Vacation Rental by Owner (VRBO) is the latest craze in the rental market. Today, we’re talking about whether you want to VRBO your investment property.

Property Investment vs. Vacation Investment: Different Markets

There are some things to consider when you’re deciding whether you want to lease your property the traditional way or turn it into a vacation rental. First, when you VRBO your property, you’re entering a different market. You’ll be in the travel industry, which follows the beat of its own drum. What do you look for when you’re staying somewhere on vacation? When you’re away from home, you want amenities. You want access to technology and modern furnishings. You want perfection; something better than what you left. You don’t just want it – you expect it. Your customers will have the same expectations.

Wear and Tear on Your Vacation Investment: Using Property Management

Consumers in the travel industry are tough on businesses. They will hold you to the highest standards. Another thing to note is that when you’re dealing with customers on vacation, they aren’t always going to take the best care of the place they are staying in. Think about how you treat your rental cars. It’s important to remember that when you’re renting out a vacation property. For this reason, we always recommend that you use a great property management team who is knowledgeable in the industry and can look out for your needs.

Finally, consider vacancy rates. The travel industry is cyclical, and you’ll have periods where you don’t have anyone in your home and no rental income. Alternatively, renting out a traditional property is more consistent.

Weigh the pros and cons of your decision before you settle on whether you want to rent out a vacation property. If you have any questions about vacation rentals or anything pertaining to Phoenix property management, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Arizona Property Brokerage.

Maintenance is a vital part of your investment property, and we take it very seriously. We encourage tenants to notify us right away if there are any maintenance concerns or repair needs. Small problems like a dripping faucet can eventually lead to big problems like mold. Today, we’re discussing the importance of keeping your property maintained and inspecting it when you can.

Making Property Maintenance Easy

Often, owners and management companies charge tenants a service fee for turning in a maintenance request. We discourage this because we want to know right away if there’s a small maintenance problem with your property. Taking care of maintenance issues is important. It preserves your long term investment and keeps your tenants happy. Happy tenants pay rent on time and take better care of your property.

Vendor Relationships

Another way we protect your investment is by using licensed and insured vendors. This is important for your personal liability. Our vendors are also trained to pay attention to small things when they’re visiting your property and taking care of minor maintenance issues. It’s not uncommon for me to get a call from a vendor asking if the walls are supposed to be purple. This is a good way to stay on top of small issues that can become big deals.

Regular Landlord Inspections

Some tenants don’t understand what they are allowed and not allowed to do when they’re living in your rental home. This is why regular property inspections are so important for your rental property. Walking the property with your tenant and going through the regular maintenance items that are their responsibility, such as changing air conditioning filters, is a big deal.

Staying on top of your property and catching little things will save your money in the long run. Protect your investment by efficiently managing regular maintenance needs, encouraging your tenant to let you know as soon as something needs to be repaired, and regularly inspecting your home.

If you have any questions about property maintenance or Phoenix property management, please contact us at Arizona Property Brokerage.

If you’re an investment property owner, chances are you’ve been in the situation where you have to evict a bad tenant. Typical evictions don’t come out of nowhere, and the process can be emotional, especially if you’ve been helping someone. In the last 13 years, I’ve learned you can best help a tenant in need with tough love. Teaching someone they’re responsible for providing for their family is invaluable. As an investment property owner, you’re seen as someone with a lot of money. Tenants may see you as a business with deep pockets and not as a human. Regardless of the situation, these are the steps we take to evict a bad tenant.

Phoenix Property Management: Serve a Notice

The most important step when dealing with a less than ideal tenant is issuing a notice. Whether you do anything with that notice or not, you need to have it. Legal notices set a standard for tenants. They respect them, and it sets a tone for your relationship. This is your business, and you want to do things the way a business would.

Taking the Tenant to Court

When we realize an eviction will be necessary, we turn the file over to a local attorney. Our attorney focuses completely on landlord and tenant law. This is the best way to protect yourself and your investment when handling an eviction. The attorney files the paperwork and obtains a court date. Once we reach our court date, as long as we have the proper documentation and we have served proper notices, we get a judgment. Then, the tenant has five days to respond. After that, you can order a Writ of Restitution. Once the writ is issued, a constable is assigned. We meet the constable at the property with a locksmith and get the property back. Usually, the tenants are gone.

An eviction costs about $400, depending on the attorney you use plus the locksmith cost. Sometimes, tenants are still there when a constable shows up, or the tenants leave possessions behind. This is rocky territory and you need an expert to protect you. There are lots of laws surrounding landlords and tenants, and you don’t want to make a costly mistake.

You won’t regret using a professional property manager at a time like this. If you have any questions about eviction or property management in Phoenix, please contact us at Arizona Property Brokerage.

When you’re looking for professional property management in Phoenix, you need to know what you can expect to pay for these services. Phoenix is a hot market for investment properties right now. That means a lot of companies are in the valley, offering services for the professional management of single family homes. Each company sets its own fee structure. Sometimes, it’s a percentage of the income collected, and sometimes it’s a flat monthly fee. The most important thing to evaluate when you’re comparing companies based on price is what you can get for the fees paid to a property management company.

