While a real estate investment can help you build wealth, you already know it’s not a free ride. You don’t just buy an investment property, make it rent ready, and place tenants in it. If it were that easy, more people might do it.

In Texas, there are many guidelines and requirements for income property owners. Taking some essential steps as a responsible property owner will protect your investment and increase returns.

3 ways to be prepared to cover your responsibilities

Protect your investment property by being prepared. There are certain situations that may arise that are outside of standard property management tasks.

Here are three ways you can be prepared:

1. Save repair and upgrade money in a separate bank account every month. This money is earmarked for repairs and upgrades. Upgrades can usually be planned; repairs are generally unexpected. If you have multiple properties, the amount you set aside should be substantial in case more than one unit needs attention. We can make specific recommendations about financial planning during a personal consultation.
2. Consider the tenant’s perspective. We understand that your property might not be a high-end, executive rental. However, it’s easier to get and retain top-quality tenants when we acknowledge and approve reasonable requests. We ALWAYS need to respond quickly to any request that impacts habitability. Legally, tenants must have a safe and healthy place to live.
3. Understand that short-term pain can lead to long-term gain. It is never fun or convenient to invest in repairs, maintenance, and upgrades. They can be costly and consume your time and energy. However, properties that are not maintained incrementally deteriorate, meaning you must reduce rent, settle for lower quality tenants, or take a lower price at the time of sale.

 

By preparing for property maintenance expenses and acting quickly to address problems, you can protect yourself and your profits. If you have questions about the condition of your existing properties, we’re happy to speak with you and give honest feedback.

Expert investment property management

Properties deteriorate over time. Things break. Styles change. As the property owner, you are responsible for ongoing maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. And, if you (or we) place tenants worth treasuring in your property, they will expect prompt responses to necessary requests.

You must be prepared to honor your commitment to maintain the property. We’re guessing you want to delegate the detailed work of this to a competent property management company. Our expert team has been managing maintenance tasks for our clients for years. We know how to filter out unnecessary requests, respond quickly to emergencies, and plan for and facilitate upgrades that maximize rent and property values.

Are you ready to put us to work? Schedule your free consultation today.

How do buy-and-hold investors make money? The answer is finding the right tenants.

Property management companies take on this responsibility, so you don’t have to worry. Finding and keeping tenants who are a true treasure takes some up-front work that pays off in the long run.

Find your treasured tenants

Property management companies know that tenants are a key ingredient in building a profitable rental portfolio because:

• They reduce your expense liabilities by covering your mortgage payments, property management fees, and other ongoing expenses. Basically, they are purchasing your property for you.
• They increase your monthly income through monthly rents.
• If you made a good purchase decision, the rent you collect from tenants will be more than your expenses. That margin provides short-term profit and/or seeds a healthy reserve fund for maintenance.
• Tenants are extremely important. You want to make sure the ones you place in your property are treasures—they pay on time, live peacefully, take care of your property, and stay as long as possible.

 

We could go into all sorts of details about how to identify an ideal tenant, but most buy-and-hold investors we know don’t really want to embark on the search for an ideal, long-term tenant. They are especially reluctant to deal with recurring tenant needs because doing so drains time and energy.

Why property management companies focus on great tenants

This is where property management companies come in. We find the right tenants, manage their needs, and provide the overall care of the property to maximize your investment return.

The challenge: Find a property manager who gets results

As an investor, you care about how your property management company deals with tenants. Look at each potential company’s:

1. Vacancy Rate – What percentage of managed properties are vacant?
2. Vacancy Duration – How long does it take to fill vacancies?
3. Lease Renewal Rate – What percentage of existing tenants renew leases each year?
4. Company Culture – Are staff members professional, knowledgeable, and courteous?
5. Tenant Ratings and Reviews – What do tenants say about the company online?

Reviews help you vet property management companies

Another way to assess potential property management companies is to read what property owners and tenants are saying about them.

Before you start reading reviews, please note: you will nearly always see bad reviews from tenants because professional property managers work for owners and investors. We must enforce lease terms to protect an owner’s investment. Remember to keep this perspective when reading tenant reviews and instead evaluate how the company responds to complaints, and then look for red flags.

Examples of red flags:

• There is a recurring theme to tenant complaints;
• The company completely ignores negative reviews;
• The percentage of negative complaints is unusually high; or,
• There are zero positive reviews from tenants.

 

Remember, tenants are your treasure; they are your customer. They have value!

Want to know more?

