Investors seeking diversification have frequently turned to a rental property or an accumulation rental properties to even out and spread risk across their investment portfolios. Much like any investment people must look into all the issues, problems, and pitfalls combined with the potential returns. Unfortunately, plenty of investors aren’t conscious of the potential problems and don’t take some time to investigate these issues before they close escrow. A house management course and a program in basic real estate investment could be great investments of time for anyone considering rental properties as a supply of investment income and long-term investment. A number of the problems and concerns are discussed below.
Inexperienced Agents and Uneducated Investors Produce a Deadly Concoction
Rental property investors often utilize the services of an unseasoned realtor who does not fully understand rental properties, who does not fully understand return on investment, and who does not fully comprehend what cap rates are. A lot of the time these investors just turn to their friend ‘the realtor’ or use any realtor they’re acquainted with or are more comfortable with to purchase these kind of properties sad as that will sound.
The fact is most real estate agents aren’t savvy enough to comprehend rental properties, cap rates, return on cash, return on investment, leveraged investing, and the common terms connected with investment properties. To compound this fact most investors initially are equally inexperienced and lack the proper expertise to find and obtain a powerful investment property. No body needs to look beyond this question: Why would an owner be selling a powerful investment property? That question must be the first of numerous asked by both agent and the investor. One problem is that some investors are just so excited to get into a property they look beyond the facts and the numbers and just need to get control of the property. Oftentimes this is a flawed approach because most agents will hesitate to stop the eager purchaser for concern with missing out on a healthy commission.
The Property Management Profession can be an Equalizer
After an investor has closed escrow, if the inexperience agent hasn’t offered to ‘manage’ the property for them, many decide to control the property themselves (only licensed real estate brokers can manage rental properties). When these unsuspecting owners are confronted with the subtleties of Fair Housing laws, Equal Opportunity issues, civil rights issues, anti-discrimination issues, bad tenant screening issues, notice of default issues, eviction issues, and finally collection issues often they turn to a professional property manager or property management company to simply help rescue their sinking ship.
If rescued timely a professional property manager can turnaround an investment property and make the investor’s decision pay dividends. With a competent property manager the return on investment can be realized and the master actually may have time to enjoy the investment, not dote on it or concern yourself with it. The property management company will look after the investment, the maintenance, the tenants and all the concomitant issues connected with the property.
Property Management Education Course
Educating both inexperienced real estate agents and beginner investment property owners about prudent property management is important for maximizing the investor’s return on investment. It’s rare for an owner to successfully manage their property or properties and make the utmost possible return for sale in that specific marketplace. The reason it’s rare is basically because the typical manager-owner is not utilising the latest and greatest property management techniques, software, screening procedures, and most of all is not keeping up with the ever changing landlord-tenant laws. Each January there are several seemingly ever increasingly tenant-debtor favored laws enacted which most people aren’t aware of. When a new law takes effect that’s another potential pitfall for the lone-ranger owner to violate and end through to the wrong side of the complaint.
The sure-fire way around this potential issue is always to hire a property management company to control and protect the owner’s investment, and most of all maximize the return on investment. One other way around this issue is to own every owner have a property management course and learn the profession from the ground up without going through the hard knocks of experiencing tenant problems first hand.
Finally, an owner could hire a property management company that in addition to all the typical staff also includes a real estate lawyer on staff who are able to solve and property management services answer all the legal questions that seemingly end at the start and center. This would be a truly educated decision and a simple one for the master to make.