10 Ways to Manage Rental Property Remotely

Investing in real estate might be difficult if the best opportunities aren’t in the neighborhood where the investor resides. Finding a decent renter and maintaining a remote home can be more difficult even if you buy a rental property online.

Because of the right system and tools, maintaining a property remotely may be as simple as owning one right next door.

In this article, we’ll go through how to manage a rental property from afar, including the 10 essential processes, as well as tools and advice to make the process easier.

What is a Remote Rental Property?

If you’re looking to rent a property that’s located in a different city or state, you’ll need a remote rental property. So, a remote rental property is one that isn’t located in the “backyard” of the owner.

Rental properties in secondary and tertiary regions that are seeing substantial job and population growth as well as cheap home prices are increasingly popular with investors.

A difficult-to-reach rental property is one that requires a significant amount of travel time, or one for which the owner just lacks the time to provide regular maintenance.

It could take hours to go a few miles in rush-hour traffic in a city with a lot of traffic congestion like Los Angeles. The time constraints of real estate investors may prevent them from making personal visits to all of their holdings.

How to Remotely Manage a Rental Property in 10 Easy Steps

Rental properties, regardless of their distance from their owners, must be well-maintained to ensure the safety and well-being of their occupants. As a result, cash flow could be negatively impacted due to an increase in tenant turnover and a reduced return on investment (ROI).

It is possible for practically anyone to own and operate a remote rental property with the correct planning and processes in place. To oversee a rental property from afar, observe these 10 fundamental guidelines.

1. Make Use of a Local Contact Person

As a first step, you need to have a person who can help the tenant “give a face to a name.” Even if a renter never needs to speak with the local representative, they should be aware that they exist. A local representative does not have to be in charge.

An outside property management business is frequently hired by remote real estate investors. In order to keep a rental property in good shape, a property manager handles tenant communications, conducts routine inspections, and coordinates maintenance and repairs.

2. A Trusted Local Team Should be Built

When you have the correct people on your local real estate team, you may own a rental property from afar with the same ease as if it were right next door.

Property managers, handymen, contractors (for specialised work like HVAC maintenance and electrical work), landscapers, pest control specialists, real estate attorneys and real estate bird dogs may all be part of an investor-friendly local real estate team. They will drive by the property on a regular basis and perform visual inspections.

3. Determine a Method for Conducting Property Showings.

To help a prospective tenant imagine their new home, floor plans, 3D models, and virtual tours are available.

Remote real estate investors can engage trusted local representatives to set up in-person showings for potential tenants after they have been screened, or they can use programmable smart locks to grant tenants only a single time access to a property.

4. Have a Tenant Screening Solution

When it comes to finding a suitable tenant, the old adage “prevention is better than cure” is especially relevant.

There are a number of tenant screening websites that automate the process of screening tenants with online applications, credit and background checks, and the collecting of security deposits and rent.

A landlord should check with a prospective tenant’s employer, prior landlord, and personal references as part of a complete screening procedure.

5. Use a Digital Signature Tool

It’s simple to sign a lease agreement online with the help of electronic signature software free. It is common for landlords to submit a lease document and addendums, or use a library of state-approved forms, to use the top tenant screening websites.

Consider using DocuSign Agreement Cloud for Real Estate to sign documents online. The turnaround time on agreements is 25 percent faster, and the company claims that 80 percent of paperwork received for signing are completed in a single day. If you think it is costly you can find out various free competitors of DocuSign which provide the same features with free trial.

6. Make Communication Easy

It is simpler to build stronger relationships, make better judgments, and predict difficulties if you communicate well with others. Explain to tenants how and when they can expect a response to their communications.

Instead of dealing with potentially misconstrued emails and text messages, a landlord may want to consider putting up a second, dedicated phone number for their business.

7. Pay Rent Online

In addition to being convenient and free, online rent payments can increase cash flow and minimise the number of vacancies.

According to the tenant screening company Avail, there are four key reasons for landlords to accept rent payments online:

A whopping 74% of tenants under the age of 45 prefer making their monthly payments via email.

Auto Paying tenants are five times more likely to pay their rent on time.

There are fewer opportunities for human error when landlords and tenants pay rent online.

Rent payments made online are far more secure than those made with a check or cash.

8. Make Tenant Portal

A tenant portal is a one-stop shop for tenants online. ” In addition to the ability to pay rent online, tenants can also monitor their monthly payments, request maintenance, and receive notifications such as lease renewals and vital papers like move-in checklists.

9. Automate Bookkeeping

Stessa, a Roofstock startup, offers free financial software for landlords to replace cumbersome spreadsheets. Dashboards at the portfolio and property levels provide real-time financial performance for both the portfolio as a whole and individual properties.

With the iOS and Android app, landlords can keep tabs on their costs while on the go and generate monthly statistics like net cash flow and revenue statements. In the event that tax time comes around, the Wesignature is here to help with tax signing software.

10. Enforce the Rules

When a landlord is “out of sight, out of mind,” it’s possible for a tenant to take advantage of it. For example, a tenant may have a secret roommate who isn’t paying the rent on time, or an illegal pet.

Pre-move-in lease agreement review can help lessen the likelihood of a tenant breaking a rule of the lease. Landlords may want to enforce their terms and conditions by enforcing a zero-tolerance approach if a rule is broken.