Rental Property Management in Charleston | Investing in Single Family Real Estate in 2020

Have you ever pondered jumping into rental property management in Charleston? If your answer is “yes,” 2020 is the time to invest in single-family real estate. Some experts are saying with the economy slowing down, 2020 could be a challenging or risky time for investors, especially in coastal cities where economies revolve around shipping yards for importing and exporting goods around the world. However, in big markets like Charleston, the economy is still thriving with businesses in the IT sector and other markets. Home prices are also stabilizing, although still planned to increase by an additional three percent in 2020, along with rent prices. Buying into rental property management in Charleston early in the year will be the best time.

Rent Vs. Own Gap

The recent surge in the prices of single-family homes has made buying just out of reach for the average first-time homebuyer but still a great investment for those who want to go into rental property management in Charleston. Would-be homebuyers with families are still looking for single-family homes to meet their needs for space and privacy which means there is unimaginable rental income to be made, especially in Charleston.

Rental Property Management in Charleston

Buying the perfect home to rent out is the easy part; managing a property with tenants afterward is long, and often tedious, work. Marketing a vacant home, leasing, maintenance, upkeep, and everything else that goes into property management can be easily managed by outsourcing this work to a property management company.

Property management companies take the burden of managing the properties off of the investors’ hands so they can focus on other things and just let the profits roll in. With the price of renting rising in big cities and metropolitan areas, investors are looking to make a nice return on their investment when they rely on the right rental property management company.

Experienced property managers at Scott Properties are waiting to talk to investors about their single-family homes today! Call 843-779-6527 to learn more about how we can help owners.

Charleston Property Management | How to Rent Your Home Fast

Charleston property management can be a fast-paced and exciting venture, especially in single-family home investing. The housing market in Charleston is still favorable to renters, and with the market value of rent, increasing right along with the price of homes, investors with vacant homes should focus on getting them rent-ready and on the market—ASAP!

Here’s what investors need to do to get their vacant homes rented fast:

1. Focus on Curb Appeal- Charleston property management companies are most successful when they manage the best-looking properties. If you want to rent your home fast, it needs to have great curb appeal, including a clean, maintained lawn, safe walkways, and entries, a great looking exterior, and a welcoming ambiance. The right property managment copmanies know that the curb appeal is the first step to filling your home.
2. Marketing- After your property is in tip-top shape and the curb appeal is off the charts, the property management companies are going to push marketing. The first step is to get high-quality professional photographs of the interior and exterior of the property. You might even consider a virtual tour or live tour that is recorded and ready to be uploaded to your property management website. After you’ve got the pictures and content, you need there are several sites available for posting your rental including rent.com, Zillow, and craigslist.
3. Schedule an Open House- Property management companies with homes in desirable neighborhoods should consider holding an open house for renters, much like realtors. This practice can save Charleston property management a lot of time in individual showings and also show prospective renters that this single-family home is in high demand. You’ll be more likely to get applications back quickly, with completed information and fees when you have an open house.

If this all sounds like a lot, you should consider hiring one of the great Charleston property management companies to ensure you are getting the most out of your single-family home investment. Charleston property management knows the ins and outs of rentals including the laws and ordinances that affect individual neighborhoods.

If you’re ready to partner with Charleston property management, call Scott Propertiestoday at 843-790-4929.

Charleston Property Management | Why Your Tenant’s Trust Matters

Charleston property management companies often think about how their vendors can be trusted and whether or not their tenants can be trusted, but some rarely think about the importance of their tenants also trusting them. If you own a Charleston property management company, you should consider how you can help your tenants trust you more, and we’ll explain why it is important.

How Charleston Property Management Companies Can Gain Tenant Trust

There are many ways that you can earn your tenant’s trust. One of the most important reasons for your tenants to trust your property management group is because it improves your landlord-tenant relationship. The more your tenants trust you, the less likely they will be to damage the property, pay rent late, or incur lease violations.

Here are a few things you can offer your tenants to increase their trust in your Charleston property management company:

1. Charge reasonable screening fees- When renters are looking for a new place to live, they are going to be cringing at the expenses. New deposits, first-month rent, last month’s rent, pet fees, applications, moving fees—it all adds up quickly. When a Charleston property management company has reasonable upfront fees, tenants are much happier and likely to rent.
2. Include Yard Maintenance- Many tenants choose to rent single-family homes because they don’t want the responsibility of owning a home. Including yard maintenance in the rental price is a great way to earn your tenant’s trust.
3. Be Willing to Go Above and Beyond- The lease agreement outlines what the responsibilities of the landlord and tenants are; however, whenever a Charleston property manager can go above and beyond for their tenants, it shows that they care. Going above and beyond for your tenants also goes a long way in earning their trust and helping them feel comfortable coming to you with problems.

