How to Get Top Dollar in Rent for Your Portland Rental Property
Today we are talking about how to get top dollar for your rental home. We have five tips that we want to share with you:
Know the Market
A large percentage of rentals are actually undervalued because the property owners don’t understand the Portland rental market. To price your property correctly, you need good comparables. As an owner, you probably don’t have the resources we do with our systems to get the most up to date comparables, but you should do the best you can. Make sure you know the area and understand what houses are renting for. Understand how condition and location impact a rental home’s price.
Rent-Ready
Your house has to be rent-ready if you want to command top dollar for rent. There have been many times that we’ve walked into a property and it’s dirty. The place needs to be extremely clean if you want a good tenant. Dirty homes do not get top dollar.
Raise Rent
Raise the rent with the market. Even if you have a great tenant in place, you want to raise the rent when the market rents increase. If you don’t, then you’ll give your tenant a shock down the road. For example, if you don’t raise your rent for three years, and then increase it $150 per month during year four of a tenancy, you will probably lose that great tenant. When you increase rent a little bit each year, you stay competitive in the market and you avoid shocking your tenant. Owners often don’t like the confrontation that comes with tenants over raising rent, and that’s one way a property manager can help you. Don’t leave money on the table because you’ll never get it back.
Maintenance
It’s essential to keep your home well maintained. No tenant is going to pay top dollar to live in a house that has things falling apart and broken. You’ll often hear tenants complain that they landlord doesn’t keep the house up or fix things that need to be repaired or replaced. If you don’t take care of the place and ensure your tenants are happy, you can’t raise rent or hold onto those tenants.
Hire a Pro
A good Portland property management company is your partner in making sure you get top dollar for your rental. We make money when you make money and we can help you earn more from your investment.
If you have any questions about how to make sure you’re getting the most from your rental property that you can, please contact us at Property Management Systems.