Would you like to know more about our team’s track record with tenants, and other property owners? Schedule your free consultation with us today. We’re ready to help you take the next step in creating profitable real estate investments and keeping your valuable tenants happy.

The Dallas-Fort Worth real estate market is expected to see the completion of 25,000 apartments by the end of 2023.

This increase in availability gives you the potential to increase your property investment holdings. Our advice is to be extremely choosy when making decisions about properties.

The criteria you use to purchase income properties differ from those used to buy a home of your own. Knowing the difference will help you choose the best properties to reach your portfolio goals.

Checklist for expanding your property investment portfolio

When searching for property investment opportunities, make sure you are selective, ensuring the property you purchase aligns with your return strategy. Following are the criteria you should consider when building your real estate portfolio.

1. Location. Tenants will look for things like walkability, public transportation, and distance from restaurants, groceries, schools, and parks. There is a higher demand for rental housing in high-growth areas. There is consistent demand for rentals near major employers and universities.
2. Condition. If you can find a fixer-upper in a prime location, it may be worth considering, if you can negotiate a great price. The investment of time and effort rehabbing will pay off in higher rents and increased equity. Make sure professionals perform a thorough inspection. Avoid properties with major health or safety issues unless you have the time and money to deal with these kinds of problems.
3. Market. The best time to increase your portfolio is when the sales market dips. You will get a better price on the property and can expect rents to increase when the sales market climbs back up since fewer people can qualify to buy a home when prices increase.

Make the right choice with a trusted investment partner

The My Real Estate Property Management team is dedicated to helping our clients make excellent choices that serve larger investing goals. We’ll help you evaluate potential investment properties and re-evaluate the ones you already own to build a profitable portfolio that’s tailored just for you.

Schedule a consultation to learn more about selecting income properties to maximize your return. We’re ready to talk about your goals.

Think about your rental property investment as a business. What do you envision for the future of that business?

If you’ve read “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Dr. Stephen Covey, you’re familiar with the second habit: Begin with the end in mind.

Adopting this habit means defining your success and creating a plan to achieve it. Use your dreams to develop rental property investment business goals and a timeline, then create a property investment strategy to get you there.

Here are three tasks to help you develop your strategy.

 

Step 1: Begin with the end in mind

Keeping focused on your goal helps avoid distractions and gives you the motivation to keep going, even when faced with setbacks. Challenges come, but with clear goals, you can navigate temporary difficulties and stay on track to achieve success.

One of the best things you can do to achieve rental property investment success is to identify what you want to achieve, then work backwards to create the roadmap to get there. This step is all about setting your “big picture” goals—identifying why you’re investing in real estate.

Here are some potential goals, organized by category, to get you started:

Prepare for the future

• • I want to help revitalize neighborhoods by fixing up properties and providing affordable housing.

• • I want to increase my net worth so I can leave a larger inheritance to my children.

Increase investment

• • I want to capitalize on predicted upticks in the real estate market.

• • I want to rehab my existing properties to bring in more income per unit and increase property value.

• • I want to invest in small, multi-family properties (duplexes, 4-plexes), so I can make more rent per purchased property.

• • I want to diversify my portfolio to decrease risk and increase cash flow.

Increase current cash flow

• • I want to put my money in a low-risk, high-return rental property investment to increase my net worth.

• • I want a source of monthly cash flow that will supplement my current income.

Create passive income

• • I want to quit my job and live on the income from my rental properties.

• • I want tenants to pay for my real estate investments so I can cash out on them when I retire.

 

Step 2: Envision what each rental property investment can do for you

What do you want from your real estate investment? What’s your timeline? Do you have an exit strategy?

No matter where you are in the investing experience, take some time to envision what each property investment contributes to your Step 1 goal(s). These interim, property-based goals should get you closer to big goal success.

Invest some time today to think about your property-specific goals, then write them down. Research shows those who take the time to write out their goals are 42 percent more likely to achieve them.

Now that you’ve identified your specific property goals, it’s time to connect with a property investment and management expert to guide you toward long-term success.

 

Step 3: Make your rental property investment goals a reality

Now that you’ve identified your goals, it’s time to make them a reality. My Real Estate Property Management offers the investment services you need to design and implement the right strategies for your specific rental property investment business goals. We’ll work with you to make sure your investment plan serves your goals, both short-term and long-term.

Schedule a consultation and let’s talk about your business goals, strategic investing plan, and how our team can help you make your investment dreams a reality.