Why is the best property manager important in the D.C. rental market? Not every property management firm can deliver the kind of property management services investors rely on to earn more long-term wealth. It's not hard to find a property manager—but if you want the most out of your investments, not just 'any' property management Washington D.C. offers will do.

How can real estate investors find the best team to manage their investment properties? Settling for the first service provider you find can leave your rental homes in disrepair—and vacant long term. Washington D.C. renters are discerning—and they won't stick around for poorly-maintained or overpriced rental properties in this competitive market. When renters leave, you lose money; this is simply a fact.

Successful investors know that deciding to hire a property manager in the Washington D.C. area is smart—but settling for anything less than the best can be an expensive mistake. What traits should you look for to discover the best D.C.-area property manager? Follow this guide from the professionals at EJF Real Estate Services! 

Expertise to Find and Manage High-Quality Renters

Expertise to Find and Manage High-Quality Renters (1)

We're not talking about merely putting any available person in your rental properties to make rent collection simple. Finding and managing the highest-quality renters requires expertise concerning the rental industry—and local D.C. experience. 

A randomly-selected renter—or one chosen to quickly fill a vacancy—could be a terrible resident for your property. When bad renters (also referred to as 'Professional Tenants' or 'Serial Squatters')move in, they cause plenty of problems, including:

  • Causing extensive property damage
  • Refusing to pay the rent on time (if they pay at all)
  • Allowing extra guests to live in your property without permission
  • Filling your D.C. rental homes with animals when the lease prohibits pets
  • Refusing to leave the property after you provide legal notices to vacate.

In some cases, bad renters leave without notice—leaving you with an abandoned rental, property damage, unpaid rent, and no way to recover these costs from your residents.

Your Property Manager Must Choose Excellent Renters

Hiring a property management company means you should be able to entrust your property assets and income to a service provider who can find the best renters. However, not all property management Washington D.C. offers can provide the same level of care when it's time to select your next resident. 

The best property manager doesn't settle for just quickly finding your next resident. That's how bad renters move in and create expensive problems for investors. Top-quality property managers:

  • Work quickly to find better prospects and screen potential renters before placing them in your rentals
  • Build positive professional relationships with renters and address their requests (including reasonable accommodations)
  • Know how to effectively and legally handle difficult residents if a seemingly great renter takes a turn for the worst.

Reducing vacancy is critical to helping investors make more money. However, achieving a shorter vacancy time is never a good excuse to relax the criteria for quality renters. When choosing a full-service property management company in the D.C. area, make sure they place a high priority on thoroughly screening all potential renters to place the best residents in your real estate investments.

Professional Maintenance and Inspections

Professional Maintenance and Inspections (1)

Getting the most out of your real estate investments isn't possible without professional-level maintenance services. If you've chosen DIY maintenance for your first D.C.-area rental property, you're probably getting by with minor fixes as-needed—but what happens when you have a significant maintenance issue? If you buy more rental properties, how will you keep up with the maintenance workload?

The D.C. rental market is extremely competitive. Real estate investors that try to save money by waiting until something breaks to repair it or by putting off much-needed upgrades will lose out on the best renters in this area. The competitive rental market demands high-quality maintenance and repair services to attract (and keep) the best residents. 

When looking for the right property management Washington D.C. offers, make sure the one you choose prioritizes rental property maintenance year-round. To maximize your profits, a property manager must:

  • Schedule routine property inspections throughout the year
  • Never delay a repair (even minor issues)
  • Provide seasonal preventative maintenance services
  • Be available 24/7 to respond to resident maintenance emergencies.

A small repair is easy to ignore or put off—until it becomes a significant issue that requires a costly solution. In many cases, Washington D.C. investors experience maintenance cost savings with a property manager that provides professional maintenance services. Catching problems before they become emergencies helps keep repair costs low. 

Plus, renters are happy and stay longer when they live in a well-maintained rental with a responsive maintenance team. Investors experience better profits with long-term residents and fewer repair expenses.

Support for Growth and Avoiding Mistakes 

Support for Growth and Avoiding Mistakes

Have you made any mistakes as a rental property owner? You're not alone. Managing a rental on your own can be a trial-by-fire effort to avoid expensive mistakes and take care of the many tasks required to generate income from real estate investments. 

If it's challenging to manage the workload to generate a profit from one property, how much harder will it be when you add more properties and grow your portfolio? Your property manager should provide the support you need when you have one property—and as you add each new property to your portfolio.

The best property management Washington D.C. offers helps you grow. When adding a new rental property can contribute a significant amount of work to your plate, an expert property manager has the processes and experience in place to seamlessly take on your new rental and help you make more money. 

We also help investors avoid common (and expensive) mistakes. Even if you've already made a few mistakes, an expert property manager can help. We can right any wrongs that are causing you to lose money, then help you build a real estate investment portfolio that adds more profit to your long-term wealth. 

Growth requires an experienced property manager who can help you find the best properties, then get them rental-ready, occupied, and generating income for you.

The Best Property Manager Is an Asset

The Best Property Manager Is an Asset

While we believe hiring a property manager is one of the best investments you can make toward your real estate investment wealth, many property owners think that adding a service is an expense. If you're concerned about the cost of a property manager, you're missing out on an asset that will boost your income (in more ways than one). 

With the best property management Washington D.C. offers working to generate more money from each property in your portfolio; you'll quickly see that the additional income far outweighs the costs of professional property management. However, that's not the only benefit to investors.

Your property manager:

  • Keeps up with the changing laws that govern the rental property industry (so you don't have to)
  • Provides a buffer between owners and renters (so you don't have to manage residents)
  • Handles every daily task involved with successful rental properties (so you can keep your free time)
  • Is a tax deduction as a professional service (so you pay less money at tax time).

Where the wrong property manager can be a liability to your long-term investment wealth, the best full-service property management company is an asset you can't afford to do without.

Make Sure It's a Hassle-Free Partnership

Working with a property manager should be a hassle-free experience for investors. If it's more work to deal with your property manager than it was to be a hands-on rental property owner, it might be time for a new property management company that is easy to work with and improves your bottom line.

Never Settle for Less Than the Best D.C. Property Manager

Never Settle for Less Than the Best D.C. Property Manager (1)

Your long-term wealth and investment properties aren't worth the risk of choosing the wrong property management company. We hope the information we've provided here is helpful as you look for the best partner to help manage the hands-on work associated with your real estate investments!