Owner Portal
Whether you have one rental property or an entire portfolio of investment homes, it’s always a good idea to hire a professional Atlanta property management company. Managing your own home may seem easy enough, but it actually takes a lot of time and requires a lot of expertise. Self-managing landlords often find out too late that they’ve lost money and made some serious errors trying to do everything themselves.
Professional property management comes with a lot of benefits. It saves you time and eliminates headaches. It also allows you to earn more on your investment thanks to the knowledge and resources that professional managers bring to the management of your home.
These are just a few of the most important reasons you should never manage your own rental properties.
Placing the Wrong Tenant is Catastrophic
You’ve probably heard a few horror stories from landlords or former investors. They might have told you about the tenants that didn’t pay rent or those who broke their lease and snuck out in the middle of the night. Maybe you’ve heard about property damage that tenants left behind or tales about vicious pets attacking neighbors.
You can’t be too careful with tenants, and that’s why a rigorous screening process must be in place. When you manage your own home, you often don’t have access to the nationwide credit, eviction, and criminal background checks that you need. You might not have the time to verify income and employment, and you might feel uncomfortable calling current or former landlords to perform reference checks.
Property managers make a point of finding and placing the best and most qualified tenants in your home. You can count on marketing that’s more strategic and screening that’s more thorough. The result is a better tenant who will take care of your rental property and follow the lease terms.
Potential for Legal Mistakes
Unless you’re very good about understanding all of the local, state, and federal laws pertaining to rental housing and you’re willing to keep up with all the updates and changes, you really need a professional property manager to keep you compliant and your property protected.
It’s very easy to make a mistake, and it’s usually very expensive. A fair housing error could cost more than $10,000, and if you make a mistake with the security deposit, you’re going to owe your tenant some serious money.
Property managers stay up to date on fair housing laws, disability discrimination lawsuits, security deposit and rent collection regulations, and habitability requirements.
Rental Property Maintenance is a 24/7 Job
Part of your job as a rental property owner is to maintain your property and keep your tenants safe while they live there. Emergency maintenance issues often do not occur during business hours. If you’re managing on your own, you’ll need to be available to your tenants 24 hours a day and seven days a week. They’ll need your cell phone number, and you’ll need to respond when they call at 3:00 in the morning with a leaking pipe or a broken window.
Routine maintenance is also important, and preventative maintenance can help you save money and preserve the condition of your property. Professional managers take care of every maintenance need, and we help with budgeting and forecasting. We also work with a team of reliable, licensed, and insured vendors who do good work and offer us discounted rates based on the volume of work we provide.
You’re better off working with a professional Atlanta property management company for a lot of reasons, and these are just a few of them. If you’d like to hear more, please contact us at Property Services of Atlanta, Inc.