Scaling real estate investments is the aim of countless property owners. A new survey reveals that nearly 19% of homebuyers own multiple properties in the U.S. About two-thirds of wealthy Americans own a second home, of which 41% purchased it for earning rental income.
Owning multiple rental properties is financially rewarding. As landlords receive rent monthly from their tenants, owning multiple properties results in a steady cash flow. Approximately 10.6 million Americans declared that they earn income from rental properties.
While acquiring multiple rental properties is lucrative, managing them effectively isn’t easy. But failing to master this art will lower the occupancy rates, which will affect your cash flow.
To ensure that doesn’t happen, here are a few tips that will help you manage multiple rental properties with ease.
#1 List Your Property ASAP
Your rental properties will be vacant from time to time. But vacancies can ruin cash flow, especially if your properties remain empty for months. For that reason, listing your property online is essential. As one tenant moves out, you can market the property and find a replacement tenant quickly, which wouldn’t be possible without putting it online.
One of the perks of owning multiple rental properties is that other properties can offset the rent loss from vacant premises. Nevertheless, this shouldn’t be your long-term approach. Try to fill all your vacant properties as quickly as you can – it’s possible to list your student room, flat or housing for free, for example, with certain platforms. Doing so will maximize your rental income.
#2 Market Smart
Your success as a landlord depends on the way you market your property. A robust marketing strategy will attract tenants, helping you fill your rental vacancies quickly.
You could use conventional marketing methods, such as print advertising and writing a compelling property listing description to market your vacant properties. But know that they will reach only a limited number of people. Modern marketing strategies like social media ads will generate better results because your listing will reach a large number of potential tenants.
When it comes to marketing your rental properties, be smart. Before you decide on the marketing method, think about your target audience and where they search for homes.
Listing on the coolest sites won’t generate any leads if your target audience is aging people. Marketing your vacant rental properties in local newspapers will help.
Facebook is another medium where you can market your property because many seniors are active Facebook users. Targeting a younger audience means you will have to promote your property on Instagram.
All in all, devise a marketing strategy that aligns with your target group’s needs. That way, you will get quality leads.
#3 Take Advantage of Tech
Managing multiple rental properties means taking care of everything, from leases to rent payments. Maintaining all records manually is not only cumbersome but could also result in errors. Fortunately, technology can help you manage your rental properties efficiently.
Tech solutions like lease management software are revolutionizing the world of real estate. By investing in a lease management solution, you can store all your lease data in one centralized location.
With robust lease management software, you need not enter your leases manually. In fact, the lease abstract team extracts the lease data, including critical dates and rent payments, and uploads it to the account.
Accessing old leases is also easy with lease management software. Thanks to its intelligent search, you can look for specific leases and dates straight from the dashboard. All you need to enter is your property name, and the software will get the data you’re seeking.
Lease management software has also made it easy for landlords to track payments, both past and future. Analytics and intuitive filtering allow users to see only the information they need and compare rent payments between different regions and over time, notes Spacebase.
Plus, you get notified about upcoming rent payments so that you don’t miss any payments.
One useful tool for landlords is the use of landlord inventory templates. You can find a helpful template here https://www.progressivelets.co.uk/landlords/landlord-inventory-template/ to streamline the process and ensure accurate documentation of your property inventory.
#4 Screen Your Tenants Carefully
When you have only one rental property, you have plenty of time and resources to screen your tenants. But things are a little different when you own multiple rental properties.
Handling tenant screening for multiple properties means you have less time to review applications with a fine-tooth comb. However, making sure your tenants are trustworthy is still as important as ever.
If you don’t screen your tenants properly, you will lease your property to irresponsible tenants. Irresponsible tenants don’t pay rent on time, which means you will have problems daily.
You can also consider hiring tenant screening assistance to ensure nothing slips under the radar. Also, review the references carefully. That way, you will be able to filter out trustworthy candidates from the not-so-good ones.
Wrapping Up
Managing multiple rental properties is difficult, but it can be made easy by adopting a strategic approach. By implementing the tips mentioned above, you can navigate the complexities of multifaceted real estate portfolios with ease.
However, don’t forget to inspect your rental properties regularly. Also, prioritize maintenance requests as it makes tenants feel happy and heard. Remember that a happy tenant will stay at your property longer than an unhappy one.
