5 Outdated Rental Property Management Strategies That Need to Go Immediately

Whether you own multiple rental properties or just one rental property, you need to constantly update your management systems in order to make sure that you are caught up with modern policies and processes. Updated rental management systems will make your rental property more attractive to would-be tenants. It can also save you time if you’re still using archaic methods, as well as save you from headaches when legal policies are updated by the state.

Old process: You only accept checks as a payment option.
Are you one of those old school landlords who only accept payment in checks? Do you physically have to collect them every month or do you insist on having post-dated checks to cover the tenant’s rent until the end of their lease duration? Do you have to wait for the checks to be mailed to you and just trust that the checks will arrive in time? You can save yourself from a lot of hassles and worried waiting if you offer your tenants more payment options rather than just accepting checks.

New process: You provide your tenants with multiple payment options.
Modernize your rental property management strategy by offering your tenants more payment options. Take advantage of the convenience provided by online banking, e-transfers, or bank transfers. Firstly, it is easier for the tenants to actually pay the rent when they have the option for e-transfers. They can just automate the whole process and make bank arrangements to ensure that the rent gets paid at the same time each month. Secondly, it takes penalties out of the picture most of the time because both you and your tenant would not have to contend with postage delays or the check getting lost in the mail.

Old process: You make handshake deals to seal a tenancy deal.

Do you still rely on a good old handshake and word of honor to seal tenancy deals? When a tenant expresses interest in your property, you should have screening systems in place before you agree to accept them as a tenant. Background checks, finance records, and references are very important in this day and age. It will help you determine if the would-be tenant is the right fit for you and for the rental property.

New process: You have signed documents and established written communications.
After coming to an agreement and doing the requisite background checks, you should have a lease agreement available to sign. This will detail the rental policies and legalities of the tenancy agreement. This is important in the rare case that you come across legal problems or in case there are policies that are unclear to the tenant such as pet fees, the extent of space that they can use, and how to go about repairs and maintenance.

Old process: You have no formal accounting management systems for your financial activities.
Do you rely on your tenant’s word on when the rent payment is going to arrive? Do you lose track of payments, service subscriptions, or petty cash budgets? You should have financial tracking systems in place so that you don’t forget important activities such as rent collection, regular maintenance payments, payments for repairs, community tax payments, and all those fees that are paid regularly.

New process: You have proper financial management systems for keeping track of important things such as payments, income, and expenses among others.
You should have a good financial management system to make it easier for you to allocate budgets for regular rental property management activities. You can keep track of which tenant is due, which one is past due and has incurred penalty fees, which maintenance service is coming up (yard maintenance, pest control, garbage collection, property cleaning, etc.), and more importantly which state fees are due.

Old process: You rely on old-school methods such as pen and paper to remember rental property management activities.
Do you still use a ledger or a thick notebook to note down your rental property management activities? Do you still use the pen and paper method, or do you use an excel sheet for keeping track of your finances? Even having an excel sheet is now outdated. There are new and more efficient digital systems that can help you keep track of rental property management activities, leverage them!

New process: You use digital assets to modernize the management of your rental property.
Software can help modernize small to medium businesses like yours if you take the time to use it. There is a lot to choose from, you have to investigate them carefully to see which one is the best fit for your needs. Some examples are Freshbook, Intuit, Xero, Zoho, etc.

Old process: You try to do everything yourself.
Are you available all hours of the day? Do you take care of everything from bookkeeping to fixing a leaky faucet? Do you really want to be this kind of landlord? While it’s good to be hands-on with your business, you should know that you have the option to delegate a lot of these activities to people who have the expertise and experience.

New process: You have a list of go-to service providers that you can delegate some work too.
You won’t be able to grow your business or free up your time if you’re constantly available to your tenants. Try to delegate some of the tasks, to service providers you trust. You can actually enlist the help of a rental property management company to help you with some, if not all, of these management activities. They can help screen your prospective tenants and organize the paperwork. They can help you keep your books in order. They can source experts and trusted service providers to do regular maintenance on your property. They can actually do all of that and more.

At Davis Property Management, we can help you with any or all of your rental property management needs. Schedule a consultation with us today