So you have finally furnished your new property. And someone has shown interest in renting it. But you are not done yet after the contract signing. What comes next might be even more challenging: tenant management. Discover how outsourcing can help you.
How Tenant Management Works
Managing tenants can be surprisingly complex work. Some of the general tasks that you will be doing here include:
- Contract management
- Maintenance, logging, and recording of agreements
- Managing tenancy agreements
- Accounting and condition check
- Documenting and logging tenancy conclusion notices
- Rent collection
- Right to rent checks
Depending on the setup, your tenant management team might do this alongside general property management duties.
The Challenges Of Tenant Management
With all the tasks, overseeing tenants requires a lot of attention. And because it’s complex work, you will be facing several key challenges. Let’s go over them one by one.
Tenant Communication
The first challenge you will face is staying connected with tenants.
Image from Forbes.
This might not be an issue when handling one or two properties. But as the number of tenants grows, it can be harder to keep up.
This becomes even more challenging if you have properties across the country or even abroad. Your management team might not be readily able to connect with tenants for concerns. The situation can cause further issues like the disruption of tenant activities.
Tenant Turnovers
Handling tenant turnovers is a particular aspect you want to pay attention to. For the most part, you want tenants to stay longer to avoid long vacancy periods that reduce the property income.
However, this requires more effort than you might realize. You want to ensure tenants can get the most out of the property during their stay.
Image from Rental Choice.
On the other hand, there are properties with naturally high turnover rates.
In this case, you want a steady stream of incoming tenants. The challenge lies in ensuring these tenants are suitable for the property and would not leave earlier than anticipated.
Dealing With Difficult Tenants
In the above challenges, the tenant relationship typically remains amicable. But that’s not always the case. Every so often, you will run into tenants that are hard to deal with.
To handle this, you need to have the right process. It begins with being able to collect and handle complaints effectively. You also need the right approach to evictions to control the situation.
How Outsourcing Can Help In Tenant Management
With all these challenges, you have plenty on your plate when dealing with tenants. Luckily, there is a great solution you can turn to: outsourcing. Here are the benefits you should consider.
Better Tenant Care
If you are just starting to manage properties, you go through a lengthy learning phase. Outsourcing helps you get past that faster through access to an expert team. That team will be more adept at handling different aspects of the tenant relationship.
image from Bay Property Management Group.
For instance, the outsourced management team can ensure constant communication with tenants. This comes in handy if you have properties abroad. The outsourced team can be the ones to stay in touch with them in their specific time zones.
Better Tenant Screening
Outsourcing can also be handy for tenant screening tasks. You can use the team’s expertise to better sift through applicants. With their help, you can sift through more of these applications and bring them to evaluation faster.
Beyond faster screening, you also increase the reliability of the process. Outsourced teams can focus more on specific tenant candidates you might be interested in. They can conduct more comprehensive background checks to give you more information.
A More Marketable Property
Effective tenant management also plays a vital role in the marketability of your property. It shows that you care for renters and would ensure their best interests. Outsourcing lets you do all of that and more.
Image from BuildFire.
Using these services, you create a better impression of your overall property management and tenant relations. Future tenants will better see what you offer and will be convinced better.
Getting More Out Of Outsourcing For Tenant Management
To reap the advantages of outsourcing for managing tenants, you should know how to do it right. Here are some things to consider.
Know What Tasks Would Suit Outsourcing
Tenant management relies heavily on interpersonal engagements with your clients and this fact affects what tasks you need to outsource. Tenant-facing tasks like interviews and addressing concerns should be in-house; this assures them that they are indeed interacting with real people.
Image from Pine Financial Group.
On the other hand, the more clerical tasks are the ones best suited for outsourcing. These include things like filing tenant reports and fulfilling compliance requirements. Think about what outsourcing can bring for these tasks before sending them out.
Working With Your Outsourced Tenant Management Team
One essential element of effective outsourcing is ensuring continuity between the outsourced and in-house management teams. In particular, you want a seamless process to ensure tenants can move from one team to the other easily.
You also want to have a clear escalation process for tenant concerns. This isn’t just about having well-defined steps. You need to understand the dynamics between your internal and outsourced teams to create a process that suits both teams. This helps ensure everyone is on the right page on handling even difficult tenants.
Keep Your Tenants Happy With The Right Outsourcing Help
Of course, to do all these, you need the right partner.
Virtua is ready to help you out.
The qualified and professional team we’ll hire for you will expertly deal with tenant matters and keep your clientele happy.
Start growing your property rental business today through tenant management outsourcing