If you’re thinking about managing your own rental property in Orlando, there are several things you need to consider. We always recommend that you work with a professional property management company in order to save yourself time, headaches and legal liability.
Your Time
You need to think about whether you have the time to manage all of the activities that are involved in property management. You’ll need to prepare advertising, find the most effective places to advertise, take phone calls and show the property. Once you have applicants who are interested, you’ll need to screen tenants and then prepare the lease and conduct the walk through inspection. Then, you’ll need to collect the rent every month and deal with unexpected repairs and tenant issues. Think about whether you really want to handle enforcing the lease and chasing down the unexpected non-compliance issues involving tenants. You’ll need to spend some time planning maintenance and organizing maintenance records as well as cash flow accounting.
Legal Knowledge
If you are going to manage your own rental property, you need to be up to date with the building codes and requirements. You need to understand the fair housing laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act. You also need to understand the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act and the Florida Landlord and Tenant Act. You need to know what you can and cannot do during the eviction process. If you’re not sure how to handle these things, you can find yourself in court.
Liability
Your insurance coverage has to be adequate to protect you against liability. It’s important that you know what you can allow your tenants to do and what they can’t do. You need to have the correct smoke detectors installed and a mold policy has to be included in your lease. Make sure you’re on top of pest control so you don’t have problems with bed bugs and termites. Staying up to date with habitability standards in Florida is essential.
If you don’t feel like you are prepared to handle all of these things as an independent landlord, please contact us at RentCare Property Management.
