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5 Big Mistakes Property Managers Make

The most critical aspect of rental property management Charleston is to ensure that homes are occupied and their value continues to increase. However, there are a lot of mistakes that new property managers can make that could negatively impact the business and homeowner profits. Property management is a fast-paced industry that connects managers with dozens of people every week, making mistakes happen. If you know about these five common property manager mistakes ahead of time, you can avoid them.

  1. Not Understanding the Rental Market-The first big mistakes that rental property management Charleston managers can make is not understanding the rental market. Cities like Charleston have many neighborhoods and smaller neighboring towns and cities. The average rental rates in each of these places vary, as well as the home values. Property managers need to know the market they are renting homes in.
  2. Making Application Concessions-The application process should be thorough. A good tenant will be able to pass a credit and background check as well as income verification and references checks. Just because the background and credit come back great, doesn’t mean you should skip the references and income verification. You can find out a lot about a person by talking to their references and employer.
  3. Not Charging an Application Fee-An application fee serves two purposes. One is that the fee helps to offset the costs of background and credit checks. The second is because if a tenant cannot afford the application fee, how will they afford the deposit and rent?
  4. Not Understanding the Competition-Part of understanding the rental market is understanding the competition you have. Rental property management Charleston companies should always be keeping an eye on the competition to know when they increase their rent, offer specials, or have events.
  5. Not Focusing on Retention-Rental property management Charleston managers have a lot on their plate. There are dozens of new people moving to Charleston every day and filling properties can be the majority of your day, but you can’t forget about resident retention. Once a rental home is occupied you want to keep good tenants living there.

If you are looking for a property manager for your rental homes in Charleston, contact us here.

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Property Management | 3 Common Mistakes Homeowners Make When Renting Their Homes

When you decide to invest in rental property you are committing to a business that will be fast-paced and demand your attention, especially when you have multiple properties you are renting. A single-family home rental can increase your income and be an investment that keeps going up in value, as long as you don’t make these critical mistakes when renting.

  1. Applications and Verification- In order to find the best tenants for your home, you must screen them through an application process. Tenants should make at least triple the rent in income if they are going to be able to afford the home and should have a clean background and credit check. You should obtain a social security number and photo identification for each tenant that wants to apply for the apartment and run the appropriate checks. Charleston property management uses a variety of programs for this purpose.
  2. Not Having a Good Enough Lease-If you’ve ever looked at a lease, you will see that they are pages long. Lease terms need to be very detailed to protect both the homeowner and renter. Merely having your tenant sign a piece of paper saying when they moved in, how long they can stay, and how much their rent is, will not be enough to ensure you are protected legally. A legal team always backs Charleston property management leases.
  3. Inspections-After the tenant moves in, as long as the lease provides for it, the owner or Charleston property management, can conduct inspections of the property to ensure the tenant is in good standing with the lease terms. Most property managers or owners conduct inspections every six months, some annually, and others as they see appropriate due to suspicion of lease violations.

If you want to avoid making these common mistakes when renting your home, call a Charleston property management company like Scott Properties

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Property Management | Why You Shouldn’t Expect Tenants to Do Lawncare

Property Management | One of the more important aspects to your curb appeal of a rental home is the lawn and landscaping. When a prospective tenant pulls up to a house for the first time, they don’t want to see dead grass or trees with a disease, muddy holes, or cracked sidewalks with weeds growing through. When new tenants see a home that is well cared for, they put more trust in the Charleston property management companies and are more eager to sign a lease.

Some Charleston property management companies require that tenants maintain the lawn and provide lawn services such as mowing, raking, and pulling weeds. While it may seem like common sense for people that live in homes to know how to take care of the lawn and garden, many families are too busy to put much attention into their yard space.

Some tenants may mow, pull weeds, and keep the bushes trimmed but detailed landscaping and large yards require more than just the necessary upkeep. When tenants move out and leave the yard and landscaping trashed, repairing the mess can be costly and take a long time preventing you from showing the home. Charleston, property management companies, will see much better results by using their service vendors to take care of the lawn and garden chores for homes.
Tenants are also more likely to rent from Charleston property management companies that include perks such as lawn care in their lease agreements. More families are willing to pay more in rent if outside chores such as mowing, landscaping, and weeding are left up to the professionals. Being able to charge more for rent can offset the cost of yard maintenance and ensure that the property value continues to go up each year which will make the property owner more than happy.

Give Scott Properties a call if you are interested in working with a Charleston property management company that provides more than just rent collection.

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Property Manager | Starting a Rental Home Business

Property Manager | You’ve watched all the home flipping television shows on cable. You’re subscribed to every home and garden magazine and have already got your eye on a few properties you would love to flip. If you’ve decided to start flipping houses or buying properties to turn into rental homes for extra income you should know where to start.

