For some people who are fortunate enough to have their homeownership needs all sorted out, one way to give back to the community and also generate some revenue is to provide places for others to live. Of course, now this means that you own homes, but you're not living in those homes, and you're providing a way for others to have a place to live their lives, but without direct control of that home experience.

One way to do this is through engaging a property management service, but what exactly will this do for you if you decide to invest?

Being A Landlord

When you decide to make a home you own available to others, you'll usually be charging a monthly rate for those residents to live there. Of course, while the ideal is simply letting other people move in and collecting rent from them on a monthly basis, it isn't always going to be such a simple scenario. As the owner of that home, you still have an obligation to maintain things.

This means that you still have certain responsibilities and obligations even though you don't live there. And these obligations can—and will—take up significant amounts of time. This is especially true when home maintenance responsibilities are paired with financial and customer service obligations, such as handling resident questions or concerns, and collecting and properly organizing rent that is owed.

Handling It

Property management, for those willing to invest, transfers the considerable time and effort required for responsible residential management to a dedicated staff. Among duties taken on are tasks like:

Rent Collection

There are many different ways to collect payment, and you can't—and shouldn't—necessarily rely only on electronic means. Some people may still prefer to personally hand rent over to another person, or put it in a mail slot, or get confirmation from an office of payment reception. A property management service fills this role, being available during normal working hours to accommodate all needs.

Maintenance

If something goes wrong, especially with something like a plumbing issue or a leak, the sooner the problem can be addressed, the better. If you're already working, or worse yet, on vacation, you don't have the time or availability required to deal with a maintenance issue quickly. Even when it's not an emergency, seasonal maintenance requirements, such as getting a property ready for winter, require a lot of effort and coordination.

Property management services can excel in this area, dedicating themselves fully to a regular maintenance schedule for a residence. More importantly, however, they have the presence and agility to respond to emergency maintenance and repair needs quickly.

Customer Service

The people who pay to live in a residence are, essentially, customers. They have rights and expectations, and it requires work to satisfy these. Property management can take care of such needs, and, just as importantly, can deal with difficulties, such as if someone who lives in a residence is defaulting on payments. An experienced, professional response always leads to better outcomes when resolving such situations.

If you want to make sure you're getting the most out of your property rental investments, contact Occupancy Solutions and let us help.