Owning a rental property in Jacksonville, Florida is a great investment that with the right care, can provide excellent returns. Almost half the households in Jacksonville, FL are rented meaning that there is a huge market of potential tenants and guests. However, owning a rental property is only part of the equation. You have to make sure that it is properly marketed, and that the property and your guests or tenants are looked after. You may need a property manager.
Hiring a Jacksonville property manager brings with it a host of benefits that in the short and long run will help maximize your return on investment, get your property generating income quickly, and, make your venture everything you wish it to be.
Here we’ll take an in-depth look at what a Jacksonville property manager does and the subsequent benefits this brings to you. We’ll also provide some of the most useful information about how to ensure you get the property manager that best suits you.
Roles of a Property Manager
Whether your property is a luxury condo, townhouse, sprawling estate, or single-family home, a property manager will be able to make life considerably easier for you as well as enhance the return on your investment. However, it’s important that you partner with the right type of property manager who will have the experience needed for a particular type of property.
Here are the most common types of roles that a property manager can help you with.
Residential: Examples of these properties include apartments, houses, and condos. Managers will deal with tenant concerns, rental collections, and potentially a host of other requirements. Tenants may rent these properties in the long or short term.
Vacation: As the name suggests, tenants will be looking to hire the property on a short-term basis. These can be any type of residential property, such as vacation homes and holiday apartment rentals. This will require more involvement from the property manager as there will be a much higher rate of tenants renting throughout the year. Often, managers will handle communications across different rental websites like Airbnb, Agoda, Booking.com, and Vrbo.
Commercial: These are office buildings, retail spaces, and warehouses that serve as the location for business activities and purposes. Leases to tenants are typically longer than residential properties because of the investment businesses often make to retrofit spaces for their operations.
Duties of a Property Manager
When you hire a property manager, you can often choose how hands-on you wish to be. Either only assign a few specific tasks or let your property manager in Jacksonville take full control and take care of your business while you just pick up your monthly checks.
A property manager can:
- Handle Property Maintenance & Reports
- Market & Advertise Your Property
- Tenant Screening & Lease Agreement
- Help Set a Rental Price
- Manages Tenant Complaints & Concerns
- Rental Billing & Collection
- Feedback & Update Property Owners
Hiring managers to oversee your property ensures your home is habitable and presentable. They check the condition of the unit once someone moves out to assess any damage and can carry out repairs as necessary.
Your rental manager also takes on preventive maintenance and can track routine tasks like gutter and septic tank cleaning, repainting, and inspections. Depending on the capacity of your property management team, they can either carry out these tasks themselves or outsource these jobs to local service professionals. An experienced property manager is likely to have a raft of trusted professionals whom they can call upon for any work that needs doing on your property.
One of the most important aspects of property management is ensuring that there are tenants to occupy the space. Experienced professionals will know when, where, and how to advertise your property. Property managers are expected to have marketing expertise and increase property visibility by using different channels to secure bookings for maximum return on investment (ROI).
A bad tenant can be a huge source of frustration and even loss of income, and unless you’re extremely lucky, you’re likely to come across a few in your career as a landlord. An experienced property manager can efficiently filter applicants through rigorous background screening. This may include a detailed look into criminal, financial, employment, credit, and rental history.
Once a viable tenant is selected, a property manager can handle lease agreements and other legal necessities. This includes managing deposit fees, setting and explaining terms and conditions, and coordinating move-in requirements.
Your rental management team can also assist you in determining the rent price for your property and their experience in the local market will tell you what the ideal price should be at the given time. Too little, and you’re leaving money on the table, and too much and there will be fewer tenants waiting to rent your property. What’s important to remember is that in working in your best interests, property managers are also working for what’s best for them. The more successful you are, the more they can potentially earn too.
Investment property maintenance is a 24/7 job and can be very time-consuming, especially if you’re handling multiple assets. As a landlord, you need to be available for issues, especially urgent concerns, and if this is something you don’t have time for, a property management team may be the best option.
Avoid unnecessary stress with rental billing and collection by passing this responsibility to your Jacksonville property manager. As well as relieving you of this task, it spares you from one of the hardest parts of investment rentals—delinquent payments. Your management team will take care of all tasks related to rent collection and ensure everything is in order.
