Five Signs It’s Time To Hire A Property Manager

Owning rental property is one of the best ways to build long-term passive income. However, as you might have already discovered, running a property portfolio takes a lot more work than advertised!

While it can be great to take control of your portfolio and build things from the ground up, it’s not always easy. Many property owners find themselves overwhelmed with the challenges involved. That’s why it might be better to hire a professional property management company.

Having an expert to manage your properties and get them in full working order can come with long-term benefits you might not have considered. Sometimes, though, it can be hard to tell when you need help managing your portfolio.

At Utopia Property Management, we have been providing comprehensive property management services since 1994. In that time, we have managed thousands of properties, both commercial and residential, across multiple states.

We know better than most the signs of when our clients might need a helping hand with their rental property. What, though, are the clearest signs that your property portfolio needs extra support?

Five Signs You Need To Hire Our Property Management Services

Here are five signs that you might have reached the stage where your real estate properties need professional management.

1. You Struggle To Find New Tenants (And Retain Old Tenants)

One of the first areas of concern for most property owners comes down to their inability to keep their tenants around. The reasons for this can be hard to deduce, but it could be down to:

• Lack of attention to detail when it comes to resolving maintenance issues.
• Improper selection of tenants, leading to the wrong individual(s) being chosen.
• Not enough time is spent on tenant screening, resulting in incompatible tenants.
• An inability to manage the problems that arise with your tenants long-term.
• A failure to create a proper, up-to-date lease agreement that protects all parties.

High vacancy rates can become a serious problem if you fail to adapt to these issues. Studies in recent years have pointed to the fact that as many as 50% of tenants move on after their first year of tenancy.

Meanwhile, at Utopia, we boast tenancy retention rates of up to 99%; we know how to find quality renters and keep them around. By hiring a property management company, you get someone involved who can provide the full-time commitment needed to keep people coming back for more for longer.

It can be hard to deliver the time investment needed to keep tenants happy; for a property management company like us, that is our bread and butter. Keep in mind, too, that we do not charge a tenant placement fee or a leasing fee, keeping the cost of doing business even lower.

2. Your Tenants Cause Problems For You & Others

The above issue of struggling to find the right tenants can bleed into this more serious problem. We get that nobody wants to be left with an empty unit, but desperation can lead to mistakes, meaning:

• The selection of tenants who have a patchy or negative history in the rental property market.
• Tenants who fail to adhere to their rental agreement can lead to expensive, damaging disputes.
• High vacancy rates occur as tenants move on quickly and leave you with a vacancy to fill regularly.
• Property damage leaves you with an expensive real estate repair bill that hurts your bottom line.
• Reputational damage as neighbors and other residents see your tenant choices as negative.
• Cash flow issues arise with tenants depositing rent and paying their monthly rent on time.

You might already recognize some of these issues, unfortunately. Owners of rental property always want to get their buildings filled, and we appreciate that.

Still, choosing the wrong tenant can lead to unique challenges you might not have the time or capability to resolve on your own.

These issues – and more – can all emerge when you choose the wrong tenants. With a property manager from Utopia involved, though, you get experts who are fully aware of how to find the right tenants and ensure lasting tenant satisfaction.

We find tenants who are of a high standard, using our in-house tenant screening process as well as a large database of already-vetted potential renters.

If you regularly find yourself dealing with problems with your tenants, it could be due to not having the time needed to vet your tenants properly. Use our services, and we can manage your property, ensuring that it is rented out to people who are a credit to your community as opposed to a problem.

3. Property Maintenance Is Becoming Impossible To Contain

No matter how old or new your real estate is, you can still run into problems with maintenance. A property could simply be at the stage where it needs some maintenance work, or an issue like a storm or a physical attack on the building could necessitate repairs. Naturally, tenants expect you to deal with this. A failure to deal with this could lead to:

• A never-ending list of maintenance tasks that require specific professional designations.
• Rent payments are not completed as tenants withhold payment until you fix the issue.
• Financial statements filled with maintenance fees and repair costs that you cannot afford.
• Minor issues like a leaky pipe evolve into something worse, creating serious long-term repairs.
• A failure to adhere to landlord-tenant laws can leave you with potential legal problems.
• Tenant dissatisfaction is leading to the high vacancy rates that we discussed above.

Of course, it can be hard to deal with issues alone, especially when property maintenance requests are more serious. You might need to find real estate professionals and local experts who can be trusted to carry out the repairs on your behalf. Forming those relationships is not easy!

With Utopia in charge of your rental property, though, you no longer have those issues to contend with. Not only are we experts at residential property management, but we have both in-house maintenance staff and relationships with the best trade professionals in your community.

That results in making sure your rental property stays in prime condition without you having to get involved as the property owner. We find the people you can trust to manage the repairs you need, and since we remain available on a 24/7 basis, your tenants contact us, not you.

That means more time to get on with your day, safe in the knowledge that any maintenance requests are being dealt with by professionals who know what they are doing. The peace of mind that having a dedicated property manager brings cannot be overstated.

4. Your Work-Life Balance Feels Out Of Sync

As a property owner, we understand that you want this passive income to pay off long-term. However, the often ‘hidden’ part of property ownership is that to build a successful portfolio, you first need to commit full-time to creating the right conditions. In doing so, you might find yourself:

• Unable to make time for personal commitments, especially to your family and children.
• Overwhelmed with other professional tasks, meaning your other interests fall by the wayside.
• Unable to deal with everything needed to keep your rental property in peak condition.
• Struggling to manage day-to-day operations, such as collecting rent or hiring third-party services.
• Failure to meet licensing requirements puts your rental properties’ success in jeopardy.
• Empty unit after empty unit, leaving you with a rental portfolio that fails to generate income.
• The risk of burnout leaves you unable to commit to personal or professional opportunities.
• Lower tenant satisfaction puts your entire investment portfolio at risk long-term.

As a property investor, you want to see your portfolio thrive without having to feel involved in the day-to-day operations, right? With Utopia involved, that becomes much easier.

With a property management agreement with us, we take over the management of every part of your building. Our property management services stretch to everything from tenant selection to ensuring long-term tenant satisfaction through on-demand services, 24/7 availability, and professional input.

Your days of feeling like a full-on, full-time, 24/7 property owner are over. Rest and relax a little; we make sure that your investment properties are in the best position to thrive so you can enjoy life a little more.

5. You Have A Growing Risk Of Legal Challenges

Of all the problems that you can face in property management, legal challenges from tenants remain #1 on the list. At Utopia, we have seen countless examples of landlords stuck in a legal dispute that becomes incredibly expensive. Common examples of legal disputes with tenants include:

• A failure to produce a tenancy agreement that is in line with state and federal regulations.
• Tenant screening policies that do not follow the Fair Housing Act (or similar legal acts).
• Accusations of discrimination based on gender, race, religion, disability, etc.
• Escalating a dispute with a tenant (such as over rent payments) that infringes on their rights.
• Eviction policies that do not conform to the laws of the state or region in which you are based.
• Breaking tenancy agreements, such as entering the property without consent or prior notice.
• In some states, raising monthly rental costs in the middle of a lease agreement is prohibited.
• Failing to keep on top of your real estate condition can leave tenants living in poor conditions.
• Withholding the delivery of security deposits back to a tenant once they move out.
• Data management and record keeping that fail to meet best practice requirements.
• A failure to adhere to your requirements when it comes to property taxes.

Unfortunately, these are just some of the issues that could hurt your rental property portfolio. Managing properties is about more than just the basics; you need to be aware of your legal obligations.

Like many property owners, though, you might simply not have the time to take a crash course on legal. There is also the fact that federal, state, and local laws can change from year to year, making it challenging to keep up with such changes.

That leaves your investment properties at risk of outdated agreements. No property owner wants that issue hanging over them!

At Utopia, we do our best to provide assistance when dealing with such issues. Not only do we make sure that things like leasing agreements and property taxes are dealt with properly, but we keep discussion open and honest with tenants.

That level of transparency is key to keeping everyone happy and making sure all individuals feel respected. Real estate investors who struggle with the legalities of property ownership can rely on us. We have the dedication, years of experience, and a constantly up-to-date legal department.

For a small percentage of rental income, we can reduce the time spent researching laws and managing your licensing requirements. Any landlord who struggles with the legal side of their portfolio can trust us to make these complicated processes far easier to understand.

Is It Time To Hire A Property Management Company?

With the above, you should now have a good idea of whether you are comfortable dealing with the management of your property alone. This is a cut-throat, challenging industry, after all. If you wish to spend less time in your office dealing with landlord issues, join our list of happy clients who:

• Benefit from increased free time thanks to having far fewer tasks to manage day-to-day.
• Utilize our 30+ years of professional property management expertise, with proven results.
• Keep the best tenants in place, whether you prefer a single-family rental or multi-family property.
• Balance their work-life balance as we manage any residential or commercial property you own.
• Keep rent coming in and payments consistent as we keep tenants happy for their tenancy.
• Use a proven property management process that has worked in California and other states.
• Rely on our in-house marketing and maintenance, as well as recommended legal support, to provide long-lasting support.
• No longer get midnight phone calls thanks to our 24/7 support network of staff involved.

Hire the team at Utopia today, and you can benefit from a service that is made to make your life easier. From dealing with routine maintenance to creating lease agreements and securing long-term tenancies, we make your rental property portfolio the passive income generator it was supposed to be.

Sign a property management agreement with Utopia, and your real estate properties will be in the best position to shine. With a Utopia property manager involved, you can make sure you no longer face burnout, high vacancy rates, legal challenges, or the handling of maintenance requests on your own!