Posts by James Barrett

When it comes to finding a new rental property, prospective tenants have a few options for viewing properties. Two popular options are self-showing and in person scheduling with an agent. Property managers know that as critical as the rental showing process is, it’s also really time-consuming. Between scheduling and rescheduling appointments, completing the showing and then following up afterward, it’s not a simple task.

Are you entering the housing market in 2023? Should you be? What is the current state of housing now, and what should you expect in the coming months? As interest rates continue to increase and the cost of housing skyrockets for homeowners and renters alike, there’s a lot of uncertainty about whether to buy, rent, or invest in a home. In the past year, housing costs have skyrocketed — for renters as well as homebuyers. What does the future look like for the rental and home buying industry? Here’s a snapshot of the housing market at the end of 2022 and looking forward to 2023.

Vacant rental properties are costly. Not only are you losing monthly revenue, you’re spending more on operational costs trying to find a new tenant. More time on the market and more manual labor create more of an impact on your business.

Evicting residents is one of the most time consuming headaches a property manager doesn’t want to encounter. Even if you’ve never had to evict someone from a rental unit, the mere mention of it can spike your blood pressure. Many of us would rather not think about the intense conflicts, legal proceedings, and the administrative hassles of an eviction. But crossing your fingers and hoping you never have to deal with it won’t keep an eviction away. Your best chance of handling one well is to be prepared for it ahead of time.

Any time you advertise a rental property online, there is a risk someone is using it to create a fraudulent listing or rental scam. While prospective tenants are the primary victims, there are real and serious consequences for your property management business as well.

Avoiding and quickly filling rental property vacancies is a crucial part of effective property management. Since the start of the pandemic, the rate that rental properties turn over each year has been averaging around 42%. Overall vacancy rates have fallen somewhat in recent months, with the current national rental vacancy rate standing at 5.6%.

Today’s rental market is much more competitive than in the past. While it’s a property manager’s market, that doesn’t mean you can take your tenant leads for granted. Renters know they need to act quickly, and you need to get the best tenants possible. That means you don’t have the luxury of losing prospects to other rental properties. Quality tenant prospects are the first ones to go off the market, and it’s frustrating to lose top quality tenants to other properties. You can reduce the number of lost prospects if you know why tenants choose other properties over your own. Here are the top reasons we’ve discovered as we look at the data.