The Pitfalls Of Managing a Property All On Your Own

Boy, it can sure be tempting to act as both landlord and property manager for your Las Vegas rental home. After all, you have a certain level of control and there’s no doubt that you can save money managing your own property. But being in control isn’t the same as doing things right. Problems arise very quickly when inexperienced landlords start making mistakes.

Here’s a look at the common pitfalls that may occur when striking out on your own as a manager and an owner.

Poor Screening

All too often landlords can be too trusting, and when this happens they fail to screen potential tenants sufficiently. Many investors don’t even understand how to run background and credit checks on tenants and what warning signs to look for if they do. Conversely, experienced property managers have finely-tuned screening processes that they rely on to identify good tenants.

Money Mistakes

Managing an investment property is a lot more than just collecting rent. You need to deal with various vendors, pay property taxes, manage utilities for vacant units, and so much more. This is a lot more complicated than just balancing your accounts.

Failure To Evaluate – Anything

It’s easy to measure whether you’re turning a profit on your properties, but that alone isn’t a valuable metric. Great property managers evaluate a number of KPIs, including clear values like revenue growth and softer metrics like tenant satisfaction. They also have the expertise to evaluate listing performance, lost and won properties, and to offer advice based on these metrics.

Unrealistic Expectations

Finally, it’s important to remember that the role of the property manager is both technical and personal, and for you as a landlord, they’re also a buffer between you and your tenants. Too often, landlords struggle to set appropriate boundaries or, alternatively, to be sufficiently responsive. That’s often because trying to do so is unrealistic; you can’t be on call 24/7.

Conclusion

Being ill-suited to run your own rental property in Las Vegas doesn’t mean you’re a bad real estate investor. It means you can admit that property management isn’t in your skill set. At SMART, we are trained professionals whose focus is on interpersonal elements of the rental relationship.

You just stand to lose too much when you insist on managing your own properties. Let go, hand over the reigns to us — and let the profits roll in.