Are you earning as much as you could be on your Santa Rosa investment property?
This isn’t always an easy rental market to navigate, but there may be some simple changes you can make to the way you’re leasing, managing, and maintaining your residential rental property. The results are better ROI and a less stressful investment experience.
Here are four tips we recommend if you want to optimize what you earn with your investment home.
Tip No. 1: Attract High-Quality Santa Rosa Tenants
With well-qualified tenants in place, you can count on timely rental payments. You will also have someone helping you maintain your investment by taking care of it, keeping it clean, and notifying you immediately if something is wrong. Good tenants lead to more money for property owners. There’s less risk of eviction, property damage, and lease violations.
To find the best possible tenants, you’ll need to have a rent-ready property and strategic marketing plans. Screen tenants carefully and in compliance with all fair housing laws. You want to know you’re renting to someone who is financially responsible, with an excellent record of positive rental experiences in the recent past.
Tip No. 2: Retain those High-Quality Santa Rosa Tenants
Once you have great tenants in place, do everything you can to keep them. When tenants renew lease agreements year after year, you’re saving yourself from those expensive vacancy and turnover costs. This will go a long way towards increasing the returns you earn on your investment property.
What keeps good tenants in place?
- Excellent and responsive communication
- Immediate responses to maintenance and repair issues
- Flexibility when necessary
- Established and consistent expectations
- Reasonable rent increases when it’s time to renew
Establish and nurture positive working relationships with your tenants. This will make it easier to retain them and earn more on your investment.
Tip No. 3: Maintenance and Upgrades Protect Your Property
Well-maintained properties always earn more when it comes to establishing rental values, eliminating vacancy, and encouraging tenant retention. Deferred maintenance will be a huge expense and will greedily eat into your ROI. Avoid those costs by adopting a preventative maintenance plan that allows for routine inspections and services for your most important functions. Your HVAC should be inspected annually, for example, and you should always be checking your landscaping, plumbing, and pest control.
Be willing to make updates and upgrades, especially during turnover periods or before you rent out a home. Even fresh paint and cost-effective improvements like new hardware on drawers and sinks can make a big difference in what you earn and who you attract.
Tip No. 4: Work with Santa Rosa Property Managers
It cannot be overstated. Professional Santa Rosa property management leads to better investment experiences. You’ll earn more with the careful and experienced attention your property receives from a good management partner. You’ll spend less on maintenance and vacancy, and you’ll be at less risk of making expensive legal mistakes.
Property management can help you earn more on your investment. If you’d like to talk more about how we help with this, please contact us at Prestige Real Estate & Property Management. We manage homes in Sonoma County, including Santa Rosa, Windsor, Sebastopol, Petaluma, and Rohnert Park.