Property Management Fees and Extra Charges

Consider whether everything is included in your management fee, or if you’re being charged for services like maintenance coordination. Sometimes, a management company will take a percentage of a vendor’s invoice. So, the management company receives a percentage of your bill and then the vendor gets the rest. You might be charged for lease renewals and inspections.

Tenant Charges

You also need to know what kind of services your tenants are being charged for. They might have to pay to have their rent processed every month, and there might be other charges on top of what they pay for rent. This may feel differently to you because you’re not the one being charged out of pocket, but it still makes a difference to you and your property when your tenant is being charged for services they need to have while living in your property.

Ancillary Services and Fees

The ancillary services that some property management companies charge for can be pretty extensive and detailed. For example, you might have to pay for the 1099s that are issued at the end of the year. The most important thing is knowing the gray areas of your property management agreement. Find out what will be charged for services outside of that scope.

Most property management companies even out at the end of the day. You need an advocate to protect you and your property. We take over properties that have been mismanaged, and we know it has a huge financial impact on you.
If you have any questions about management costs or Phoenix property management in general, please contact us at Phoenix Property Brokerage.

The most important and most difficult thing you’ll do when you have a tenant who isn’t paying rent is to take emotions out of the situation. Assuming you did not purchase this property for charitable causes, you aren’t in the business of providing free housing.

Serve a 5 Day Notice

If your tenant isn’t paying rent on time, you’re probably being avoided. Or, you’re hearing promises that rent will be paid on a certain date later in the future. You need to issue a legal notice. This is important whether you want to evict the tenant or not. This 5 Day Notice gives you the legal grounds to remove the tenants if they don’t manage to get rent paid. If you do not personally serve this notice to your tenants, the court will add an additional five days to allow for service. So, you have 10 days before you can get a court date. Time is of the essence. If done quickly, a complete eviction can take one month.

Habitually Late Tenants

You may have tenants who habitually pay late. Even if you’re used to it, and okay with it, you should still serve the notice every time rent is late. These situations, in my experience, always result in an eviction at some point. So, do yourself a favor and serve the notice. It will put you ahead of the process if you do ultimately have to evict.

Tenant Screening

The best way to avoid these situations is with good tenant screening. Credit checks and rental verifications go a long way. Make sure you aren’t just calling a current landlord. Call the last two landlords.

Remember to stay neutral and keep the situation black and white. It is possible to be compassionate and firm at the same time. Set your boundaries and be consistent. Hire a professional Phoenix property management company if you find you cannot enforce the timely payment of rent.

If you have any questions about rent collection or anything pertaining to property management in Phoenix, please contact us at Arizona Property Brokerage.

There are a lot of great reasons for why you should hire a professional Phoenix property management company to manage your investment property. Potential clients often come to us after self-managing their homes with the same problems. The property is under-managed and in disrepair, so it will cost thousands of dollars to bring it back to market. Tenants are often several months behind in rent because they’ve told the landlord about their family member who died or their car that broke down. Owners feel bad for their tenants, and so those renters end up several months in arrears in a property that needs a lot of work. This is our favorite type of property to manage.

Improving Investment Performance

We have spent years turning properties around. We work together with the tenant and the owner to come up with the best solution possible. Sometimes the tenant stays. We bring the rent current and get the property into good shape. Other times, the tenants need to leave and we start from scratch. We go through the property and tell you what it will take to get it market-ready, and we move quickly. We advertise and market with various channels that reach every possible tenant. Our advanced marketing system allows us to collect feedback from each person who views your home. This helps us tackle potential barriers immediately.

Screening and Leasing

We thoroughly screen each application. Any tenant who is 18 years of age or older must submit a separate application. This allows us to check for criminal history, credit issues, bankruptcies, and evictions. We contact their current and previous landlords and talk to their current employers.

Once a tenant is approved, we use an attorney-reviewed lease agreement to further protect your investment. We also perform in-depth move-in inspections and collect substantial security deposits.

Technology and Vendors

Innovative technology allows your tenants to apply online, make rent payments online, and submit service requests online. You’ll also have access to your property through an owner portal that lets you see statements and accept our direct deposits into your bank account.

Outstanding vendor relationships means better service for tenants. Happier tenants are more likely to take care of the property and pay rent on time. Our vendors offer us discounts, which we pass on to you, and we never upcharge your maintenance invoice. We take care of all HOA issues and physically inspect your property regularly. Our full service accounting department is effective at rent collection.

Do you want a team that’s 100 percent licensed and has served in various organizations in real estate and property management? We have various degrees, including an MBA, and this is our full time job. We know that time is money, and professional management can save you both time and money.

If you have any questions about the value of having a property manager or anything pertaining to property management in Phoenix, please contact us at Arizona Property Brokerage.