If you’re renting out a Las Vegas property, you’re likely wondering whether you should manage that property on your own or hire a professional company to help you.
It’s a personal decision, and the best answer for you really comes down to how much of your own time, resources, and experience you’re willing to invest in your rental homes. There is a lot involved in the leasing, management, and maintenance of investment properties, and it can sometimes feel like self-managers have taken on another full-time job.
There’s a lot of value to partnering with a professional Las Vegas property manager. While some owners worry that the management fee they pay will reduce what they’re able to earn on the property, a lot of investors have learned that they earn more and spend less when they’re working with property managers. That’s because your property management company knows how to reduce vacancy, accurately price your property, and save money on maintenance.
Maybe you have a strong interest in remaining hands-on as a landlord, and you don’t want anyone else interfering with how you manage your property. That’s a great reason to self-manage. If you’re looking to leverage the experience and resources of a professional, however, it will benefit you to start working with a management company as soon as possible.
Strategic Las Vegas Rental Property Marketing
Marketing your home professionally and strategically will result in lower vacancy times and costs as well as a better selection of residents. With the marketing resources available to property managers, you can expect a polished listing that’s shared with a wide range of tenants looking for new homes.
Property managers also have their own websites, where listings will be showcased.
As a self-managing landlord, you may find yourself having to manually load your listing on every rental site you want to use. This is time-consuming. It’s also easier to be scammed when you’re marketing your own property. Listings are routinely stolen by people who will try to rent your property out to unsuspecting tenants, collecting money and leaving those tenants without a home.
Property managers are also efficient when it comes to showings. As we begin to generate interest in your property, we handle the phone calls and messages that come in. We follow up and answer questions, do a little pre-screening over the phone, and schedule showings. When tenants are interested in applying for your property, property managers take them through the process.
Leasing Your Las Vegas Rental Home
To place a well-qualified tenant, you’ll need to screen applications. Are you prepared to do this in a way that complies with fair housing laws? Self-managing landlords need access to applications, screening criteria, and the proper paperwork that will need to be sent when applications are denied.
Tenant screening requires experience and resources. You don’t want to place the wrong tenant in your property. If you place someone who is unqualified, you might have to deal with late rent payments or missing rent payments. You might have to evict your tenant and when you finally get into the property, you might find an appalling amount of property damage. Property managers will prevent this, or at least reduce the risk of anything bad happening with the tenants you place.
A professional leasing process is systems-oriented. We collect all the necessary information on the tenant’s application and then we carefully screen them. We look for:
- Past evictions
- Criminal histories
- Income verification
- Rental references
A professional and experienced property manager will be quick to detect any red flags that would preclude us from renting to that applicant. We look for stable credit, good employment history, and enough income to cover the rent payments every month. We talk to former landlords and we make sure there aren’t any past due balances or debts owed to former landlords and property managers.
The benefits of professional leasing are numerous. You get a more qualified tenant. You get a lease that is compliant with all Nevada and federal laws. And, you can be sure your property is protected when we conduct our detailed move-in walk throughs. This documents the condition of your home and helps us establish whether any damage was left behind at the end of the lease period.
We make the process legally compliant and more efficient. You’ll have less to worry about when you work with a professional management company instead of leasing to and choosing a tenant on your own.
Professional Property Management Maintenance and Walk Throughs
Many Las Vegas self-managing landlords become quickly frustrated with maintenance and repairs. This is understandable. Maintaining your property can be expensive. It takes a lot of time to respond to repair needs, put together a vendor list, and follow up to make sure the work was done properly.
With a professional property manager, you can count on an immediate response to both routine and emergency maintenance. Good property management companies will invest in technology that allows tenants to submit maintenance requests online. This provides us with written documentation of the work that was done on your home. As an investor, you’ll have access to those repair requests as well as the invoices that result from them.
Finding a network of vendors can also be a challenge for landlords who manage their own properties. If you don’t already have relationships in place with plumbers, HVAC technicians, and other professionals, it can be difficult to find someone who is willing to come out when there’s an emergency.
Property managers, however, have an excellent network of vendors in place who are affordable, licensed, and insured. You won’t have to worry about finding a plumber in the middle of the night when a tenant calls with a water leak.
Walk throughs are also a big part of maintaining your home. Can you keep up with them, as a self-managing landlord?
Instead of scheduling time to do them yourself, you can rely on your property manager to expertly assess and evaluate your rental property before a lease begins, during a leasing period, and after the lease is over and the tenant has moved out. You’ll be able to see whether your tenant is taking care of the property and following the terms of the lease. This is an important part of protecting the condition of your home. You need to have someone inside taking a look around and talking to the tenants. We can do that for you.
Maintenance costs are always lower for professionally managed homes. We catch problems earlier and take care of preventative maintenance issues so there aren’t any big, expensive surprises. We work with great vendors and we coordinate everything with your tenants. The result is a well-maintained home that’s attractive to good tenants and increasing in value.
Accounting Reports and Financial Statements
How well do you know accounting principles and best practices?
This isn’t always the most interesting part of managing a rental property, but it’s an important one.
You need to track your income and expenses, and if you don’t have a system in place, professional property management can provide one. When your property management company provides you with a monthly statement and detailed reports, you’ll always know how your property is performing. You won’t have to guess and you won’t have to assume. At tax time, you’ll have all the documents you need to file an accurate return.
In addition to providing you with financial oversight, we also help with financial management. If a tenant doesn’t pay rent on time, we can begin a collection process that ensures the money comes in as soon as possible. We know how to hold the security deposit according to Nevada law. We can ensure you are financially compliant at all times, and we can take care of making sure you don’t lose money on costly errors and tenant disputes.
When Things Go Wrong: Evictions and Legal Problems
You’ll be glad you hired a property management company if you find yourself needing to evict a tenant or show up in court. There are processes that need to be followed, and professional property managers understand them and can protect your property and your financial interests.
We understand the Nevada eviction process, and we have systems in place that will prevent them. Individual and independent landlords are easy targets for fair housing claims, tenant lawsuits, and other risks. You will have a lot more peace of mind with a professional management company handling these things for you. Our team works with attorneys, insurance agents, accountants, and other professionals to make sure you’re protected at all times. We’re here to work with tenants on renters insurance, and we know how to respond if you receive a complaint from a state, local, or federal agency.
You can self-manage your rental property in Las Vegas if you decide it’s the best thing for you. But, you might find yourself spending more time and money than you’d like trying to provide a safe, happy, and positive rental experience for yourself and your residents.
If you’d like to explore the idea of professional property management in Las Vegas, we’d love to talk with you. Please contact us at New West Property Management. Our team expertly manages residential rental homes in Las Vegas and throughout Clark County, including Henderson and North Las Vegas.