A good property manager will very closely monitor feedback from your guests or tenants and will make any recommendations to you as to what could be done to improve the renters’ experience and ultimately increase your profit margins. They will never take major action or develop a property without first seeking your approval and permission.
The same is true for any urgent work that is required when a property is significantly damaged. You’ll be immediately informed and solutions will be offered, mostly in the form of the management team recommending the appropriate professional to carry out any repairs.
Benefits of Working with a Jacksonville Property Manager
All of these duties a property management team can take off your hands, meaning you have more time, less stress, and a better chance of generating greater returns on your investment.
A great property manager will help you:
- Increases Property Revenue
- Maximizes Occupancy
- Give Access to a Network of Local Businesses & Independent Professionals
- Use Sophisticated Automation Technology
- Provide Greater Tenant Retention
- Comply with Landlord-Tenant Laws & Regulations
Some property owners hesitate to hire a real estate management team because of the associated costs. However, it is very often the case that a property manager more than pays for itself. The time you save can be put to leisure or the pursuit of other business activities.
Working with a team possessing comprehensive local real estate knowledge, who knows where and how to advertise your property will maximize your returns. You’ll target the market you’re aiming for, there will be a lower vacancy rate, and you’ll receive at the very least the market rate for your property.
A good property management team means having an extensive professional network that can assist you in emergencies. They’ll know the best local plumbers, appliance technicians, electricians, designers and decorators, and stagers. This saves you from having to hunt down and vet these professionals yourself.
As industry experts, professional property managers often use advanced tools and specialized technology to streamline property management. This comes in particularly beneficial to you in terms of the level of sophistication they can bring to the marketing and pricing of your property.
As any leasing or property manager would tell you, it costs more money to advertise and search for a new tenant than to keep a long-standing one. By being accessible and available to tenants, you increase tenant satisfaction. When a tenant’s needs are addressed promptly there are fewer reasons for renters to leave, even if you choose to raise the rent on a yearly basis.
The rules governing the relationship and processes between landlords and tenants can be complex and vary per location. By working with local real estate experts, you prevent potential legal complications arising from unwittingly violating the landlord and tenancy laws.
The Cost of Property Management Services
The cost of hiring a property manager varies from one company to another. At some companies, you can pay your manager a set monthly fee or pay them based on a fixed percentage of collected rent. Fees are anywhere between 5% and 20%, but normally between 8% and 12%. Some agents take a month’s rent each year the property is leased.
Jacksonville Property Manager
Now that you have a better idea of what a property manager does and the benefits you can enjoy with them, let’s look at how to hire a property management team. The most often used resource for information is the internet, however, another good way to find good property managers is through recommendations from family and friends.
Given that a property manager holds a position of great trust and is a team you’re likely to work with for a long time, it is important that you feel completely comfortable with the team you partner with.
Research each property manager’s credentials. Some resources you can check include the local Better Business Bureau and Chamber of Commerce. You can also check if they are members of the National Association of Residential Property Managersor the Institute of Real Estate Managers, both have a stringent Code of Ethics and Standards of Professionalism that members must abide by.
Once you’ve narrowed your list to the few you’d like to interview keep these questions in mind.
- How long have you been working in real estate management?
- How many properties do you currently manage?
- What are your current vacancy rates?
- How do you market your properties effectively?
- What is your tenant screening process, and how long does it usually take you to find a tenant for a property?
- How quickly do you respond to tenant and guest concerns?
- What are your operating hours?
These are fairly straightforward questions that no property management team should be shy about answering, so you in turn shouldn’t be shy to ask.
Partner with Kellar Realty
If you’re a property owner or considering investing in Jacksonville, FL, real estate, partner with an experienced local property manager to help you make your investment more profitable. Our team is dedicated to your success and passionate about real estate. We’re here to help our clients achieve their financial goals and to this end, we bring decades of experience and the highest levels of expertise.
At Kellar Realty, we offer a full-service real estate solution that includes comprehensive property management, investment services, and seller representation. We make each transaction hassle-free and as efficient as possible.
If you have a rental real estate and are in need of a proven property manager, contact us today at 904-269-7253 (SALE) and learn more about our services, or leave a message here. Then sit back and make real estate as enjoyable and profitable as possible.