Stress-Free Rentals: How Property Management in Visalia Can Save You Time and Money

If you’ve rented out a property for any amount of time, you know that being a landlord in Visalia can present you with a number of challenges. You’re the first point of contact for your tenants, which means they could be calling you in the middle of the night with a maintenance emergency. Maybe you’re constantly collecting rent that’s late or trying to get in touch with your tenants to schedule necessary preventative maintenance. You could waste a lot of time arriving for showings only to have your prospect not show up and not bothering to cancel. There’s the time it takes to effectively screen tenants and hire vendors. 

Renting out a home requires a multitude of skills and, often times, a significant investment of time and resources.

It’s often stressful. 

There’s some good news, however. There is actually a way to enjoy the benefits of owning a rental property without the accompanying stress, time commitment, and frustration. You might not have considered this before; but professional Visalia property management is a solution that typically saves saving rental property owners time and money while also offering peace of mind. 

We want to explore how handing over the day-to-day efforts to a professional can transform your experience as a Visalia rental property owner. 

The Value of Your Time

The amount of time you’ll spend leasing, managing, and maintaining your property depends on the type of property you’re renting out and the tenants who are living in it. Sometimes, you may feel overwhelmed, especially if the property is vacant and you’re aware that you’re losing money with every day that it’s not occupied. You can easily become stressed when you’re screening tenants, conducting inspections, or waiting for a rent payment to come in. 

What kind of value do you place on your time? Are you busy chasing down late rent when you could be doing other things? Are you meeting plumbers or landscapers at your property when you could be spending time with family or pursuing your own passions? Are you missing out on work time at your full-time job because a tenant is in crisis or you’re mediating a dispute between neighbors? 

Time is an irreplaceable asset, and for many rental property owners, there are simply not enough hours in the day to manage everything effectively. That’s where professional Visalia property managers can help. Protect your time and let a management company like ours handle the operations and the logistics of your rental property, which will almost always include:  

• Marketing your rental: Property managers save you time and improve the marketing strategies that attract great tenants and higher rental values. We are experts at creating listings, taking professional photos, and showing the property to potential tenants. These are all time-consuming tasks that a property manager can take off your plate, leaving you more time and producing a well-qualified resident.
• Maintenance and repairs: From fixing leaky faucets to coordinating larger renovation projects, keeping your property in top shape is much easier when you have professionals on call. Not only can property managers receive and prioritize maintenance requests from tenants, we can also make sure there’s not a risk of deferred or unreported maintenance. Frequent inspections, preventative services, and good tenant relationships will ensure there are fewer expensive emergencies to respond to. Our relationships with licensed and insured vendors as well as contractors and service providers will also ensure that the work completed is high-quality and cost-effective. Maintenance coordination takes a lot of time; we have the processes in place that streamline everything. 

• Tenant screening and leasing: Landlords can spend a lot of time trying to find the right tenant for their property. You’ll have to meet with prospective residents, collect applications, and screen them in compliance with California’s strict fair housing laws. Handing this over to a property manager will reduce the stress involved in selecting the right tenant, and keep your time investment to an absolute minimum. Your property manager has the tools and expertise to find reliable tenants quickly, reducing costly vacancies and ensuring your revenue remains stable.

By delegating these responsibilities, you can reclaim your time and focus on the bigger picture—be it growing your portfolio, focusing on your career, or spending more quality time with your family.

Financial Benefits to Professional Visalia Property Management 

Saving time is an excellent reason to hire a Visalia property manager, but what about your money? 

You’ll find that professional management also adds value by saving you money. The partnership will cost you a monthly management fee and often a leasing fee. However, you’ll find that those costs more than pay for themselves in the expertise you receive and the savings that come with a property manager’s tools, technology, and resources. Here’s how you can expect the relationship to benefit you financially. 

• Higher tenant retention rates

Effective screening and responsive management lead to happier, longer-staying tenants, which means less turnover and reduced costs. This can amount to savings of thousands of dollars. If you’re losing tenants every year, your pouring a lot of money into turnovers, maintenance, marketing, and vacancy. Property managers do a better job of retaining tenants, allowing you to enjoy more stability and fewer costs. 

• Preventative maintenance

Proactive care can prevent small issues from becoming expensive problems down the line. We talked about how a property manager’s ability to focus on preventative maintenance can help you save time. It saves money, too. Those deferred issues only become more complicated and expensive when they’re left alone. If you don’t know that a water heater is beginning to rust, you may find yourself responding to a leaking appliance and paying a plumber more than you want to. Property managers will protect the condition and value of your property while ensuring you’re not losing money on needless repairs or pricey emergency calls. 

• Volume discounts

You’ll also save money on maintenance with the volume discounts that property managers can often pass along to their owners. This is a benefit to the relationships we have in place with our preferred vendors and contractors. Visalia property managers often spend time nurturing these relationships with contractors and suppliers specifically so that deep discounts and lower costs for maintenance and repairs can be shared with their owners. 

Additionally, a professional management partner can assist with setting the right rental price, ensuring your investment yields the highest possible returns without pricing you out of the market. It’s easy to make a mistake when you’re pricing your own property; you have distinct ideas on what you think your property is worth and how much you’d like to earn on it. But, a property manager knows the market. We have access to data and analytics that can tell us exactly what homes like yours are renting for in your specific neighborhood. This pricing strategy can eliminate long, expensive, and frustrating vacancies. 

Navigating Legal Landscapes

The legalities surrounding rental properties can be complex, especially in California, which is known for its strict tenant protections. You can spend a lot of time trying to navigate around legal pitfalls when it comes to matters of fair housing, evictions, rent control, security deposits, discrimination, Section 8, and habitability. A professional property manager stays current on all landlord-tenant laws, regulations, and local ordinances. 

This is a financial issue as much as a time management issue. A legal mistake can be incredibly costly. Fair housing violations cost as much as $16,000 for a first offense. If you’re found to have made a security deposit mistake, a judge could penalize you up to three times the amount of your security deposit. Count on a property manager in Visalia to protect you from legal troubles. 

Risk management is important with any investment, but it’s especially important when we’re talking about rental property investments. If you don’t have time to learn and comply with the laws, you’re putting yourself at risk. Make sure you’re not welcoming additional liability into your life. 

The Bottom Line in Saving Time and Money 

Professional property management is a good idea for almost every sort of investor. Whether you think of yourself as a landlord who is renting out just one or two properties or you’re an experienced real estate investor with an entire portfolio of homes for rent, your property management partner will make a serious impact in what you earn and what you’re able to accomplish. 

Hiring a professional property manager is an investment in your own investments. 

When you choose the right property manager, you enjoy more time and you earn more money. Hands-on property management seems completely manageable until you’re faced with a long vacancy, unable to collect rent, working towards an eviction, or struggling to find maintenance services that are affordable. 

We can help with all of that and more. 

Contact us at The Equity Group. We’d love to talk about your rental properties, your investment goals, and the struggles you may have encountered renting out your own properties in Visalia.