  1. Do Your Homework- Look at the Charleston property management companies and see what kind of properties they are managing and how much they are charging for rent. Property management companies have expert knowledge on the market rent and types of home that are most likely to rent quickly. Property owners should also pay attention to the real estate market, so they make good purchasing decisions when they choose a property.
  2. Register Your Business-You will need to register your business with all appropriate government entities which can include local, state, and federal agencies. Running a rental business may seem easy when you look at Charleston property management companies, but running a business is hard work. You need to make sure that your business is legal and should consider hiring an attorney to help you set up your business.
  3. Learn about Renting-If you’ve never worked in Charleston property management companies, you might not have an idea of what it takes to run a rental business. There are many landlord-tenant laws, ordinances, and processes that property owners must learn and abide by if they are going to rent out property that they own.
  4. Hire Charleston Property Management Companies-Running a rental business can be hard, frustrating, and time-consuming. One of the best things you can do for your rental business is to hire Charleston property management companies to handle the day-to-day tasks of your rental business. When you hire a property management company you are guaranteed to have your rental business meet all legal requirements, your home will be rented quickly, and you will be on your way to making passive income in no time.

If you’re ready to begin your rental business with Charleston property management companies call Scott Properties!

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How Charleston Property Management Can Get You Out of Debt

Property Management | Have you recently bought a residential property that you intended to transform into a lucrative rental business but are now realizing that you just don’t have the time or patience? Are you struggling to pay the mortgages on rental property that is sitting vacant because your marketing plans have failed? Every smart investor is vying at a property in Charleston because of the rising home values and influx of people into the city. Single-family homes are being rented quickly and efficiently by Charleston property management firms like Scott Properties.

When you partner with a property management company to run your rental business, you are partnering with a team that understands the rental market, uses proven effective marketing strategies, and can utilize an entire network of service providers and vendors. The processes that Charleston property management uses to market, lease, and manage your rental property are the best in the business and Scott Properties one of the best at making sure that you aren’t going further into debt with your property.

Every residential property owner wants to make sure that they are profiting from their investments. When you are renting a property, you have to make sure that the rent you are charging is going a long way while also earning you a residual income. Choosing Charleston property management is a smart decision for property owners because someone is always available to answer their questions. This same courtesy is extended to tenants who can always count on being able to communicate with the property manager. When you are able to save money by utilizing Charleston property management firms like Scott Properties you can start making more profits and get more bang for your buck. The best property managers should be able to add to your home’s value and enable rent increases periodically to keep up with increasing market rent and demand.

If you are ready to let a Charleston property management firm help you get out of investment debt, contact Scott Properties today!

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Charleston Property Management and Tenant Retention

Charleston Property Management | If you own rental properties one of your concerns should be tenant retention. When tenants decide to move out of your property you are left with a vacancy and time where rent is not being collected. When tenants move out, you must spend money on cleaning services, maintenance, repairs, repainting, carpet shampooing, marketing, and many other expenses. Making sure your great tenants don’t move out is essential and Charleston property management can help property owners decrease their vacancies and increase their retention rates.

Some ways that Charleston property management can help you increase your tenant retention are:

  • Being Available:Tenants want to know that they are being heard by their landlords or property managers. They get frustrated when maintenance requests or questions go unanswered or when they cannot get ahold of the property owner to arrange rent payments or renew a lease. If you own more than one rental property, you can feel inundated with calls from tenants. Using Charleston property management to manage your rental homes means that you don’t have to be at the beck and call of your tenants, but they are still being helped with amazing service through a property manager!
  • Handling Maintenance: Handling the maintenance on your property can be tiresome and tedious, especially if you do not live near your rental property. Tenants also expect their maintenance issues to be dealt with in a timely fashion if they have to have repaired. Charleston, property management employees, are adept at making quick decisions that are within your budget and deploying the right vendors to the home to fix issues quickly. Also, property managers can get ahead of maintenance issues by conducting inspections of the house, changing the air filter quarterly and regularly checking in with their tenants to make sure the home is to standard.
  • Doing Extra-Tenants tend to stay in homes where the landlord or property manager goes above and beyond or out of their way to ensure that tenants are satisfied and happy. Some of the things that Charleston property management firms could consider are offering vouchers off rent for referrals that sign a one year lease, providing free carpet cleanings, having a grace period on rent due date, keeping up landscaping or providing lawn services, offering online access to rent accounts.

 

If you are ready to see what a difference using a Charleston property management company can make, contact Scott Properties today!

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Best Ways To Thank Your Charleston Property Management Team

Property Management | Managing rental properties takes an entire team to be productive and profitable. When a Charleston property management company is hired to manage your rental business, you will suddenly have a whole group of people working towards the goal of making you money. Property management companies often employ marketing agents, leasing agents, office managers, and maintenance crew members along with many other people that are dedicated to your rental property. This means that processes will get done smoothly, efficiently, and seamlessly. If you want to tank your Charleston property management team, here are some great ways to do it!

1. Leave a Review-Most companies rely on word of mouth and customer reviews to increase their reputation. Charleston property management companies are no different. Many of them have social media, Angie’s Lists, or other websites where you can review their services. The best way to let your property manager know they are doing a great job is to tell them and there is no better way to do that than leaving a review.

2. Participate in the Referral Program-If the company you are partnered with has a referral program try to participate. Many times, property management companies will offer bonuses or incentives to owners who can refer them to other property owners who would be interested in hiring a property manager. The more clients a company has more revenue and resources they are taking. Some of these resources will be invested in your own property by the company!