One of the best ways to ensure you have your tenant’s trust is to hire a Charleston property management company that is reputable and delivers results.

When you’re ready to partner with a management company, call Scott Properties –  843-790-4929

The Importance of Vendor Credentialing for A Property Manager

Real estate investors love hiring property management companies because these companies come with maintenance crews and built-in vendor relationships that make property maintenance easy and convenient. When a property manager does the proper credentialing on their vendors, they can reduce risk and save a lot of time and hassle.

A property manager needs to be able to verify the criminal history of employees of the vendors, ensure the vendors are properly insured, as well as their quality of work and a financial estimate for their services. When vendors don’t carry the proper credentials or cannot answer your questions, you run the risk of poor workmanship, improper repair work, and fraud among other things.

What to Keep in Mind When Verifying Vendor Credentials

A property manager needs to verify vendor credentials before they hire a company to complete any work. You should also do yearly reviews on all of your vendors to ensure their quality standards are still the same, their rates are still competitive, and they’ve kept up with their licensing and insurance. You’ll also want to get updated rosters on employees, especially those who will be working on your properties. The vendors you work with should be honest and willing to tell you if anyone on their team has offenses on their criminal record that are not conducive to providing services for a property manager.

Following Up with Vendor Services

A great property manager will follow up with tenants after vendors’ services to ensure that the work was completed in a timely manner, that the vendors were courteous and respectful, and that the job was actually completed. You can learn a lot about your vendors by talking to your tenants and getting their honest reviews of the services provided. At the end of the day, it’s great if the vendor makes you happy, but what a property manager really needs is for the tenants to be happy and satisfied.

If you are looking for a great property manager in Charleston who works with the best vendors in the area, call Scott Properties – 843-212-9672.

Property Manager | Is Investing in Single-Family Rental Real Estate a Good Idea?

Making investments is a great way to protect your financial future for retirement or uncertain economic times. However, knowing what to invest your money in can be a challenging task. The housing market rises and falls it seems, and after the recession more than ten years ago, some people are still wary of investing in single-family rental real estate. If you ask any property manager however, this real estate niche is still growing, evolving, and seeing profits.

There are two major trends that the single-family rental niche has benefitted from. The first is the baby boomer generation selling their family homes and downsizing, leaving great properties for sale to real estate investors. Some of these baby boomers who have their mortgages paid off are even going into the property management business themselves and renting out their large homes. The second trend is the fact that millennials who grew up during the recession are wary of buying a home and experiencing another economic disaster, so they are looking for single-family homes to rent from a property manager.

Housing Market Forecast for Charleston 2020

The economy in South Carolina is great, with historically low unemployment numbers. However, the current trade war has made investors wary of another economic crash. Global markets including China and Germany have also slowed their trading, and interest rates have been in flux after the Federal Reserve raised its key borrowing measure four times in 2018 and then lowered in 2019. However, there is great news for the housing market.

Labor market predictions have remained stable and strong throughout the year, which is the biggest predictor of the housing market, according to top economists. There are more jobs than people to fill them, which means more workers will have to be brought in to fill positions, and those workers will need to rent a home from a property manager who specializes in single-family homes. All of this means that now is the perfect time to invest in a single-family home and a property manager that can maximize your return on investment.

If you’re ready to hire a property manager for your residence, call Scott Properties – 843-212-9672.

Property Manager | Should You Rent Your Home to College Students?

Property Manager | Charleston is a college community with the College of Charleston alone having a student population of nearly 10,000 people. Seven percent of people living in Charleston are between the ages of twenty and twenty-four, and a lot of these people are renters. When you own a single-family home in Charleston, especially one with three or more bedrooms, renting to college students may be something you are considering. Before you become a property manager to students, there are a few things you want to consider.

1. Is Your Property Right for College Students? College students are looking for different amenities in a rental property than families are looking for. Students need to be near campus and bus stops because few of them have cars. Students also need affordable rentals since most don’t work full-time. Safety is another priority, as well as Wi-Fi accessibility and in-house laundry. If your property doesn’t offer these things, it may not be the best option for student rentals.

