As the owner of an investment property, you may think that you can do it all yourself. After all, it is just about collecting right and finding tenants, right? You may be surprised at how many more tasks there are to deal with as a property owner. If you are thinking of taking on the role of property manager yourself, here is just a peek at everything you have to deal with.

Rent Responsibilities

Owning an  investment property is more than just collecting rent. In fact, you have quite a few duties when it comes to the “rent” aspect of your property, including:

• Setting the rental rate. You need to research the area, find a competitive value and understand the market before you set your rates.
• Collecting your monthly rental payments. You will be the bill collector – and that may mean enforcing payment rules, making collection calls and going through the hassle of making sure tenants pay on time each month.
• Making adjustments to the rent. As the tenant’s lease is over, you will have to re-evaluate the market and decide whether to adjust the rent (up or down) according to the market.

Tenant Responsibilities

The biggest task you will have is managing your tenants. Even with just one property, you have many tenant responsibilities on your to-do list, including:

• Finding the right tenants. That includes crafting advertisements to fill your vacancies, paying for those advertisements, and ensuring your vacant properties are filled as quickly as possible – because each month they sit empty, that’s one month without income.
• Screening tenants you find. You’ll be responsible for the credit checks, criminal background checks, and ensuring you are not accused of discrimination when you do pick a tenant.
• Drafting lease agreements. You need to decide the lease term, create the lease agreement and ensure it is in accordance with state, city and county laws.
• Handling tenant complaints, emergency calls and repair requests. Your tenant may have an emergency at 2:00am and you, as the property manager, will have to respond to that emergency.
• Move outs fall on your shoulders. You’ll be responsible for doing the walkthroughs, returning the security deposit (as well as determining if you will take any money from the deposit for damages), and finding a new tenant.
• Handling evictions. When you have a tenant that refuses to pay rent or breaks their lease agreement, you’ll have to deal with the eviction process – and possibly handle hiring an attorney and taking that tenant to court.

PropertyResponsibilities

As the property manager of an  investment property, you’ll have physical maintenance and repair tasks to handle. Preventative, yearly and monthlymaintenance falls on you – and if you cannot do it yourself, you’ll need to hire someone to do the job for you. If a repair arises, you will need to deal with calling the service provider to come out and fix it.

A Professional Property Management Firm Can Do Allof This for You

If you want to collect rent and enjoy your free time, you may want to hire a professional property manager for your  investment property. we can help you with every responsibility, including finding tenants, screening tenants, managing your properties and handling all lease agreements. Contact us today to learn more about how our property management service can make owning an investment property easier.

Carnahan Property Management Services Woodland Hills,West Hills, Calabasas, Canoga Park, Tarzana, Reseda, Topanga, Encino, Northridge, Van Nuys,North Hills,Chatsworth, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, North Hollywood, West Hollywood, San Fernando Valley, Granada Hills, Mission Hills, Simi Valley, WestLake Village, Agoura,Toluca Lake, Valley Village, Burbank. Call us at (818) 884-1500 to check if we can service your area.