Saving money has always been very important, but in the current economy, it’s absolutely essential. Keeping costs down is one of the best ways to earn more on your Cleveland rental property. The market is strong right now; rents are high and well-maintained properties are in high demand among tenants.
But the cost of doing business is rising, too. You may have noticed you’re paying more for maintenance. You’re spending more when cleaners are needed during a turnover period or when you’re looking for landscapers. Replacing appliances will cost you and if your property value has increased over the last couple of years, you’re likely paying more for insurance and taxes.
How can you save money?
We have one good solution. Work with a Cleveland property manager.
If you have not already considered partnering with a local professional, now is the time to do it. Not only can your management company help you navigate an evolving market, we can also help you contain your costs and increase your earnings.
Property management isn’t always what you think it will be.
Sure, we’ll market your home and screen applications and place a great tenant. We’ll take care of maintenance requests and manage your lease renewal.
But, we do so much more.
We focus on your investment goals and we look for opportunities. We put our resources and relationships to work so you’re spending less on your investment.
Here’s how a Cleveland property manager can save you money.
Property Managers Maximize Your Cleveland Rental Value
You might not have your property accurately priced, and earning more rent will always save you money.
If your rents aren’t at market level, you’re losing money every month. And, it’s harder for you to catch up to those market rates. If you’ve had the same tenant in place for nearly 10 years and you’ve hardly raised the rent, you’re seriously undervaluing your property. Every time you renew the lease agreement with the tenants who have grown comfortable paying less than what your property is worth, you’re selling yourself short.
You never want to price your rental home too low. Don’t worry about losing tenants. They’ll find that rental prices elsewhere are much higher than what they’re paying you. The market has changed, and rents have gone up dramatically. We’re not suggesting that you charge an unreasonable sum, but we are telling you that property managers know what the market will bear. We know what you should be earning on your property.
Attaching the right rental value to your property impacts cash flow, ROI, and how quickly you’re able to find and place a good tenant.
The data we collect and analyze is far more reliable than using Craigslist or Zillow to estimate what your rental property is worth. We can compare your property to the competition and settle on a rental value that’s both competitive and profitable.
Stop Losing Money on Vacancy
By working with a professional Cleveland property management company, you’re less likely to face long vacancy times. As you know, this translates into concrete savings because every day that your rental property is vacant is a day you’re losing money.
There are also material risks to a vacant home. It’s a target for thieves and criminals who may want to steal appliances. With no one living in the home, there could be a maintenance emergency that goes undetected.
Long vacancy periods cost you money. Even short vacancy periods cost you money!
Limit your vacancy and your exposure by working with a property manager who can quickly market your home, show the property, and screen incoming applications. We have the technology and the experience to make this go quickly, saving you time and money.
Unqualified Tenants are Costly to Cleveland Rental Properties
Finding and placing a tenant seems like it should be easy, but if it’s a qualified tenant you’re looking for, make sure you’re investing the time and resources into a sound and rigorous screening process.
When you don’t have that time or those resources, you need help from a property manager. It’s the only way to ensure you’re placing a qualified tenant into your rental home.
Property managers also save you money by placing better tenants. If you’re settling for bad tenants just because you want to get the process over and put someone in your property, here’s what it might cost you:
- Late rent.
- Unpaid rent.
- Eviction.
- Lease violations.
- Lease breaks.
- Criminal activity.
- Property damage.
Why create additional expenses for yourself? Why waste your time chasing down late rent or threatening eviction?
There’s a better, and more profitable way.
Property managers protect your investment and your earnings by seeking out and screening the best possible renters for your home. Your property management partner will have fair, consistent, and legally compliant screening systems, marketing strategies, and lease documents.
Leverage a property manager’s experience with on-time rent collection and lease enforcement. You’ll be surprised at how much money you can save when a good tenant is in place. It contributes to higher earnings and a better rental experience altogether.
Are you Losing Tenants (and Money) to Turnover?
We’ve talked about the cost of vacancy, what about the price of tenant turnover?
It’s steep.
Turnovers will be less of a financial risk when you’re working with a property manager for two reasons:
- Turnovers are less frequent. Professionally managed properties often result in higher tenant retention. We have the tools and the time to develop meaningful, positive tenant relationships. We respond to maintenance right away. We provide conveniences like online rental payments. A good property manager will have a tenant retention plan in place designed to keep your current tenants happy and renewing their leases year after year.
- If you do have a tenant moving out, we’ll be able to clean, repair, and prepare the property for a new tenant in far less time than if you were doing it on your own. Our turnover times are brief and productive. We’ll save you money by ensuring the work is done quickly and the property is rent-ready in a matter of weeks instead of months.
Turnovers hurt financially. Property managers keep your best tenants in place.
Better Vendor Networks and Deeper Discounts
Maintenance costs are going up, as you have surely noticed. While professional property managers cannot do anything about rising costs, we can help you keep those costs contained. Here’s how:
- Our maintenance policies are generally geared towards preventative maintenance. This cuts down on those expensive emergency repairs. It protects the condition and value of your asset.
- More importantly, we have a great team of vendors and contractors who offer us their best rates when we call them for help. An independent landlord won’t get much of a discount when they need plumbing work or landscaping. Property managers provide vendors with a large volume of work, thanks to all the rental homes we manage and maintain. That loyalty results in better pricing. A good property manager will pass those savings on to you.
Save money on maintenance by working with a management company to handle repairs, renovations, and routine work. Our list of preferred vendors will keep costs manageable, even while the quality of work remains impressive.
Legal Mistakes will Cost You
During the worst of the pandemic, there was an eviction moratorium that left a lot of landlords wondering how to proceed with tenants who were not paying rent. Fair housing laws require you to understand what you can and cannot say during the marketing, screening, and leasing process. It’s easy to discriminate without meaning to.
You’ll need to know the difference between a service animal, a support animal, and a pet. It’s also important to study and understand the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Ohio has a specific set of laws when it comes to security deposits and eviction.
Renting out a home on your own can often feel risky. Legal mistakes are expensive.
It’s not enough to simply know the laws. You have to comply with them.
Property managers not only understand the laws, we protect you from violating them. Most legal mistakes are unintentional, but recovering from them is always expensive. Don’t put yourself at risk. Get some support and advice from a property manager, whether you’re trying to evict a tenant or even hold them accountable to their lease agreement.
These are just some of the ways that professional property managers in Cleveland can save you money on your investment property. And, don’t forget this added bonus: your property management fees are tax deductible! This will save you some money when you’re reporting the income associated with your rental property at tax time.
Lean on the expertise and leadership of local property managers. We are here to answer any questions you may have about our services and the value they can provide. Please contact us at IIP Management. We work with owners in Cleveland Heights, Lakewood, Lyndhurst, Parma, Solon, and South Euclid (Cuyahoga County).
