Setting 2017 Goals for Your Rental Property Business

As we readily welcome 2017, the importance of setting goals rather than resolutions cannot be underestimated.

But how are goals different?

Whereas resolutions are the hope that you will achieve something, goals are the plan that will garner your success.

Today we will explore the importance of setting 2017 goals for your rental property business and some top goals you may be interested in setting for yourself so that you can have the most successful year yet.

 

Why Set Montgomery County Rental Business Goals for 2017?

Setting goals for your Montgomery County rental property business will do several things, so long as you follow through on them:

• They propel you forward. Goals are solid ways to achieve what you want.  They provide you a starting place, help you visualize a concrete endpoint, and fill in the middle with how you are going to get there.
• They break it down. Oftentimes dreams seem impossible to accomplish.  Even though you want to hit that end result and call yourself a success, your dreams can appear complex and daunting.  Goals help break your end result into easier-to-maintain milestones.  This makes moving forward with progress much easier.
• They fuel ambition. As you begin to hit each milestone (or goal) that you have set up for yourself, you become more confident in your abilities to obtain your end result.  Not only do goals hold you accountable for your actions, they provide the necessary inspiration to push forward even when things get tough and you want to give up.
• They help you understand you failures. If you fail to set a goal for yourself, and you experience failure, how can you measure that failure and truly learn from it?  Goals will show you what is working and what is not.  They will teach you where your weaknesses lie, and where your strengths shine.  They will allow you to re-evaluate your plan so that you achieve the ultimate end result.

In the end, setting goals will give you a solid path to follow on your way to accomplishing your dreams.  Whether your goal is to quit your corporate job and manage your properties full-time, fund your retirement, or simply have extra cash on-hand for extra vacations, setting property goals for 2017 will clear the way for you to achieve things you never thought possible.

 

Top Goals Any Property Owner Would Love to Achieve

Whether you self-manage your rental properties or enlist the help of Montgomery County’s best property management company, all property owners aiming for success in the rental property business should set the following goals for this upcoming year:

 

1. Befriend Those in the Real Estate Industry

Networking with those that are in the real estate, rental property, or even property management industries can be valuable to your overall success.  They have the knowledge and resources that come with experience and can teach you a thing a two about being successful in the rental property business.  What’s better, they can share with you their past failures, teach you what they learned in the process, and help you avoid making the same mistakes.

In addition, you can meet many like-minded people by joining your local landlord association.  By helping property owners with a multitude of property management related problems, you will learn from other members how to be a better property owner and how to handle your tenants more efficiently.

 

2. Get Organized

There is nothing more harmful to a business than poor organization.  Ultimately, it is your responsibility to maintain proper bookkeeping practices when it comes to your rental properties.  And, if you fail to do so efficiently, you may lose your rental property business altogether.

Legal documents relating to your Montgomery County rental properties, tenants, and expenses must be saved in a secure place.  And you must be able to access them at any given time.

Staying organized from the start will cut down on any missed paper trails, prevent loss of important documents, and will be especially helpful if you plan on building your investment property portfolio in the near future.  Every property you lease should have its own separate filing.

If this sounds like too much work for you, don’t worry.  Property management companies like Bay Management Group can handle all of your bookkeeping so you never have to worry that something is missing.

 

3. Make Tenant Screening a Priority

Unless you are lucky enough to have perfect tenants that don’t plan on leaving anytime this year, a great goal to set for yourself is to work towards achieving just that – perfect tenants.

The way to meet this goal is to make tenant screening a priority.  If you do not already have a Montgomery County property management company handling tenant screening for you, make sure to update yourself on everything related to proper screening procedures.

For instance, in addition to checking for red flags such as low income, poor references, prior evictions, and any past criminal behavior, it is crucial you do not violate any of the housing discrimination laws that are in place to protect tenants.

Here are some great tips to add into your 2017 goal of better tenant screening:

• Set high standards. Do not accept any tenant (no matter what) unless they meet standards such as earning three times the monthly rent, have solid references, zero evictions, and a clean criminal record.
• Pre-screen before a showing. Never show your rental to anyone that has not already met your initial standards.  This will help weed out the bad tenants and save you time.
• Create a thorough application. This is essential to making sure you are choosing the right tenant for your property.  It should include a multitude of questions so that you can understand what kind of tenant they are likely to be while residing in your rental.

Having a concrete tenant screening procedure in place is one of the most important foundations of your rental property business success.  And, even if you already have one, there is always room for improvement, so set out this upcoming year to make it better.

 

4. Create a Tenant Retention Plan

Besides landing the perfect tenant and placing them in your Montgomery County rental home, the next best thing is keeping them in your property long-term.  This is where a retention plan comes into play.

Sometimes, the best way to retain a good tenant is to offer them incentives such as cash, gifts, rent discounts, utility payments, and property upgrades.  In addition, fostering sincere relationships with your tenants and addressing their needs (such as maintenance requests) will help to encourage them to want to stay.

The important takeaway here is that you should have a list of ways in which you plan to keep your tenants in your property for the duration of their lease agreement, and beyond.

 

5. Employ a Property Management Company

If you have not already done so, one of the biggest goals you should set out to achieve in 2017 is the employment of a high quality Montgomery County property management company such as Bay Management Group.  Here are just some of the reasons why:

• Experience and knowledge about the rental property industry
• Bookkeeping services that are transparent and legally compliant
• Strict and thorough tenant screening procedures
• Exceptional customer service for property owners and tenants

With a property management company on-hand to help you with all things property-related, not only can you achieve success with little effort thanks to their experience, but your time is also freed up to pursue other goals you have set out for yourself.

 

So, contact Bay Management Group today and share your 2017 rental property goals with us.  We will be able to answer all of your questions and get you on your way to the most successful year you have ever had.