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Month: <span>May 2020</span>
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Charleston Property Management | Managing Multiple Rental Homes

Author: MediaBeast
Categories: Charlestons Property Management,Scott Properties
Charleston International Airport - Columbia

Investing in properties for single-family rental homes is always a great idea. The rental market is booming, and homeownership is one of the most reliable forms of wealth building. By 2030 the need for single-family rental homes is projected to grow from 16 million to 29 million. It seems like the perfect need-based investment; however, you might not be aware of precisely what your monthly or yearly profits will be. For some investors, when you factor in a mortgage, maintenance, and property taxes, vs. what the market rent is for that property, the profits may only be a few hundred dollars per month. The potentially low return on investment is why many investors purchase multiple homes and hire a Charleston property management company.

How to Choose the Right Properties

There are many factors to consider when purchasing the right rental properties. Low-risk investments such as homes in good school districts and safe neighborhoods will cost more and have higher mortgage costs but are more likely to stay full and attract great tenants. While your yield will be lower, you get the safety and security of the home is likely taken care of by trusted renters.

The higher the risk, the better the reward, though, right? Low-risk homes have their advantages, but if you’re looking to make faster cash, consider lower-priced homes in the less desirable neighborhoods or homes that may need a little investment in a renovation. The mortgages, taxes, and insurance will be less while the market rent will be similar in many neighborhoods which means a better profit for you

Hiring a Charleston property management company is a great way to ensure you are investing in the right properties and getting the best return on your investments. Managing multiple properties is a huge commitment, and if you’re only making a few thousand dollars per year, it may not be worth it to play owner and landlord. Let a professional Charleston property management company help you manage your properties. You can also bank on their knowledge for investment advice!

Working with a Charleston Property Management Company

When you’re ready to partner with Charleston property management, call Scott Properties at 843-790-4929

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Charleston Property Management | Why Investors Need Property Management

Author: MediaBeast
Categories: Charlestons Property Management,Scott Properties
charleston property management

Property investors all know the obvious benefits of teaming with a Charleston property management company. These companies take most of the work off of the investor’s shoulders, which enables them to focus on expanding their portfolios. Great property managers can also be the face of your rental company and provide top-notch customer service. Another great perk is that they have a network of maintenance vendors at their disposal. Aside from these obvious great benefits of hiring a property manager, there are a few more you may not have considered before now!

  1. Better Tenants-Not only does a Charleston property management company utilize the best background and credit check software to process applications, but an established property manager will have kept detailed records of their tenant’s track records. When investors are trying to fill their single-family rental homes, having a property manager that has already worked with many people in the area and knows the families is a great idea.
  2. Marketing Services-Charleston property management teams not only handle tenant communication, leasing, and maintenance requests; they also provide valuable marketing experience for rental  homes. A local property manager will have excellent neighborhood knowledge, be able to list the property in all the most popular listing websites, and can optimize those listings. They are also on-site to be able to take photos, stage homes, and create enticing descriptions for listings that will attract potential renters
  3. Consulting-Your Charleston portfolio can expand quickly when you work with a property management company. These people are plugged into the real estate industry, trends in the communities, and can help investors find excellent properties at even better prices. Your property manager might be able to give you a heads up on investors selling off their portfolios, homes going into foreclosures, or advance sales on subdivision plots that could all make great rental homes for families in Charleston.

Partnering with property management is the best thing you can do for your investment. You’ll get a great ROI and save yourself a lot of time and money by letting professional property managers handle the day-to-day affairs of your rental business.

Contact a Charleston Property Management Company

If you’re ready to discuss hiring a professional property manager in Charleston, contact Scott Properties at 843-790-4929.

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Property Manager | Should You Let Tenants Do Their Own Landscaping?

Author: MediaBeast
Categories: Property Management,Scott Properties
Charleston Property Management

One of the best parts of living in a house is being able to plant flowers, trees, beautiful landscaping, and enjoying your backyard. While homeowners can do what they want freely with their yard space (with exceptions of city ordinances or HOA regulations), families renting their homes might not get to enjoy this perk of single-family home living. If your tenants ask you about planting a garden, adding or changing the landscaping, or upgrading the backyard, there are a few considerations you can make as a property manager before deciding.

  1. The Owner-At the end of the day, the property owner will decide what kind of landscaping or improvements/upgrades can be made to the property. As the property manager, you might just have to explain to tenants that the decision is out of your hands if owners don’t agree with what the tenant would like to do.
  2. Lease-The lease is a legally binding agreement, and the rules about gardening and landscaping or changes to the existing property may already be outlined in the lease. Making exceptions for tenants and bending the rules is frowned upon and can get you into a tricky situation when other tenants ask for exceptions to be made for them as well.
  3. Cost-One thing a property manager must keep in mind is the cost of the improvements or landscaping. While the tenant may offer to pay for and maintain the landscaping themselves, what happens when the tenant decides to move out in the future? Will they want to dig up all the plants and take them when they move, leaving a mess of dirt and holes in the yard? Is the property owner willing to have the landscaping maintained after the tenants move out?
  4. Curb Appeal-Landscaping can significantly improve curb appeal and add value to the home or attract new renters quickly. However, complicated and intricate landscaping and garden beds could be challenging to maintain or unappealing to other renters.

