What to expect in Property Management

Question

Hi everyone, I was curious what might be some of the biggest problems to you run into while managing your properties? (Tenants not paying on time, keeping track of payments ect..)

Chris Grenzig · Answer

@Mike Johnson you definitely have a different set of problems or potential problems depending upon where you are at.

Brand new and acquiring your first rental you're going to manage:

Everything can kind of be summed up as you don't know what you don't know. At its core property management is simple though. Find a renter, qualify them, move them in, collect rent, oversee repairs, re-sign leases, move them out, turn the unit, rinse and repeat. If you have just one unit it's not too hard to keep track of payments, you can do it for free in Excel or Google Sheets, you just have to stay on top of it. Find a good landlord/eviction attorney that can help you draw up a lease, and help with any potential problems or disputes that arise. Have a good CPA to help come tax time.

Your biggest problems here are going to be how to properly qualify someone, what to do if someone stops paying, footing the bill if you have a big repair item, finding quality and reasonable vendors/contractors to fix things, and keeping track of payments.

If this isn't you, give me some more context of where you're at and I can give some better insights.

Drew Sygit · Answer

Depends on the Class of the property/tenant.

Class A, you may just have occassional maintenance issues.

Class B, more maintenance issues, some tenant payment issues, some tenant drama.

Class C, a lot of maintenance issues, a lot of tenant payment issues, a lot of tenant drama.

Class D, too much to list.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

There isn't just one problem. If you are a new landlord, your biggest problem may be your inability to set boundaries. It could be the lack of screening skills. Maybe you don't know how to differentiate between ordinary maintenance and tenant neglect/abuse?

It's going to be different for everyone based on their skill set, property, renters, and other factors.

Sandra Lei M. · Answer

Hi,

Don't hesitate to get in touch with support@biggerpockets.com for assistance regarding your account. Thanks!

NA S. · Answer

Hello BP,

I am getting "You are banned or banned from interacting" message while posting.

Can you please help me in posting the message.

Thanks in advance.

Mohammed Rahman · Answer

Hey @Mike Johnson - are you collecting information to potentially launch your own PM software?

They're all very similar in my opinion, and do about 90% similar functions. Some are more integrated than others, sure.

It's why most large landlords use their own in-house tools/software they pay someone a one time fee to setup for them and then hand off.

Bob S. · Answer

How many do you have and where ?

Adam Bartomeo · Answer

Once you are large enough, maintenance will be your biggest problem. How to handle the requests in a timely manner while keeping expense down. When you are small, there really isn't many concerns other than not knowing how to manage the properties properly.

Ozzy Sirimsi · Answer

I dont know how many units you are talking about, my biggest problem was tenants having easy access to me.

I finally decided to use a software and got an internal property manager so moved away from it.

Currently setting up the maintenance request portion of it, so will see how it goes.

What to expect in Property Management

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