Develop a Marketing Plan
The slow season is ideal for building a great marketing strategy if you don’t currently have one. With more effective marketing, you can quickly attract good tenants and keep your rental property occupied year-round. At the very least, your marketing strategy must contain things like an excellent newspaper or classified ad for each property you own, knowing all the top places to post your ad online, and how to handle social media to attract applicants. With your marketing prepared and ready to go, it’s one less thing you’ll have to bother with when things get busy.
Ask for Online Reviews
In addition to effective marketing, you should have a positive online presence. In today’s digital world, prospective renters will look up what past tenants have said about their stay with you and your rental home. You can ensure that what they find is positive by asking your tenants to leave you reviews online. Through platforms like Google, Yelp, and social media, you can encourage tenants to leave feedback. Make it simple for them by sending them a link, and don’t let the fear of a bad review stop you. People who rely on reviews understand that the occasional bad review exists and don’t let it influence their final decision.
Re-Work Your Budget
If you haven’t updated your operating budget for some time, the slow season is a great time to do so. The rental market, just like your rental properties and tenants, is always changing, and your budget should be updated on a regular basis to reflect recent changes. At first, you could go through your expense items and update any out-of-date numbers. Secondly, recalculate things such as your vacancy rate and capital improvements, updating the numbers when needed. Having an accurate budget can assist you in making more informed decisions about your rental properties throughout the year.
Get Your Paperwork In Shape
The slow season is also an excellent time to get your paperwork in order – mostly if you’ve been delaying a few tasks, such as collecting all the invoices for replacements or upgrades to the property, tax records, reconciling accounts, or auditing your books. It can be tough to keep up with smaller tasks like monthly bookkeeping and bank reconciliations when your schedule is hectic. And then there are the important annual tasks, including tax document preparation and auditing. Using the slow season to do these things can streamline your schedule and keep your attention where it belongs.
Plan Your Next Investment
In conclusion, one of the good chances to evaluate your investment strategy and make plans to develop your portfolio of rental homes is when situations are a bit slow. Whether your intention is to hold and rent a single property for future use or to build a large, lucrative portfolio, making preparations during the slow season is an excellent use of your time. Then when things escalate, you’ll be able to take the following moves without a doubt.
If you think that your busy schedule is causing you to overlook these and other tasks, it may be necessary to engage with professional property managers to help. At Real Property Management Vanguard, we handle most of the day-to-day work of owning rental properties for you, freeing up your time for more important things. To learn more about the range of services we offer, contact us online.