3. Treat Them With Courtesy and Respect-Your Charleston property management team does a lot for you each day to make sure your rental property business is operating at maximum efficiency. When your home is vacant, they do everything in their power to lease the home including spending extra time showing the property or answering queries. Property managers are used to occasional misunderstanding in communication with tenants but if you really want to thank them for a job well done, so them through your actions by providing support and a positive business relationship with mutual respect and understanding.

Scott Properties wants to be your Charleston property management team of choice. Partner with us today!

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Charleston Property Management Companies Should Partner With Homeowners

Charleston Property Management |The most successful Charleston property management companies build relationships with their homeowners where they are partners in business. When homeowners are searching for the best company to partner with they should be looking at who can offer than more management for fewer fees  who understand the business.

Another critical aspect of the best Charleston property management companies will be those who try to do it all (buying and selling properties as well) and those who specialize in property management. Business savvy homeowners understand that the people who are managing their rental properties should be focused on the rental industry and their relationships with tenants, rather than homeowners who want to sell their properties so an agent can make a commission.

Lowcountry property management companies thrive when they are built with proven strategies that keep the processes of property management efficient and affordable. With an average of 45 people moving into the Charleston metropolitan region annually as of 2017, it is more important than ever that Charleston property management companies know the neighborhood and market rent values and expectations.

Homeowners who treat a property management company as a partner will likely see an increase in their profits and revenue. Being able to discuss your home and rental policies openly is key to having a successful relationship with your property manager. Their goal is always to retain you as a client by providing exceptional service and increasing the amount of money in your pocket each year.

One of the best ways that quality Charleston property management companies increase the amount of money you make is by saving you time and energy through the year. When you can focus on the things you love in life and not have to lift a finger towards creating your residual income your quality of life increases. Many people are finding that they can live the retirement of their dreams by hiring a property manager to maintain their business while they live their best life.

Homeowners ready to take the leap into hiring a property management company should first consider Scott Properties. Contact them today to schedule a consultation or ask any questions.

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Rental Property Management Charleston is Booming

Property Management | Charleston is a fast growing city with an average of 34 people moving into the region daily. Rental property is something that is always in high demand and families need more than a two bedroom apartment. Getting into the business now  by buying a residential property that you can rent out can make you a ton of money in the future.

According to the Census’s American Community Survey (ACS) has seen rent rates increasing. As of 2016, Charleston South Carolina Median Gross Rent was $1,051 against a national median of $981 and a median in the state of $841. This data shows that property owners can charge more for rent in Charleston than most other places in the country. Rental property management Charleston is the business to get into if you want to rent property.

The ACS also showed that Charleston has a vacancy rate of 6.34%. This rate is much lower than the state of South Carolina’s overall rate of 8.49% which indicates that Charleston is one of the most desirable places in South Carolina to live and rent a home in. Rent as a fraction of income was slightly higher than state and country average however at 21.87%. However, the percentages were comparable with the national average being only 20.43%. Renters in Charleston get much more bang for their buck however with beach and coastal community living and a vibrant cultural lifestyle that all residents can enjoy.

Once you decide to own property and rent it out in Charleston, you need to consider rental property management Charleston companies to manage your homes. Being a landlord means marketing, being onsite to show the house, being available 24/7 for your tenants in case of emergencies and having to handle maintenance and getting the house ready again after move out. Hiring rental property management Charleston companies like Scott Properties to manage your rental home is the best choice for any new rental property owner.

If you are ready to take the plunge into rental property management Charleston, contact Scott Properties today!

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Why You Should Invest in Charleston Property Management Companies

Property Management Companies | Charleston South Carolina is growing with 18,381 homes being sold in 2017 and the area seeing an increase of 21.6% in new construction. Home values are also increasing dramatically and quickly with the median home value in 2016 selling being $240,000 compared to 2012 when the median was $190,050. The average sale price, however, was $321,102 due to the many high-end family homes in the market. The gross yield (the total annual income an investor receives from an investment property divided by the price or value of the property) was 8.9%. With trends like this, now is the best time to invest in Charleston Property Management Companies to grow your rental business.

The most recent study published by the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce and conducted by Charleston Southern University shows that every 24 hours the Charleston Metro area which also includes Berkley and Dorchester counties, sees 45 new residents moving into town daily with Charleston creating 20% of the new jobs in the state of South Carolina.  Conde Nast Traveler named Charleston the #1 small city in the U.S. and Yelp named the city the #5 most up and coming. Charleston is also the top east coast city for millennials who are also the most likely to be renting single-family homes. Rent on single families homes also increased by 49% since 2010.

After you buy residential property in Charleston, you will need to invest in Charleston property management companies to ensure you are operating the smoothest rental business possible. Property managers take the pressure off the homeowner when it comes to marketing, leasing, and dealing with tenants. What’s best is that when you invest in property management for your rental business, you no longer have to worry about the day to day tasks. You still make residual income from rent but have a fraction of the work to do.

Contact your Property Management Experts at Scott Properties of Charleston today!