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A To-Do List for the Slow Season

North Richland Hills Property Managers Working on a Laptop North Richland Hills rental properties keep investment property owners working throughout the entire year; nevertheless, you may see yourself available during the rental market’s slow season. Even though it may be alluring to put everything on autopilot for a moment, it may not be the best use of your time. The slow season gives an opportunity to engage in a few important but often overlooked tasks. By using your slow season properly, you can be better prepared for the busy periods and optimize the potential of your investment property.

Develop a Marketing Plan

The slow season is perfect for developing a great marketing strategy if you don’t already have one. With more effective marketing, you can easily attract great tenants and keep your rental property occupied year-round. At a minimum, your marketing strategy should include things like a great newspaper or classified ad for each property you own, knowing all the best places to post your ad online, and how to use social media to attract applicants. With your marketing prepared and ready to go, it’s one less thing you’ll have to think about when things get busy.

Ask for Online Reviews

Besides effective marketing, you must have a positive online presence. In today’s digital world, prospective renters will inspect to find out what past tenants have said about their involvement with you and your rental home. You can safeguard that what they see is positive by asking your tenants to leave you reviews online. Utilizing platforms like Google, Yelp, and social media, you can request tenants to leave feedback. Make it simple for them by sending them a link, and don’t let the fear of a bad review discourage you. People who rely on reviews understand that the occasional negative review exists and don’t allow it to influence their final decision.

Re-Work Your Budget

If it has been some time since you updated your operating budget, the slow season is the best time to do so. The rental market, just like your rental properties and tenants, is continually in motion, and your budget should be updated regularly to accommodate recent changes. In the beginning, you could go through your expense items and update any out-of-date numbers. At that time, recalculate items like your vacancy rate and capital improvements, changing the numbers when needed. Having an accurate budget can assist you in making more solid decisions about your rental properties throughout the year.

Get Your Paperwork In Shape

The slow season is also the best time to get your paperwork in order – mainly if you’ve been rescheduling some tasks, including compiling all the invoices for replacements or upgrades to the property, tax records, reconciling accounts, or auditing your books. It can be a challenge to keep up with smaller tasks like monthly bookkeeping and bank reconciliations when you’re unavailable. And then there are the important annual tasks, including tax document preparation and auditing. By using the slow season to handle activities like these, you can streamline your schedule and retain your concentration where it should be.

Plan Your Next Investment

Lastly, one of the ideal opportunities to evaluate your investment strategy and make preparations to add to your portfolio of rental homes is when circumstances are a little slow. Irrespective of whether your purpose is to hold and rent a single property for future use or to build a large, lucrative portfolio, using the slow season to establish plans is an excellent use of your time. Afterward, when things get heated, you will be likely to take those following issues with certainty.

 

If you notice that your busy schedule is causing you to overlook these and other tasks, it may be advisable to get involved with professional property managers to help. At Real Property Management 360, we perform all of the day-to-day work of owning rental properties for you, freeing up your time for more vital tasks. To learn more about the range of services we offer, contact us online.

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