Oct 08 No Comments

Property Manager | Should You Rent Your Home to College Students? (Scott Properties)

Author: MediaBeast

Categories: Scott Properties

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

Property Manager | Midlands is a college community with the College of Midlands alone having a student population of nearly 10,000 people. Seven percent of people living in Midlands 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 Midlands, 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 Midlands 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 Midlands and need a trusted property manager, call Scott Properties at 843-212-9672.

Oct 08 No Comments

Property Manager | How A Property Manager Can Use Social Media (Scott Properties)

Author: MediaBeast

Categories: Scott Properties

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 Midlands 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 Midlands 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.

Oct 08 No Comments

Property Rental Companies Midlands | How to Screen A Tenant for More Than A Credit Score (Scott Properties)

Author: MediaBeast

Categories: Property Rental Companies Midlands,Scott Properties

Property Rental Companies Midlands | How to Screen A Tenant for More Than A Credit Score

Property rental companies in Midlands screen applicants before they rent a home to ensure that the most qualified tenant is living in your investment home. While a credit check is always part of the application process, a credit score is not the only indicator of whether a potential tenant will be a good renter. There are a few other factors that property rental companies in Midlands should consider when screening tenants.

1. Dig Deeper into the Application Details- When you’re looking at the tenant’s application, the devil is in the details. Not only do you need to verify if the person has the income to afford the home, but you need to look at the person’s history. Do they bounce around from job to job? Have they lived in numerous places over the last few years? These indicators will tell you whether or not the tenant is someone who values stability and consistency.

2. Verification- Forgerynand lying are pretty easy to do when property rental companies in Midlands only ask for paper documentation. Make sure that when you screen tenants you verify the information provided. Call employers, past landlords, and references to verify the information provided on the application. If the information isn’t consistent, this is a huge red flag.

3. Background Checks- In addition to the credit checks, you should complete a background check on your potential tenants. Property rental companies in Midlands can learn a lot about a tenant by doing a background check, including criminal history, previous addresses, whether they pay their bills on time if they’ve ever been evicted, and other pertinent information.

The best way to make sure the tenants of property management companies in Midlands are the most qualified is by doing detailed screening that goes deeper than just a credit score. If you need a property manager in Midlands, call Scott Properties at 843-212-9672.

Oct 08 No Comments

Property Manager | Raising Rent Without Losing Tenants (Scott Properties)

Author: MediaBeast

Categories: Scott Properties

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.

Oct 08 No Comments

Midlands Property Management | Why Midlands Property Management Companies Charge Application Fees (Scott Properties)

Author: MediaBeast

Categories: Scott Properties

Midlands Property Management | Why Midlands Property Management Companies Charge Application Fees

Midlands Property Management | Application fees are a touchy subject when it comes to landlord/tenant relationships. Tenants certainly don’t like the extra expense, and Charleston property management companies certainly don’t enjoy having to collect and process all the fees. However, application fees are necessary for quite a few reasons.

1. Checks Cost Money- Midlands property management companies, have to purchase software or pay subscription fees to conduct proper credit and background checks. Each time a background check is done on a potential renter, it costs the company money. Imagine if all the applications came back unapproved, and the Midlands property management has to cover all of those charges themselves? They’d be out of business.

2. Shows Tenant Dedication- There’s a good chance that a landlord will have to show a vacant home many times before the right tenant comes along that wants to fill out the application. When you charge an application fee, only tenants who are serious about moving in will fill out the forms, so no one’s time is wasted.

3. Shows Tenant Has Income- Charging a small application fee helps you to know if your tenant will be able to afford to pay rent. If a prospective tenant is unhappy about paying a small application fee, it’s probably not realistic to expect them to pay a deposit and first month‘s rent if their application is approved.

4. Income for the Company- Tenant application fees are retained by Charleston property management companies and can produce a little bit of extra income for the company that can be put into marketing, hiring, and general business expenses. Some Midlands property management companies also invest in homes themselves in addition to having homeowners and investment property clients they are working for.

Hiring a property manager to take care of your investment is the smart decision to make when buying a rental property. Give Scott Properties a call today to see how we can help your investment grow at 843-212-9672.

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Month: <span>October 2019</span>