You may have found and purchased an investment rental property in a neighboring city that initially seems great–low property cost, high rent, great residents, and only some minor maintenance that needs to be done. The drive is only about 45 minutes each way, and you only plan to visit about once per month. Everything looks great, so what could go wrong?
To begin with, residents do not last forever. Indeed, the average resident for a single-family residence will last a year and a half. People purchase their own homes, move for job opportunities, and other life events can result in resident turnover. Once your resident leaves, you will need to get the property cleaned and prepared for the next tenants. You can hire professionals to do this work, but at the very least, you will need to drive to your rental property to evaluate what needs to be done and then a return trip to ensure that your vendors did the work as expected. If your vendors have missed a few small things, then this may require additional trips on your part.
When your property is ready, you will need to advertise your property. Did you remember to take pictures when you inspected your vendors’ work? If not, then you will need to do another trip. Also, for each showing, you will need to make a trip. On average, it takes 7 to 15 showings to find a quality and qualified applicant. You could try to schedule multiple showings for the same day(s), but often, what works for your schedule does not work for applicants’ schedules, so you should plan on several trips.
Once you have found a solid resident, you will need to make an additional trip for the move-in process. However, residents often have several follow up requests soon after moving in, whether it be a question on how to operate the dishwasher to small maintenance requests, and so you will need to plan a handful of trips within the first few weeks after move-in.
You may feel a sigh of relief once your ideal resident resides at your property and everything goes smoothly for a few months, but then the toilet overflows. Your resident must be at work and is unable to meet the plumber, so there is another trip for you. No problems for a few more weeks, but then your resident has an altercation with a neighbor over the weekend, and there goes your Sunday. Everything goes smoothly for the next few weeks, but then a fuse blows, but your resident cannot find the fuse box, shutting off the heater in the middle of the winter…and you get a call at 3 am.
You may have felt that the 45-minute drive seemed so easy when you first purchased the property, it’s now a drain on not only your time but also the cost of gas, as well as wear and tear on your vehicle. How much is your time worth? That 45-minute drive each way for all the various aspects that you will need to take care of will add up.
Investing in real estate in a neighboring city can be a great investment with the low purchase price, high rent, and solid residents that you had initially anticipated. However, the time and cost of the day-to-day duties can turn that dream investment into a nightmare.
The professionals at Real Property Management Fairmate can help you cut your driving costs and increase your return on investment. Have you calculated the true cost of your investment rental property? Contact us online or call us at 626-691-9749 today to learn more about our services.
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