How to Elevate Your Property Management Routines

The image source is Envato.

Buying rental property is among the best ways to develop a steady stream of passive income, but it doesn't come without its share of responsibilities. You'll be obligated to care for the property, keeping it in good condition for your tenants. You'll also have to manage your tenants to ensure they're keeping up with their responsibilities. This guide can help you keep up with these duties without letting them take up too much of your time.

Stop Multitasking

Recent studies have found that multitasking is actually hindering efficiency by distracting workers from each task. Once you return to a given task, it will take you up to seven minutes to get back into an efficient working mode. It's much better to tackle one task at a time, completing the most challenging tasks first. You should separate your day into blocks of time and assign each task to a one or two hour time block. This will help you get more done earlier in your day, so your afternoons will be less stressful. After lunch, when you're feeling that afternoon fatigue, you can liven things up by running errands and returning messages.

Document Everything

You should document every interaction you have with your tenants to ensure you'll have paperwork to provide proof of your actions in the event of a dispute. Even if you use a service that provides texting for property management, be sure to email transcripts of those conversations to yourself and print them out. Keeping communications with each tenant in their file will give you an easy way to look up information. It will also make it easy for you to print out copies whenever they may be needed.

Create Your To-Do List Throughout Your Day

Many professionals create their list of things to do on the previous night just before going to bed. While making a to-do list is a good idea, it's not something you should wait to do. Instead, download a notepad app onto your phone and use that to make notes throughout your day. As you're mowing the lawn on your property, you might remember that the sprinkler system needs to be inspected. You probably won't remember that later in the evening, so adding that to your notepad list will help ensure you do have that done in time. You'll find that creating a to-do list in this way will help you stay on top of issues before they create larger problems.

Simplify the Screening Process

Looking for new tenants is one of the most time consuming aspects of property management, so you should look for ways to simplify the process. You can write one listing that's general enough to apply to all of your units and save it as a Word file. This way you can copy and paste anytime you need to post a new listing. Additionally, create a pre-application screening form with just a few of the most important questions. At a glance, you should be able to see the applicant's income and financial status, rental history, and a few other vital details. This will make it easier to weed through the unworthy tenants.

Don't Be Afraid to Outsource Tasks

Most of the tasks you have to do in managing your rental properties can be done by third-party companies and you'll get more professional results when you do outsource. Everything from managing your accounts to landscaping can be done by other services. In addition to getting better quality results, this will also free up your time to spend on other tasks. In many cases, the fees third-party companies charge are minimal and won't comprise a significant rise in your operating costs. You should outsource those tasks that require special expertise and are especially time consuming, while taking care of other tasks yourself. This will help you use your operating budget more wisely, while helping you save money on your expenses.

Conclusion

Using these tips, you'll be able to look after your properties with greater efficiency. As a result, you'll have more time to look for additional investment properties or to relax and squeeze in a game of golf in the afternoons. However you choose to spend your time, you'll have more of it when you spend a little more time planning out the management of your rental properties.