Should I Invest in Rentals Out of State?

Should I Invest in Rentals Out of State?

By Enrique Jevons

Another property management question that’s been commonly been asked by investors over the years is if they should invest in rental properties that are located out of state.

This is a great question to ask because thanks to the internet every investor has the ability to research a rental property online and learn more about the area where the rental is located without having to take the time to visit it in person.

The answer to this question is yes, you should consider investing in an out of state rental property but, you should answer these questions first before making this investment.

Do You Already Own Rental Properties in Your State?

This question is important because you don’t want to make your first rental property an out of state rental unless the rental property is a move in ready.

Why? That rental property may need renovation, and there’s nothing worse than having to manage renovations at a rental property when you’re out of state. Especially if you don’t have a property manager or team in place to help oversee those renovations.

Do You Have Experience as A Landlord?

In today’s Real Estate investment world many people think that owning an out of state rental property will be as easy as point and click but the truth is if you don’t have landlord experience already, and you plan on managing that out of state rental yourself, you may find that it will be more difficult than you imagined.

When you self-manage a rental property, you have to be ready for calls from tenants at all hours of the day (or night), maintenance requests, and other issues that will make out of state management difficult if you’re managing those rentals yourself.

Without a property management team that you can trust, managing an out of state rental will also require you to have a local vendor matrix so you will know who to call when problems arise at your rental property and you should also be able to either drive to your rental or fly out at a moment’s notice to oversee major repairs if they are needed.

Having a property management company, you can trust to manage your out of state rental will make the process of being an out of state property owner easy because you will have someone that you can trust to manage things like marketing your rental online, tenant selection and maintenance so you can continue focusing on building your portfolio of rental properties.

Make Sure You Hire a Strong Property Management Team

Regardless if you plan on investing in rental properties in Washington State, or elsewhere in the world, make sure that you hire a property management team that’s experienced with managing rental properties in the area where your rental is located.

When hiring a property manager make sure that you hire a company that has verifiable experience online. You should also find out how many rentals they currently manage, confirm their monthly fees, verify how they handle maintenance issues and make sure that they actually offer real customer service and not an automated system for dealing with their tenants.

Hire A Property Manager

Do you own rental properties in Washington State and are considering property management? Contact Jevons Property Management today by calling us at (509) 895-7777 or click here to connect with us online.

Washington State Rental Properties by Jevons Property Management

Top 5 Reasons for Using a Property Management Company

Top 5 Reasons for Using a Property Management Company

Do you own one or more rental properties and are considering hiring a property management company in Yakima but are not sure if this is the right decision for you to make or not?

You’re not alone.

Although you may be concerned about hiring a property manager we can assure you that this is the best decision for you to make especially for these reasons.

Reason #1 – A Property Management Company Will Save You Time

When you hire a professional property management company you can count on us to immediately save you time because you will no longer have to do all of the normal day-to-day tasks like tenant selection, rent collection, or maintenance that you may be doing yourself.

Reason #2 – Hiring A Property Management Company Will Save You Money

From the moment that you hire a property management company, rest assured that we will save you money each month.

Why?

You won’t have to do things like collect rent from your tenants, perform maintenance on your rental properties, or take calls from your tenants yourself.

You can count on an experienced property manager to perform those tasks for you, so you can focus on doing things that produce revenue and grow your portfolio of rental properties.

Reason #3 – The Best Tenant Sourcing and Screening

Another great reason to hire a property management company is we will provide you with the best tenant screening and sourcing possible so you can rest assured that only the most qualified tenants will be living in your rental properties.

Reason #4 – Avoid “Messy” Legal Problems

There’s no doubt that owning rental properties is an excellent way to build your investment portfolio so you can enjoy regular cash flow each month but legal problems at your rental properties can become messy very quickly.

Thankfully, with a qualified property management company managing your rental properties you can count on every aspect of the law being followed so you won’t encounter any potential legal problems or issues at your rental properties.

Reason #5 – Get the Income Balance Right at Your Rental Properties

Last of all, but most important, another important reason to hire a property manager is we will help you to get the income balance right at your rental properties by making sure that you’re charging the right amount of money that you should be really be charging your tenants each month.

Get Property Management Here

Besides all of the reasons to hire a property management company that we’ve mentioned in this article, you should hire a property manager because you will no longer hear excuses like “the check is in the mail”.

You also won’t have to be the “bad guy” ever again, and you can have confidence that someone is watching out for your rental properties so you don’t have to.

Working with a property management company means that you will have the freedom to invest in other rental markets without having to be tied down managing the rental properties that may be close to where you live.

For professional property management contact Jevons Property Management, today by calling us at (509) 895-7777 or click here to connect with us online.

www.jevonsproperties.com

Should you invest for cash flow or appreciation?

By Enrique Jevons, Real Estate Investor

Following the collapse of the Real Estate market in 2008 many people have invested money in Real Estate especially in Yakima Washington.

Over the years one of the top questions that we’ve had from investors is whether it’s important to invest for cash flow or appreciation?

In this article, we will break down the answer to if you should invest for cash flow or appreciation and what’s the difference between the two.

Investing for Cashflow 

What is cash flow? Cash flow refers to the amount of money that you are able to collect from your rental property each month. How does it work specifically? Your property management company collects the rent (gross income) from your tenant, they deposit it into your account, and you pay your expenses including insurance, mortgage, taxes, management fees, and repairs, then what’s left is your cash flow (net income). Cash flow is ideal because it’s money that you’ve earned from your Real Estate investment each month that you can also use for covering your expenses rather than paying for those expenses yourself out of pocket. The key to success when investing for cash flow is to take the time to calculate in advance what returns you can expect before you invest in a rental property. Another important thing to do when investing for cash flow is to calculate the price to rent ratio because not every area of the United States offers rental properties with good price-to-rent ratios. For example: In Los Angeles, CA many properties have high purchase prices, with lower rents, making them have a bad price to rent ratios for investors.

Investing for Appreciation 

What is appreciation? It’s the increase in the value of the rental property (or asset) over a period of time. Appreciation can occur for a variety of reasons including low mortgage interest rates, demand for Real Estate, or weakening supply. Since the Real Estate market started rebounding in Washington and across the United States it’s almost impossible for most Real Estate investors to have not seen their Real Estate investments appreciate during the last two to four years.

Investing for appreciation can offer excellent returns especially if the property you invested in is located in a state like California where Real Estate has appreciated significantly there in recent years. The key to success with investing for appreciation is all about timing because you have to know specifically where the Real Estate market is or you could face the real possibility of having to hold onto your Real Estate for a lot longer than you expected.

Cash Flow Vs. Appreciation – Which Option Is Better? 

Now that’s we’ve discussed cash flow and appreciation the big question you may have is which option is better for you? The answer to this question is it all depends on your financial goals. Investing for cash flow requires dedication because it may only bring in only a few hundred dollars per rental property each month, but those returns will add up over time while investing for appreciation can reap a big return once the property has appreciated but you have to know where and when to invest for appreciation.

Learn More 

To learn more about if you should invest for cash flow, appreciation, or to speak with us about our property management services, contact us today by calling (509) 895-7777 or connect with us online through our website.