If you have been looking to invest in rental property, it may feel like a steal when you finally locate and purchase an investment that seems great; however, it is in a neighboring city and is a 45-minute drive. The low property cost, high rent, great residents, and only some minor maintenance that needs to be done convinces you that it is worth the drive.
However, residents do not last forever and unforeseen trips to your rental property may begin to present themselves. Indeed, the average resident for a single-family residence will stay for a year and a half. People purchase their own homes, move for job opportunities, and have other life events that can result in resident turnover.
When the inevitable happens and your resident leaves, you will need to get the property cleaned and prepared for the next residents. You can hire professionals to do this work, but, at the very least, you will need to drive to your rental property to do an assessment of what needs to be done and then make a return trip to ensure that your vendors did the work as expected. If your vendors have missed a few small things, then this may require additional trips on your part.
Once your property is ready, you will need to advertise your property. Did you remember to take pictures when you inspected your vendors’ work? If not, then you will need to do another trip. Also, for each showing, you will need to make a trip. On average it takes 7 to 15 showings to find a quality and qualified applicant. Trying to schedule multiple showings on the same day can be a great idea, but this usually doesn’t work out and requires you to visit the property on multiple occasions to find the right residents.
Once you have found a solid resident, you will need to make an additional trip for the move-in process. However, residents often have a number of follow-up requests soon after moving in, whether it be a question on how to operate the dishwasher or small maintenance requests, so you will need to plan a handful of trips within the first few weeks after move-in.
Okay, you now have a great new resident who pays the rent on time. Everything goes smoothly for a few months, but then the toilet overflows. Your resident must be at work and is unable to meet the plumber, so you must make another trip. No problems for a few more weeks, but then your resident has an altercation with a neighbor over the weekend. There goes your Sunday. Everything goes smoothly for the next few weeks, but then a fuse blows and your resident cannot find the fuse box, shutting off the heater in the middle of the winter…and you get a call at 3 am.
That 45-minute drive seemed manageable when you first purchased the property, but it’s now a drain on not only your time but also on your wallet because of the cost of gas as well as wear and tear on your vehicle. Is it worth your time? That 45-minute drive each way for all the various aspects that you will need to take care of will add up.
Purchasing a property in a neighboring city can be a great investment with the low purchase price, high rent, and solid residents that you had initially anticipated. However, the time and cost of the day-to-day duties can turn that dream investment into a nightmare.
The professionals at Real Property Management Metro West-Worcester can help you. We will show your investment property to prospective residents, screen applicants, handle the move-in, deal with resident emergencies and 3 am phone calls, and attend to maintenance issues. Additionally, we continually attend training in resident-landlord laws, such as fair housing and evictions. We are also licensed and insured to manage your property successfully in compliance with regulations and statutes.
Have you calculated the true cost of your investment rental property? Please visit our website and contact us or call us at 508-329-6000 today for more information.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
