You might have found and bought an investment rental property in a neighboring city that initially seems great – low property cost, high rent, great residents, and only some minor maintenance needed. The drive is just about 45 minutes each way, and you only plan to visit about once a month. Everything looks great, so what can possibly go wrong?
To begin with, residents do not stay forever. Indeed, the typical resident for a single-family residence will last a year and a half. People buy their own homes and move for job opportunities, and other life events can lead to resident turnover. Once your resident leaves, you will need to have the property cleaned and set up for the next tenants. You can hire experts to do this work, but at the very least, you will need to drive to your rental property to examine what needs to be done and then return to make sure that your vendors did the work as expected. If your vendors have overlooked a few small things, then this may require additional trips on your part.
Once your property is ready, you will need to advertise your property. Did you remember to take pictures when you checked your vendors’ work? If not, then you will need to do another trip. Also, you have to make a trip for each showing. On average, it takes 7 to 15 showings to find a quality and qualified applicant. You can try to schedule multiple showings for the same day(s), but what works for your schedule often does not work for applicants’ schedule, and so you should plan on doing several trips.
Once you have found a solid resident, you will need to make an extra trip for the move-in process. However, residents usually have a number of follow-up requests soon after moving in, whether it is a question on how to operate the dishwasher or small maintenance requests, and so you should plan a handful of trips in the first few weeks after move-in.
Okay, you now have a great new resident who pays the rent on time. Everything is smooth for a few months, but then the toilet overflows. Your resident is at work and is unable to meet the plumber, and so there is another trip for you. No problems for a few more weeks, then your resident has a dispute with a neighbor over the weekend, and there goes your Sunday. Everything goes well for the next few weeks, but then a fuse blows and your resident cannot find the fuse box, turning off the heater in the middle of the winter…and you get a call at 3 am.
Although that 45-minute drive seemed so easy when you first bought the property, it now drains not only your time but also your gas, as well as causes wear and tear on your vehicle. How much is your time worth? That 45-minute drive each way for all the many aspects that you will need to take care of will add up.
Purchasing a property in a nearby city can be a great investment with the low purchase price, high rent, and solid residents that you had first anticipated. However, the time and cost of the day-to-day duties can turn that dream investment into a nightmare.
The professionals at Real Property Management Talent can help. We will show your investment property to potential residents, screen applicants and handle the move-in, deal with resident emergencies and 3-am phone calls, and attend to maintenance issues. Moreover, we continually attend training in resident–landlord laws, such as fair housing and evictions, and are licensed and insured to manage your property successfully in compliance with regulations and statutes.
Have you calculated the true cost of your investment rental property? To see how much time you spend and how your time commitment compares to that of other landlords, contact us online or call us at 254-4010-0400 today.
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