Be a Smart Rental Property Owner

Everytime Laurel Adams comes on the Real Estate Show, we all learn a great deal about what its like to manage rental property.  Laurel, who owns All cities Property Management, is on the front lines of the rental market in Jackson County.   From what she told us on the 10 December radio show on KMED, its crazy, but why?
Laurel reports for December its unusual to see so much activity going on.  The rental vacancy rate in the county is about 4.5% so its not that.   People are moving out of Jackson County in search of work, and surprisingly to me, Laurel report people are moving to Jackson County to work in new jobs as well.
That shows some economic activity going on but no where near levels last seen five years ago.
While Laurel manages rental property for owners,other people manage their own rentals.   They cut out the 8-10% fee charged by professional managers.   Many people have purchased vacant or even bank-owned properties and are turning them into rental property themselves.  If you do that, and haven’t we all at some time in our life, then remember to operate your rental property as a business and not a hobby.
That’s the main lesson from Laurel Adams — be a responsible rental property owner, know the laws, know the rules, get signed documents and on and on.  Too many times she says, owners have run into trouble with tennents over many issues.
Get a signed rental agreement and remember one thing, if you have a signed lease, you cannot change the lease until it expires.  If you have a month to month tennancy with your rental, you can change anything in the agreement wtih 30 days notice.  Which works better?  That’s up to you.
Rental income can be a great thing for the property owner.   It is a solid investment and with interest rates so low many people are doing this.
For me, I’d rather have Laurel manage my rental property.  It’s well worth the commission paid to her company, but at least I know the rules are being followed, and my property will be watched over and I get a check and full accounting every month — and I don’t have to do much work.
It’s a personal choice, but owning rental property remains a good investment with demand not abetting.
Contact Laurel for information, she knows her stuff,   laurel@allcitiesprop.com