Self-managing your multi-family rental property in Orlando, FL isn’t simple; especially if it’s your first time. You’ll have loads of responsibilities including:
- Taking care of tenant issues and complaints.
- Maintaining and employing repairs on your property.
- Collecting rent, handling evictions, and tenant screening.
- Marketing and, not forgetting, legal compliance.
The list is endless.
Each of these responsibilities affect the success of your business. They all determine the quality of life of your tenants.
Particularly, failure to properly maintain a rental property may lead to loss of good tenants, rental income, reputation, property value and can even attract nasty lawsuits.
You don’t want any of that, do you?
So, what can you do to make sure everything runs smoothly? What’s the best way to maintain a multi-family rental property?
Here are 10 simple tips on how to properly maintain your multi-family rental property in Orlando, Florida:
1. Come up with detailed checklists.
The best way to manage your Orlando rental property is to come up with a maintenance checklist. That makes it easy for you to know what to do and when to do it. It helps to ensure maintenance is carried out regularly.
2. Regularly inspect the property’s exterior.
Periodic walk-through inspections around your rental property allow you to spot foundation damages before they escalate. Meaning you’ll end up spending less money to repair exterior damages.
Moreover, you’ll be able to know when to repaint the exterior, do some cleaning, or even replacements.
That way, your rental property will always be attractive, clean, and healthy.
All this will increase your property’s curb appeal and will make it easy for you to attract new tenants. It will also make it even easier to keep the ones you already have.
3. Be very proactive.
Being proactive simply means acting sooner rather than later. Generally, apartment complexes have a lot of repair that need fixing. The sooner you tend to those needs, the lower your maintenance costs will be.
Therefore, always make sure all repairs are done fast and efficiently. You’ll not only save money but your tenants will be very happy with you.
If you can do the repairs on your own, that’s fine. But if you can’t, make sure you contact a competent professional who can.
4. Respond quickly to your tenants’ calls and inquiries.
Let’s face it. Tenant turnovers are expensive. Making it all the more important to keep your tenants happy and satisfied at all times. That means answering all their requests in a timely manner.
Whether they have an emergency that requires your attention or would like clarification regarding their lease terms, make sure you respond quickly.
5. Regularly inspection the multi-family property for pests and mold
It is extremely important that your property is safe and poses no threat to your tenants’ health. Some of the biggest issues that multi-family rental owners, like you, often face are environmental hazards.
From mold to pest infestation, it’s pretty hard to keep them in check. Especially, in a multi-family complex as compared to a single-family home.
That’s why it’s important to have regular property inspections to be able to correct these hazards as soon as you spot them. Mold and pests can make your tenants sick and cause irreparable damage to your property.
6. Always have an emergency plan.
When disaster strikes, what will you do? Remember, your renters will look to you for guidance during a disaster.
Therefore, you need to have an emergency plan in place; including safety, evacuation, and notification procedures.
7. Make sure your property is legally compliant at all times.
Above all else, you have to make sure your property is legally compliant. Failing to do so may lead to unwanted expenses and even closure. If you are unfamiliar with Florida’s rental laws, contact a local property manager for help.
You have to make sure that you meet all the legal requirement of your investment, including paying taxes.
It’s true that paying taxes can be expensive, but there are tons of tax breaks and benefits in Orlando you can use to lighten your tax obligation.
8. Don’t take bigger profits at the expense of maintenance needs.
As the owner, you may be tempted to increase your profits by minimizing your maintenance costs. That’s not wise.
Proper maintenance ensures that your property’s value increases over time. With proper up-keep your rental will stay in top condition. However, failing to allocate enough funds to cover maintenance may result in your business failing after a short while.
9. Make sure you advertise your vacancies early.
When a renter moves out, you need to make sure you have a suitable replacement as soon as possible. That way you get to mitigate your vacancy periods and lost rental revenue.
To achieve this, make sure to remind your tenant to notify you if they are moving out months in advance. That way you can start marketing your vacancy as soon as your tenant informs. By the time your current tenant moves out, you’ll have found a new tenant to replace them.
With these tips in mind, managing your multi-family rental property in Orlando, FL will be easy. Also, don’t forget to do proper bookkeeping. Performance records help you to gauge your progress and to know the areas that need improving.