2. Property Manager Availability- How available are you able to be as the property manager? Student rentals tend to require more maintenance since students don’t always know how to fix things around the house themselves. Students are also busy, and if you require tenants to provide lawn care, you might often drive by and see long grass, unraked leaves, etc. Student rentals always need more attention from property managers.

3. Short vs. Long Term Rental- Students usually only need to rent for nine to ten months of the year; however, students who rent privately outside of the dorms will often pay for twelve-month leases to keep the same house for all four years of college. Students rentals in Charleston are usually in extremely high demand, so though you might have shorter–term renters and turn over each year potentially, student rentals fill quickly. You can also rent by the bedroom and make more in rent than if renting to a single–family.

4. Damages- While any renter can damage a home, student rentals tend to incur more losses than single–family rentals. Families usually plan to stay in their rental home long term and take better care of the property. Students are less likely to have an emotional investment in the property and are less likely to keep the property in tip-top shape.

If you’re interested in renting your home in Charleston and need a trusted property manager, call Scott Properties at 843-212-9672.

Property Manager | How A Property Manager Can Use Social Media

Property Manager | Millennials are 80 million strong and the largest group of renters and homebuyers in the United States. Nearly all millennials have a social media presence, and if you’re a property manager, you should know that platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the best ways to stay in touch while you’re on the go. If you want to be the best property manager, you should try a few of our tips on how to best leverage social media to attract and retain tenants.

1. Promote Neighborhood Events- If your rental property is in an HOA or neighborhood that has community events, you can help your renters stay connected to what’s going on around them by promoting what’s happening. Find out what the HOA hashtags are and if there’s a calendar of events you can incorporate into your property manager page.

2. Share Vacancies- If you’re a property manager with many homes around the Charleston Metro area, you can share current and upcoming vacancies on your social media page. Your current tenants are likely to share your posts about rentals available, especially if they are happy tenants. You can also reward your tenants by asking them to share using a hashtag specific to your business. Offer your tenants to be entered into a drawing for a free carpet cleaning or $50 off their rent for sharing vacancies and track their shares using the hashtag.

3. Send Out Alerts- A great property manager keeps up with anything in Charleston that could affect tenants and their home from weather alerts to road closures in the neighborhood. Send out alerts via social media to give your tenants valuable info about the community when it’s needed.

4. Building Your Brand- If you want your business to stand out, you have to create a brand, and social media is the best way to do this. Your tenants may not get a lot of face-to-face time with you, but they can still get to know the business through social media. When your tenants have a connection with you, your resident retention will go up!

If you need a property manager with social media know-how to make the most of your investment, call Scott Properties at 843-212-9672.

Property Manager | Raising Rent Without Losing Tenants

Property Manager | The minimum wage is increasing, the cost of food, gas, and living, in general, is all going up. This means that the cost involved in having investment property is going up as well, and, unfortunately, this cost needs to be passed on to the tenant. No property manager expects tenants to be happy about their rent going up, but there are a few things that you can do to make the transition go smoothly without the resident decides to vacate.

1. Write a Rent Increase Letter- Do not wait until the tenant is in front of you to sign their renewal for them to find out that their rent is going up. Send a letter at least 90 days before the end of their lease, letting them know about the increase and continue to follow up with them to ensure there are no surprises. Make sure to check with your local laws regarding rent control and rent increase procedures also and always send the letter certified mail so you know it’s delivered, or deliver the message in person yourself.

2. Lease Details- A property manager needs to be sure that leases are complete and thorough and include a clause about rental increases. Some leases details guarantee that rent won’t increase for a certain amount of time and also spell out what the property manager and tenant responsibilities are.

3. Five Percent Rule- The best way to raise rent and keep tenants is not to price gauge the rent. While you want to keep your rent in line with the market rent trends, raising the rent by more than five percent is a great way to lose tenants fast. Try to keep in mind that this is affecting their budget too.

4. Consider Upgrades- You’re asking your tenants to pay more, so they should get more too, right? Offering your tenants a fresh coat of paint, carpet cleaning, or new landscaping options is a great way to make that rent increase hurt a little less and keep your tenants happy. Ask your tenants what they might like and try to accommodate whenever possible.

If you are looking for a professional property manager, call Scott Properties today at 843-212-9672.