BiggerPockets

Is Now A Good Time To Own Investment Property?

Now is a great time to own an investment property. Rates are low and there are many strong investment opportunities available. In today's economy with a high foreclosure rate and challenges in obtaining credit, there are many wonderful people looking for a nice home to rent.

Selecting the proper property management is as important as selecting the proper investment, your management team will protect the asset and maximize your investment.

The current rental market is a prime market for Rent Growth, an excellent area of opportunity for a strong management team to increase rents. Because there is more demand for rentals than there has been in the past, now is the time to maximize the rental rate. In order to raise rents, a community must provide residents with the feeling of getting more. This does not necessarily mean property owners need to spend more money. Have management spend the time to let the residents know that the property they live in is well cared for and maintained and that their concerns will be address quickly.

People will pay more for properly maintained landscaping, a properly functional home, no leaking faucets or loose door handles. Spending a little more time on maintenance prevents situations where people are unhappy with their homes. If a community has been properly maintained and the resident's issues have been quickly addressed, an owner will not need to worry about raising the rents. Most of the residents will stay and make the necessary financial adjustments to keep the home that they are happy with.

At the same time, a rental community is in constant transition, it is very important to attract high quality, new residents. The community needs to looks its best in order to attract a potential resident on their first visit; there is no need to give them reason to continue to look. If the community looks manicured and the sales representative is engaging, a new resident will feel confident that they are getting what they are paying for.

Now that the community is home to satisfied residents and offers curb appeal as well as beautiful homes available to new residents, it is up to the management to know the market. Know where the community stands in comparison to its competition. This means not only knowing the occupancy and current market rent for the competition, but knowing the condition of the community and amenities. Growing the rental rate will grow the investment. Investors tend to hesitate to raise rental rates because of the fear of losing current residents, but with proper resident relations, proper maintenance and a friendly and courteous staff, raising rents will not be as high of a risk. With the proper management team an investor may take some chances right now. This requires excellent communication between an owner and the management. Now is the time to change the market rent.

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