As a landlord or property owner in Nashville, you have several options for managing your investment property. You can self-manage your property and handle all day-to-day responsibilities yourself or hire a professional property management company to take care of your tasks.
While self-managing can save you money in the short term by avoiding management fees, it often requires a significant time commitment and expertise many landlords need to gain. Hiring a professional company can help relieve the stress and hassle of being a landlord.
Here are the top 7 benefits of working with a property management company in Nashville:
1. They Screen and Qualify Reliable Tenants For You
Finding good tenants is challenging for many landlords. It requires marketing, screening applications, background checks, references, and following fair housing laws. Tenant screening can be daunting without industry expertise.
Professional Property management Nashville specializes in tenant screening. They know what raises red flags and how to vet applicants’ backgrounds and credit history thoroughly.
They can efficiently verify identity, employment, rental history, and criminal records with databases. The management company will qualify only highly reliable tenants based on strict standards. They handle all applicant communication, so landlords avoid wasting time on unqualified renters.
2. They Handle All Maintenance and Repair Issues
One of the biggest benefits of working with a property management company is that they handle all maintenance issues for you. As the landlord, dealing with tenant calls about repairs can be stressful. Issues like broken appliances or leaks can occur anytime.
When using a management company, tenants contact them directly with repair requests. The company has technicians and contractors who respond quickly. They schedule, oversee, and ensure all repairs are correctly done without cutting corners.
Hence as the landlord, you don’t have to handle calls or coordinate repairs yourself. You can rest assured that any maintenance problems are promptly and professionally managed.
3. They Collect Rent On Time and Handle Late Payments
Collecting rent on time each month is essential for cash flow. But self-collecting poses issues like late fees, bounced checks, and evictions. Dealing with delinquent tenants is frustrating and time-consuming, which delays other payments.
Reliable rent collection is a core service of property management companies. They handle online rent payments, receipts, and follow-ups. Late fees are promptly issued according to the lease if rent is late.
Experienced in legal collections, they may threaten eviction to motivate on-time payment. Landlords can avoid tenant disputes over late rent and can rely on a steady monthly income stream delivered as scheduled. Additionally, incorporating a coupon system for prompt payments could further incentivize tenants to pay on time.
4. They Handle All Required Documentation and Compliance
Staying on top of regulations is challenging for landlords. Requirements around inspections, permits, taxes, and safety measures change often. More than strictly following rules risks fines or legal issues. However, organizing property records, documentation, and leases takes time.
An experienced property management company ensures rental compliance with all laws and regulations. They maintain thorough files on licenses, permits, leases, reports, and other documentation.
Understanding state and city rental requirements, they schedule and pass necessary inspections. The company also appropriately addresses any compliance issues to limit liability for landlords.
5. They Act as a Point of Contact for Tenants
Self-managing means constant availability for tenant calls, emails, and visits. While some contact is regular, being on-call at all hours disrupts personal life. Property managers serve as the dedicated contact for tenants. They provide tenants with their contact information for minor issues, like replacing light bulbs.
This provides valuable peace of mind for emergencies occurring nights and weekends when landlords are not disturbed. Managers filter routine tenant requests and handle communication without bothering landlords.
Thus, they address minor issues independently rather than always involving owners. At the same time, managers keep landlords informed on essential matters or ongoing problems needing owner input. This buffer improves the quality of life for both tenants and landlords.
6. They Market Vacant Units and Handle Showings
One of the most time-consuming tasks for landlords is marketing and leasing vacant units between tenants. This includes photos, listings, open houses, showings, and reviewing applications. It takes effort to find qualified replacements quickly and avoid lost rental income.
A property management company can save landlords this hassle through expert leasing and marketing services. They advertise vacancies through their website and listings. Managers handle all prospective tenant communication and viewings.
Familiar with market rates, they price competitively. With efficient screening, properties fill faster. Landlords avoid costly vacancies through the company’s turnover services.
7. They Provide Expert Advisory Support
Experienced landlords sometimes face complex issues like building code violations, problem tenants, significant repairs, or legal disputes. Do-it-yourself management needs to gain the deep expertise of property managers.
Outsourcing to an experienced Nashville company provides valuable advisory resources. Managers stay current on constantly changing landlord laws and regulations. With experience addressing many typical issues, they usually know the best resolution path.
Consultation services help navigate complicated scenarios with expert recommendations. Superior industry knowledge makes managers an invaluable support system landlords can trust for guidance in challenging or unusual circumstances.
Final Thoughts
Hiring a professional management company rather than attempting to self-manage can provide substantial benefits for landlords with investment properties in Nashville and the surrounding areas.
Superior tenant screening, timely maintenance response, reliable rent collection, ongoing compliance guidance, expert advisory support, efficient leasing/marketing services, and boosted financial returns allow landlords to focus more on growth strategies while avoiding stress.
Outsourcing daily responsibilities to an experienced, reputable management partner removes major obstacles and liability concerns that come along with being a landlord.
