Real estate investors have a lot to juggle. Not only do you have to find and enhance the ideal property, but you also have to find and retain tenants. Whether it is a short-term let or a commercial one, there are multiple factors at play that make this endeavor fairly challenging when you decide to go it alone. That is why professional property portfolio services are a must. When you invest in these services, you invest in yourself and your assets. The guide below has some valid reasons why.
What Are Professional Property Portfolio Services?
Professional portfolio property services are one of the easiest ways to control, grow and maintain your property assets. They are a company or individual who understands the best possible way to maximise your returns on the initial investment through a range of outputs and actions. Depending on the size of your portfolio, autonomous management methods may just become too much! Professionals step in to do the heavy lifting on your behalf. It gives you peace of mind that all the options are being explored regarding your asset, and the property is up to the required standards.
Automated Rent Payments
One of the highlights of utilising property portfolio building services is that all of the future rent payments will be fully automated thanks to the innovations in software that have come about in recent years. What does this mean for you, the landlord? Well, according to property expert UpperKey, rent arrears are a very real problem that requires innovative solutions. Guaranteed rent schemes alongside automated payment schedules mean that the risk of this happening to you is massively minimised. If there ever are any arrears to speak of, your portfolio manager will be able to provide expert advice as to how to move forward.
Organising Rental Agreements
Whether it is a short-term let arrangement or something different, organising rental agreements is just a necessary part of being a landlord. This has everything to do with advertising a property alongside the actual nitty gritty administration components too. Drawing up a contract is a complicated, legal thing. You have to know what you’re talking about and there has to be clear vetting on both sides of the picture. The last thing you need is any room for disagreement or space for misconception when it comes to your asset. Commercial tenants may abuse a lease as easily as vacation short termers, so portfolio management is vital in this context to ensure everything is done above board and with clear, legal expectations for everyone involved.
Maximising Your Returns
There is nothing more detrimental to your asset than allowing it to sit there unsupervised. What does this mean? Well, in the property market, things move constantly. This is not to say that landlords should or could change the rental amount month by month. However, what they ought to be doing is keeping an eye on where things are moving. Is the area where your property is suddenly becoming more affluent? Is there a new tourist hotspot opening up? Will your tenants have a dozen new lunch options by the end of the next quarter? All these are valuable questions to ask. Various things dictate how much a lease is worth, and sometimes, the price just has to go up in order to maximise your returns and make it a fair investment. Investments only see a profit if they are kept in constant review, and your manager is on the ball in this respect.
Providing Optimal Maintenance
One of the biggest roles of any type of landlord is to ensure that the building maintenance is always up to standard. If your tenant makes a request, it has to be met with acknowledgment and action. The preference is always that this is done as soon as time allows. However, there is often a grace period that is forgiven. Good management teams will have a keen interest in ensuring your asset stays viable. This means, as a part of their range of services, you will also be signed up for maintenance ones. Some companies even have surveyors that oversee the repairs and structural integrity of buildings to ensure that the process is a thorough one and everything is optimally protected.
Acting as a Middle Man
The last advantage worth talking about is the middle man approach. A successful portfolio manager is your person on the ground who is quite literally paid to deal with tenants. Regardless of what your property is for, whether that is business or vacation, a portfolio still has tenants to deal with. As a landlord, it is always easier if this is an impartial process with someone advocating on your behalf. Say there is a problem in one of your short term lets for instance, what do you do? Your property manager takes the call, logs the complaint, and figures out the most direct solution to the problem all without even picking up the phone and filling you in. Of course, you can opt in for a higher level of involvement but you really don’t have to. This is what they are trained for. A resolution will be in place before you even know there was something to resolve, and isn’t that the better way to do things?
Evictions
Nobodoy likes giving their tenant notice. However, it is sometimes necessary for commercial portfolios that notice is given regardless. Maybe you have had a better offer, or the tenancy is no longer viable from a business perspective. While there should always be a valid reason, moving people on is never the easiest job in the world. This is where portfolio managers really step up for you. They ensure that everything from handing out the official notice letter to taking back the keys is as smooth and seamless as possible. This includes every and all checks needed to bring the property up to scratch for the next purpose it is going to serve.
The Rest of It
Of course, these are just the main areas to keep in mind. These services extend above and beyond just these five things, for instance:
Ensuring there are bookings
Composing a marketing strategy
All the reference checks on tenants (commercial)
Ensuring deposit protection
Inventory factors
Regular, scheduled audits
So, there are lots of ways that property management portfolio services can help out a landlord. The arrangement is always undertaken with a professional acceptance that an asset will be aptly managed with as much control as necessary. Landlords can not only gain peace of mind but acceptance as well that their portfolio is going to be data driven and maximised to its full potential.