Effective and persuasive communication is essential in developing and sustaining customer relationships, as it shows the customers that property managers understand their concerns.
As a homeowner who has entrusted his house to a property management company, you are entitled to regular communication from your property manager, which consists of information to help you make better financial decisions. This includes reports on laws affecting landlords, financial support programs for tenants, monthly income and expense statements, and balance sheets for your Roanoke rental property.
These reports help you understand the current value of your real estate rental investment and drive decisions that increase your ROI, such as upgrading appliances, selecting local contractors for renovation, repairs, and maintenance, and active marketing.
Hence, transparent communication between the rental owner and the manager is crucial and must be initiated by the manager. Here are a few significant aspects that your Roanoke property manager must communicate with you about your rental property.
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Weekly/Monthly Updates About Proposed Laws and Assistance Programs Affecting Landlords and Tenants
In the wake of the global pandemic, the federal government has provided millions of dollars to help sustain tenants and landlords with respect to rent payment. In addition, there are several other programs that the government has designed to offer temporary financial relief to renters and landlords in Roanoke.
For instance, if the tenant is unable to pay the rent, the landlord can take the initiative and apply for rental assistance. Most of the government programs require statements from both the tenant and the landlord to benefit from the assistance programs. These programs include essentials like gas bills, electricity bills, home energy costs, late fees, along with rent.
Your property manager should be conveying all the relevant information about these programs and initiatives that might help reduce your financial burden and increase the cash flow for your rental.
Homeowners might not always have the time to search through government data and amendment reports. At times, it can also be tough to figure out what exactly the law entails or which government assistance program can suit your situation. This is where your property manager should step in and offer advice.
For example, the two prime federal laws affecting landlords in Roanoke are the Fair Housing Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. There can be minor changes in the terms of these laws, requiring the landlord to make relevant changes in the landlord-tenant agreement.
Your property manager should keep you updated about these amendments on a weekly/monthly basis, with understandable reports and insights as to how this law will impact your investment. This will save you the time of going through all the minute details related to the laws.
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Reports for Maintenance Issues
The property agent should regularly inform the owner about all property-related maintenance issues and provide in-depth reports.
As the homeowner, you should be able to make actionable decisions related to maintenance and renovation based on insights from these reports, like the total amount being spent, recurring repair issues that can lead to potential property damage, and the resulting impact on the rental value.
This will help you choose the right kind of maintenance program for your rental. It will also be an indicator to stop you from investing in unnecessary replacements.
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Monthly Income and Expense Statement
The monthly income and expense statement describes month-to-date and year-to-date income and itemized expenditures versus your monthly/annual budget.
An income vs. expenses statement helps you plan your rental management budget based on precise information. If you are achieving your current financial goals, you can spend more on other essential things like marketing or tenant retention, by providing additional amenities or perks.
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General Ledger of Detailed Transactions
The general ledger is a descriptive record of independent transactions that add up to the total amount disclosed on the balance sheet and the income and expense statement. Therefore, every entry needs to be precise and clear.
This ledger is crucial for homeowners as it helps in collating the prime financial statements necessary to estimate the property’s profitability, liquidity, and comprehensive economic health. It is a property manager’s job to convey all the details about any rectified entries or unclear descriptions that may come under scrutiny.
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Tenant Receivables and Prepaid Reports
A tenant receivable is a collection of the tenants’ financial accounts, which consists of the tenants’ outstanding and prepaid payments.
The details related to the receivables, including unpaid rents, late fees, or damages, are included in these reports. The manager should accurately communicate and explain all the details about tenant receivables to the property owner.
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Annual Balance Sheet
The annual rental property balance sheet is a synopsis of the financial position of the asset at a given point in time. The parameters on the balance sheet include the assets, the liabilities, and the equity of the homeowner. It gives you an overview of how well your Roanoke rental property has performed over the last year, with crucial details such as,
- fair market value of your rental home
- current number of security deposits
- total balance in your property account
- the ownership distribution, and more.
With up-to-date knowledge of the Annual Balance Sheet for each of your investment properties, you will get an exact idea of your financial status and be able to make smarter, more profitable decisions.
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Increase/Decrease in Property Valuation Over Time
A real estate investment manager should maintain accurate documentation of your Roanoke property’s valuation and communicate how it is changing over time. They should help you understand if the asset valuation is increasing or decreasing and tell you the specific internal and external factors responsible for the increase or decrease in the valuation.
Furthermore, based on past housing trends, the manager should predict and communicate how the valuation will be affected in the coming future. If there is a drop in the market value of the rental, he should be able to give you exact reasons as to why that is happening and how you can reverse the downward trend.
There could be several reasons for a decrease in the rental home valuation, such as the presence of other, better-renovated/furnished properties in the neighborhood, inflation, or overpriced realty – for example, if the home isn’t located in a great area or does not have a lot of modern appliances but is priced more than its curb appeal.
The manager should be able to tell you the definite reasons for any decline at various events or different periods. This will allow you to understand the market better and make informed decisions about whether you should increase the property’s value or sell it off.
Monthly Property Management Reports
A property manager handles most of the complex and time-consuming tasks for you like advertising, screening the tenants, doing background checks, collecting the rents, undertaking the maintenance, and doing other repair work. Most times, these expenses are included in the maintenance budget that you give the property management company.
However, sometimes, urgent or additional expenses may crop up, which property managers should document in a separate property management report shared with the landlord every week.
Buying and managing an investment property is a considerable investment that requires continuous, boots-on-the-ground insights about how well the place is doing. You may have invested a chunk of your life savings into buying this unit, and you would want to make informed decisions about increasing its ROI.
Your real estate, property manager should understand what your Roanoke rental means to you and work as your partner, providing regular updates and insights about the property’s performance.
Transparent communication from the manager’s side demonstrates skills, knowledge, integrity, accountability, and inclination for helping the real estate owner become a good investor.
An experienced property management company, like Lawson Realty Group, understands all of these owner concerns. Having started as property owners ourselves, we know the importance of clear, actionable insights for making good decisions, and we proactively communicate every bit of information relevant to your Roanoke rental investment.
With over 32 years of experience in the real estate sector, we have extensive expertise in residential property sales, management, and legal aspects. We sincerely believe in keeping our clients constantly updated, with open and transparent communication. For more information about the different types of reports that you should expect from your rental management company, connect with us at Lawson Realty Group.
