No matter how long you’ve owned residential rentals, there is always room to streamline your investment property management program so that it brings you the best returns and economizes on time-demands. As the end of 2019 approaches, it’s a good time to start analyzing what worked for you this year and what needs improvement in the upcoming year.

Are Your Rents On Track?

It’s a good time to research comparable rentals in your market and determine whether your rents are still in line with the current market. It’s not quite as simple as seeing what the highest rents are in the comps you find, though. In most cases, you’ll want to weigh keeping good tenants in place against raising rents, and, of course, you may have to account for any legal restrictions on rent raises. Start with general information, then consider each rental on a case-by-case basis. You determine in some cases that you’d rather keep a reliable, responsible tenant in place than risk losing them over a rental increase. In other cases, you may find that raising the rent is what has to happen, regardless of the tenant’s response.

Analyze Your Spending

Break down your spending on each property over the course of 2019. Do you see areas like maintenance, where making a more careful plan could save you money? For example, would you save money by making bulk purchases of items like faucets and light fixtures, and using the same ones in each of your rentals? Could you save by using one or two colors of paint in all of your units? What about your maintenance and gardening services? Is there a more economical way to get those services? If you’re paying for trash or water, are the tenants abusing those utilities? If so, you may want to consider discontinuing those services at the next lease renewal.

Remember To Account For Your Own Time

 Your own time is a legitimate factor in analyzing whether or not your investment property management program is really delivering good value. If you’re spending too much time trying to fill vacancies, screen tenants, collect rents, and get all the maintenance and repairs covered, you’re probably short-changing yourself. Working with Belmont Management Group can help streamline every aspect of investment property management by efficiently marketing and filling your properties with reliable tenants, offering economical maintenance and repairs, and freeing up your time. Call or contact us online for a consultation and learn more about increasing your returns in 2020!

Please keep in mind that this is mostly a summary of the important points, but by no means does it constitute or cover the entire topic of investment property management.