Oversights a Property Management Company Can Help Landlords Prevent

Lee Blackburn

Making mistakes is easy. They happen to everyone, and when you’re renting out a Nashville home, you’re likely to deal with a misstep or two. There are going to be oversights. There are going to be errors. Unless you have a lot of experience leasing and managing properties and dealing with tenants, maintenance vendors, and legal requirements, you can expect to miss some important details. Usually, recovery is pretty easy. 

But, not always. 

Sometimes, these oversights can be at the expense of your rental income, tenant retention, property condition, or long-term ROI. The oversights become costly and difficult to move on from. 

Nashville property management can help. When you partner with a local property management company, there are fewer mistakes and a lower risk of oversights. You have the expertise and experience of a professional who has seen all the oversights before – and knows how to avoid them.

A good property manager can help you prevent oversights like the following mistakes we’re going to look at. These are the most common pitfalls we see landlords fall into.

Oversights When Pricing a Nashville Rental Property

Oversights when pricing a property are common, and understanding the local market can help you prevent them. There is a simple reason for this; your property’s rental value will depend largely on the Nashville rental market. 

Look at what similar homes are renting for in your neighborhood, and be careful not to overprice or underprice your property. Either way, you’ll lose money:  

• Underpriced homes will not earn you what you could and should be earning in monthly rent. Later, during lease renewals, it will be even harder to bring that rental value up to market rates without risking an expensive vacancy and turnover.
• Overpriced homes will always be left on the market longer. You’ll find yourself dealing with an extended vacancy period while good tenants choose more reasonably priced homes.    

Property managers in Nashville are unlikely to price your home too high or too low. We know the competition and we study the market before we price a home. We measure what other homes are renting for against your unique location, property condition, and what your home has to offer that others don’t. With all of the data we have access to, pricing your property is automated and accurate.

Inadequately Marketing a Vacant Rental Property

There’s a lot of lost opportunity when it comes to marketing. You can do more than post an ad on Craigslist and hope for the best. 

Strategic marketing is crucial when you’re renting out a property, and property managers facilitate better marketing strategies for you and your listing. 

Prospective tenants aren’t just going to find you by chance. You need an engaging listing that includes high-quality photos, a concise and descriptive ad, and all of the necessary contact information so they can reach you and schedule a showing.  

A property management company can help you market your rental properties while targeting suitable tenants, ensuring high occupancy rates, and a steady flow of revenue. You’ll have a better and larger pool of tenants interested in your property, and there will be less risk of vacancy.

Inadequate Nashville Rental Property Inspections

Are you performing the correct property inspections at the right times? 

If not, you aren’t alone. This is an oversight that a lot of landlords find themselves struggling to correct. One of the most frequent and costly mistakes that landlords make is failing to perform adequate property inspections. You need to routinely check the condition of your investment to ensure that it’s safe, secure, and habitable. You need to look for repairs that may be necessary as well, otherwise, you’ll find yourself dealing with deferred maintenance, which is often an unpleasant expense. 

Inspections are more thorough and well-documented when performed by a professional property manager. We have great technology that allows us to immediately upload photos and reports on-site when we’re inspecting. All of the information is shared with you, and we can use the information we gather from these inspections to make decisions about upgrades, maintenance, and plans moving forward. 

Inspections are especially critical during the move-in and move-out processes. This is how we document the condition of your property and hold tenants accountable for any damage that they caused while living in your home. You don’t want to miss the opportunity for a thorough and well-documented inspection.

Poor Tenant Communication

Good tenant relationships are an important part of the success of your rental property. If you cannot communicate with tenants, the opportunities for oversights and misunderstandings are limitless. When there is poor or inadequate communication, conflicts can arise, leading to disputes and arguments. 

If you cannot make communication a priority, property management is essential. 

You need to be responsive, available, and accessible to your tenants. You also have to be willing to communicate in multiple ways; via phone call, text, email, etc. Don’t avoid phone calls and always return email messages. This will help you stay on top of issues before they get out of hand. 

Bad communication is an oversight that’s hard to fix. It tends to lead to further problems and mistakes. A Nashville property management company can help you maintain a positive relationship with tenants by providing quick and reliable communication. We have online portals that facilitate easy messaging back and forth and the sharing of pertinent information. Through their online portals, tenants can also pay rent and make maintenance requests. 

Late or Missing Rent Payments 

Do you have a solid and easily enforced rent collection policy in place? You need one. Collecting rent on time is critical to your own cash flow and long-term return on investment (ROI). A lot of landlords find it uncomfortable to chase down late rent or confront their tenants when it doesn’t show up. But, avoiding the problem will only make it worse. If you don’t have a documented rent collection policy, it’s an oversight that can quickly become a disaster.

Again – property management can help. You’ll be able to rely on your property manager for rent collection and lease enforcement, as well as financial record-keeping and reporting.

We are here to help you avoid these common oversights as well as the mistakes that you might find yourself making which were not mentioned here. Let’s make your rental process more pleasant and profitable. Contact us at Omni Realtors and Property Management.