Managing Your Real Estate Property

Now that you have started your Real Estate venture and you’re working with a property or two, there are a few things that you will need to learn when it comes to making sure that you’re business runs smoothly. If you have a string of properties, it may be a good idea to decide if you’d be better off utilizing a property manager to take care of things for you. Owning so many properties at once can get very hectic because of the maintenance and upkeep, so if you don’t have the time to maintain them, it’s best to have someone help you so that your business won’t suffer.

Finding a suitable tenant!

After you have fixed up your property and it is now in livable condition, the first thing you must do is select a tenant. This is the single most important part of your business. The most vital factor in the type of tenant you will attract is the area in which you have chosen to buy property. It is important that you screen your applicants, carefully and seriously. You could run into a multitude of problems if you aren’t thorough in your selection of a tenant. You’ll want to come up with rental criteria, a list of things that your potential tenant will need to provide you with, so that you can carefully evaluate if they are a good match for you and your property that you’ve worked so hard to not only attain but also maintain.

Good help is hard to find!

Another task in managing your properties is finding quality Tradesmen/Craftsmen. This is almost as important as finding a tenant and the process is similar. In finding quality workers, it’s a good idea to set up criteria and what you are looking for. This person will be responsible for doing the maintenance repairs for your rental properties, so you want to ensure that they are qualified to perform the duties that you will most certainly need done when it’s time to fix your properties. Talk with friends, people that you know very well and can take their word when it comes to referring a professional to you. Also, if you have seen their work with your own eyes, that’s another plus. This means that you can attest to the fact that this person will do a great job for you.

Once you have found a pool of candidates to interview for your job, some questions that you might want to ask are, if they have previously done the specific type of work that you are requesting and how long will the specific job take. Once you have found the right person for the job and they have completed the task, it’s a good idea to check over their work just to make sure that the job was done to your satisfaction.

Accurate Accounting

Owing property of course means keeping accurate accounting records. It is best practice to have an automated system that will handle all of your financial records for you. There are a number of programs available such as, Quick Books. This software will allow you to keep track of all your financial transactions and help you balance each month. There are other types of property management software available that can help you stay on track. It is up to you what system you’d like to use but make sure you have something in place. You want to keep the paperwork in tact and the money rolling in. Good record keeping makes filing your tax returns easy!  For more information on real estate investing go to http://cashinonforeclosuresblog.com

Wishing you much success!

Annetta Powell

Your Professional Success Coach