Delaying things can sometimes be a smart move. For example, orchestrated delays are an artful part of negotiating. But when it comes to managing your property's day-to-day operations, although there are some things you can put off, there are others that you need to take care of ASAP. Keeping a constant watch on these will keep your investment at peak performance.
Lets look at 3 core essentials you must stay on top of and should never let slide, even for a day.
3 Core Areas For Landlords To Manage
1. Occupancy.
Units that are filled put money in your pocket. Empty units take money out. Priority #1 for your management company is to fill up your property. Lost income from an empty unit is never recovered. If your occupancy level is below the market average, find out why. There can be any number of reasons tenants are moving out and others are not moving in, such as too much deferred maintenance. Whatever the culprit, fix it.
2. Attitude.
Once your property is filled up, priority becomes keeping it full. And more often than not, you'll find the key to this is all about having the right attitude. Every member of your management team has to have a “can do” attitude; otherwise you end fruitlessly spending your time managing the manager and trying to turnaround poor attitudes. Find people who are inherently go-getters and ruthlessly dump those who are not.
3. Collections
Collections are always a high priority. Rental income puts the “cash” in cash flow. You can expect a few outstanding rents at the start of the month, but your management company should have all rent collected long before the next rental payment is due. Rents that go uncollected for more than 30 days are likely to never get collected.
The best way to handle this is to have a reporting plan in place that ensures nothing slips through the cracks. A “Monday Morning” report from your management company reminds them that your eyes are on their performance. The report includes current occupancy, projected occupancy, rent collected and delinquent rents.
Why Landlords Should Join A Real Estate Club
REIA meetings take place in different cities throughout the country and every city has its own association. The purpose of these meetings is to develop a network or chain of real estate investors. They guide the ones that enter the market and learn from those who are already in the market and have a good grip of it.
Not only do people learn and enjoy these REIA meetings but these meetings give people a chance to interact and get to know more investors. These meetings have now become a platform for the networking of investors. These meetings serve the purpose of expanding the real estate circle. Just a few years back, real estate was a small market and people were scared to enter it or try their luck here. But now it is one of the biggest markets with many people investing their money on land with the intention of earning some extra income.
Investors can join in as guests or take membership of REIA, as these associations provide a wide forum to all the investors to introduce their products and get to know about others. These meetings are usually held at the beginning of every month and they update investors about the market and its conditions in previous months. They also forecast about the coming month and how the market will be. No matter if an investor is new in the market or is a millionaire, everyone learns more and more through these meetings.
Other topics that these meetings shed a light on include; learning how to become financially independent as an investor. These meetings provide investors how to retain their wealth once they start making it and keep the cash cycle rolling. When an investor makes a gain he needs to reinvest and all these techniques are taught in these meetings, for those who don't have much information about real estate.
Real estate has a wide scope and these meetings teach how one can explore other avenues and how they can make more profits by entering these avenues one at a time. The best part about being a member at an association is that one gets to be in the midst of ambitious and proactive people who form a society of real estate investors. Not only investors get to learn through these meetings but they also get a chance to share their experiences with others and get their perspective on it.
We love your feedback and welcome your comments.
Please post below: