Managing a Chula Vista rental property on your own can be challenging on a good day and risky on a bad day. Whether you’re a new landlord or an experienced investor, finding the time, resources, and expertise to effectively manage your own rental property isn’t always easy. It’s easy to make an expensive mistake, and often difficult to recover from that mistake.
Chula Vista property management offers you a lot of value. There’s less risk and hassle on your end, and a lot more peace of mind. You need local and industry experts who have done it all before.
Let’s take a look at the main reasons you shouldn’t manage your own rental property.
The Leasing Process and Vacancy Loss
Finding and placing tenants is one thing – finding and placing good tenants is another thing entirely.
The leasing process includes a number of things, including:
- Preparing your rental property for the market.
- Complying with State and Federal Fair Housing Laws
- Accurately and competitively pricing your rental home according to the market.
- Advertising your listing online.
- Responding to interested tenants and scheduling showings.
- Managing the application process.
- Screening tenants.
- Negotiating and signing a legally enforceable lease agreement.
- Collecting the security deposit and move-in funds.
- Conducting a move-in inspection to document the condition of your home.
As you can see, there’s a lot more involved than checking a person’s credit and then handing over the keys to your property.
Finding well-qualified tenants, convincing them that your property is better than all the others on the market, and screening them fairly and consistently in accordance with all fair housing laws are the most challenging parts of the leasing process. A professional management company already has these systems in place and can save you time and money. Any mistakes or missteps can result in a longer vacancy, which only costs you money.
Access to Licensed and Insured Vendors
When you decide to manage your own Chula Vista rental property, you’re also taking on the responsibility of maintaining it. You’ll need to respond to emergency and routine repair requests from your tenant. You’ll have to implement a preventative maintenance plan to protect the condition of your investment.
You’ll need a team of vendors and contractors.
It’s important to have these relationships in place before you actually need them. Looking for a plumber in the middle of the night because your tenant’s water heater has burst is going to be stressful and probably expensive.
Property managers have relationships in place with licensed, insured vendors who provide high-quality work. We also receive discounts on that work because of the volume of business we provide them. Self-managing landlords rarely get those preferred rates.
State and Federal Rental Housing Laws
California isn’t lazy when it comes to laws and ordinances that affect your rental property. We have some of the most comprehensive and tenant-friendly laws in the country. You need to understand the fair housing laws, rent control laws, eviction laws, and security deposit requirements. We have unique restrictions and requirements when it comes to screening tenants, considering income, and working with Section 8 tenants.
Staying up to date on these laws is not easy or cheap.
When you manage your own property, you can easily violate a fair housing law by treating a service animal like a pet. You can find yourself paying three times the amount of a tenant’s security deposit because you didn’t return it within 21 days of the tenant moving out. Several new laws are introduced and amended every year, and property managers make it a priority to stay current.
Can you manage your own rental property? You probably can. However, you’re likely to have a more successful investment experience with the help of experienced Chula Vista property managers. We’d be happy to help you. Contact our team at Encore Realty, Inc.
