December 1, 2020 by Mulberry Maids
First time rental property owners often go into the business with the idea that owning rental property is a passive investment. They mostly focus on the rental income they hope to generate and the capital gains the property will make.
It is only after they start operating the rental that they realize just how much work goes into managing a rental home. Investing in real estate is a great way to grow your capital, but to get the most of the investment, owners have to work hard.
To keep their rental in good shape, landlords can be called on at any time to do one of the following:
- Ongoing maintenance – regular servicing of the HVAC systems, keeping common areas clean, periodic inspection of electrical and plumbing systems, roofs, and other parts of the building, landscape maintenance, and other preventative maintenance tasks.
- Repairs and emergencies – fixing unexpected breakdowns and malfunctions, some of which are emergencies and have to be handled immediately.
- Resolving tenant issues – dealing with complaints, establishing and enforcing the terms of the lease, rent collection, managing late payments and evictions.
- Marketing – inspecting vacant units, cleaning and fixing them, advertising the unit to prospective tenants, organizing walkthroughs with tenants, finalizing the lease and orienting new tenants.
- Financial, legal, and regulatory issues – managing mortgage payments, insurance, and legal fees, following government regulations, overseeing tax matters, and ensuring the rental is profitable.
Managing a rental can be so draining and time-consuming that it stops being an investment and becomes a job. Landlords may even forget that the initial reason they ventured into the business was to get an additional source of income and time freedom.
The only way rental property owners can actualize the promise of their investment as a source of passive income is to build management systems and hire employees. The owner must draw a line between their core roles in the management of the asset and peripheral roles.
Basically, landlords must determine what they should do by themselves and what they can safely let others do. They should recognize those tasks that others are better equipped to handle. Property owners must resolve what the best use of their time is.
And one of the critical areas where they should make these decisions is in how they approach the cleaning of their rental property. Landlords must ask themselves:
- How critical is cleanliness is to the success of my rental?
- Can someone else clean the property better and faster than I can?
- How does cleaning the rental by myself affect my availability for other important tasks?
If a rental owner answers these questions honestly, they will usually find that there is no reason for cleaning their rental property by themselves. That is because a professional cleaning service is equipped to do a better cleaning job than the owner ever could.
The benefits of hiring a cleaning service
What are the major reasons why rental property owners should hire a cleaning service for their rental?
1. Reduced vacancy rates and increased tenant retention
Rental property profits revolve over time, the space between when a unit becomes vacant and when it is ready for showing to prospective tenants matters. A professional cleaning service can help property owners shorten this time by deploying the same day a tenant moves out. Furthermore, cleaning services improve tenant retention by enhancing the environment of a rental and making comfortable, clean, and safe.
2. Landlords can expect to always get the same standard of cleaning
Cleaning services have established standards and processes. These processes let them detect and remove dirt and bacteria in the unreachable areas of the home where they hide. Landlords and amateur cleaners do not know of the existence of such places or how to clean them. Cleaning services have the highest standards of cleanliness; often exceeding landlord’s and tenant’s expectations.
3. Save owners money and protect the property
Cleaning services help landlords make more money by shortening vacancy cycles and improving tenant retention. Additionally, due to the standard of cleanliness they deliver, they allow landlords to charge a higher rent.
A cleaning service also helps the landlord save money by protecting the home and its contents from wear and tear. They do this when they remove ingrained dirt that accelerates the breakdown of surfaces and materials. They also do this by choosing the best cleaning products to protect surfaces.
4. Makes for more efficiency
Managing a business is about making hard choices. At any given day, there are myriad things calling for landlord’s attention; what they give their time to will either strengthen or weaken the business.
Though cleaning is critical to a rental property’s success, cleaning can be done by others. On the other hand, improving business processes is not something rental owners can delegate to others. Hiring a cleaning service gives landlords the chance to pay attention to things only they can do.
The reason to hire a cleaning service is because from the standpoint of long-term business growth, it just makes sense. Landlords who hire a cleaning service give themselves time to attend to things that will matter for the future growth of their business.