If you do decide to allow tenants to change or add landscaping, make sure that you are working together to come up with the best plan and design. There’s nothing wrong with limiting the tenant’s options as long as all parties are following the terms of the lease. Coming up with a plan together is a great way for a property manager to increase resident satisfaction and retention as well.

Contact a Charleston Property Manager

If you’re looking for a property manager you can trust, call Scott Properties at 843-790-4929.

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Rental Property Management in Charleston | Regular Maintenance on Rental Homes

Author: MediaBeast
Categories: Rental Property Management Charleston,Scott Properties
Property management in charleston

One of the biggest complaints that tenants in single-family homes have is that the rental property management in Charleston is slow to respond to their maintenance requests. Often, however, property managers have multiple homes to manage, owners, and maintenance crews to organize. This can leave tenants feeling unheard and unappreciated. One thing that rental property management in Charleston can do to help curb this dissatisfaction from tenants is to conduct regular property maintenance on their rental homes.

Rental Property Maintenance

Tenants rely on a rental property management in Charleston to ensure their homes are in good condition and safe. Significant problems are often unavoidable in homes and can be a massive burden for tenants, management, and owners. Still, many situations can be avoided when maintenance has been kept up on the home. Some of the routine maintenance that needs to be scheduled includes:

  • Twice per year roof inspections
  • Gutter cleaning
  • Air duct cleaning
  • Lawncare
  • Sidewalk and walkway repairs
  • Porch repairs
  • Chimney cleaning
  • Driveway repairs
  • Landscape maintenance
  • Pool maintenance

Some of these maintenance responsibilities could fall on tenants, including lawn care and landscaping duties; however, the lease should clearly define these responsibilities for the tenant and the property manager or landlord.

A great way to save time and money on routine maintenance is for owners to hire rental property management in Charleston to take care of the ins and outs of the daily landlord’s life. Many of the professional rental companies in Charleston have a trusted team of maintenance staff that can perform maintenance on a schedule as well as respond to regular maintenance requests from tenants. Utilizing a service like this is easier and more effective than having numerous vendors on hand and trying to get in contact with each of them.

Contact a Rental Property Management Company in Charleston

Let Scott Properties in Charleston manage your single-family rentals. Give us a call today at 843-790-4929.

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Property Manager | Short Term Single-Family Home Rentals

Author: MediaBeast
Categories: Scott Properties
Property Management

There is nothing worse for a property manager than having a beautiful, large, immaculate house to rent, but no tenants wanting to move or buy. During times of pandemics like COVID-19, people are slower to pack up and move, commit to new financial obligations, or want to risk spending their money on application fees and background checks. They also won’t want to go door-to-door, looking at different available homes.

When a property manager has a vacant home for rent, and a long-term leaser doesn’t seem to be appearing, you can consider short-term lease options. Lease terms can go for a month, three months, summer, school semesters, or even month to month leases. South Carolina always needs short term rentals, especially for families spending the summer on the beaches and students from fall to spring.

During times of pandemics such as Covid-19, single-family homes can also be great accommodations for traveling nurses or nurses that are coming to the city to work temporarily in Charleston hospitals. Many of these nurses, doctors, or even volunteers don’t mind sharing their accommodations if it means a more comfortable space for them and also saves them some money.

Pros of Short Term Rentals:

  • Allows rent to be collected, even when there is not a long-term renter
  • Can sometimes allow for more rent to be charged because a group of renters can be charged per person or per bedroom each month rather than one price that covers the entire property
  • Short term rentals allow flexibility for the house to have improvements or upgrades planned, or for the owner to live in the home short-term between renters if needed.

Disadvantages of Short Term Rentals:

  • Short term renters are less invested in the property and could be more likely to cause damage or not clean.
  • Short term renters often cannot be responsible for utility bills if they live in the home fewer than three to six months due to the way billing cycles work.
  • A property manager has to put forth much more effort to run a short term rental because of the marketing, showing, and application processing happens more often.

One of the best things a property manager can do is talk to the owner about their best options. Many investors have no idea about the rental market where the homes are located and rely on a knowledge property manager to let them know about market trends and community needs.

Contact a Charleston Property Manager

If you’re looking for a property manager for your Charleston investment property, call Scott Properties at 843-790-4929.