fines and other problems that affect your business.
8. Easier Record Keeping
Outsourcing property management ensures you can access accurate, up-to-date records when you need them, such as at tax time. A service will provide monthly records detailing occupancy rates, rent rolls, experiences for utilities and maintenance, and repair records. You won’t have to bear the responsibility for these records yourself, and you’ll be able to gauge the performance of your rental properties at a glance.
Manage Your Real Estate Investment Portfolio Efficiently
Whether you own a single rental property or dozens of properties throughout the city, seeking help from a professional property management company can make your job easier. It can also help make your properties sought after and desirable for tenants, allowing you to charge top dollar.
Ramfeld Real Estate offers clients a menu of property management services aimed at making the real estate investment process as easy as possible. Our services include:
- Rent collection and record keeping
- 24/7 tenant communication
- Building maintenance and repair
- Monthly financial reporting
- Property inspections
- Investment asset optimization
- Project management on new construction
- Monthly building sterilization to maintain a healthy environment
As Montreal’s leading real estate investment and property management firm, our approach is simple: provide clients with the best possible quality of service to help them grow. Our success depends on our clients’ success and our customized approach to providing landlords with the tools and services they need to thrive in a competitive market.
Get in Touch To Discuss Your Needs
If you want to learn more about outsourcing property management and how Ramfeld Immobilier can help you with tailored services, fill out our online request form, and we’ll get back to you right away. Or you can dial (514) 745-6106 to speak with one of our team members and schedule an appointment.