It’s no secret that real estate is a great investment and has increased in popularity over the last several years as a means to diversify portfolios. However, property owners are often caught off guard when managing a property on their own. For this reason, we want to examine the top 3 reasons why New York City rental property owners should consider hiring professional property management.
Reason #1 – Rules, regulations and laws can change. Sometimes small changes are very impactful. Take for example the Covid-19 rules and eviction moratoriums over the last 18 months. If you are not a full-time landlord, you might be delayed in getting information or understanding new rules and how to shift quickly to meet the requirements. Tenant rights can also cause issues for owners that are unaware. There are rules in place to protect tenants, ranging from security deposits to fair housing, and specific to New York City, we have rent stabilization laws that require annual filings.
A good management company stays up to date with changing rules, and often, an experienced management company will protect you from yourself in cases where you don’t know your obligations.
Reason #2 – Financing and Money. There are rules around how you handle deposits, rents, late fees, etc. Separate accounts are needed. If you are caught comingling funds, you could end up in legal and financial trouble. There are also timelines on when deposits have to be refunded to tenants and deadlines and notices that have to be given if deposits are kept or evictions take place. Finally, taxes… if you are not a financial expert, you could be missing out on important tax advantages or face tax consequences you didn’t plan for.
A good property management company has either an experienced bookkeeper or licensed CPA on staff to handle the rents, deposits, late fees, etc. They will also send out financial statements on a regular basis to help you organize your numbers for taxes, profit and loss statements, etc.
Reason #3 – Property Maintenance. It is hard to be all things to all people at all days and times even if you are a full-time landlord. Plumbing and heating issues, appliance problems, general cleaning and landscaping are all things that a good management company will schedule and complete. They have lists of preferred vendors that have been vetted for price and services. And often times, they have an online system for scheduling maintenance requests. A properly managed property will ensure the value of your investment by cost efficiency and maximizing returns.
MD Squared Property Group Advantage
At MD Squared we tailor the property management experience to the property and owner’s needs. We use state of the art technology to ensure the entire process is seamless. We couple our network of brokers and vendors with our expertise in management and proprietary software to ensure property owners are meeting their local compliance obligations as well as securing well qualified tenants and service providers in the most efficient way possible. We are different! Contact us to find out more.