New Revenue Source - Manage Those Vacant Properties

There are still a lot of areas that haven't recovered and still have 12+ months of inventory sitting around. It truly is a buyer's market, but.. wait.. nobody's buying hardly (at least not at what many sellers want/need to sell for). Inventory continues to grow and sellers continue to compound their frustrations. I'm there myself. I have a house I want to sell, but it's taken such a beating in this downturn that I would just lose too much. I would rather sit on it for a while, but not without making anything.

Where I'm going with this, is there may not be many buyers out there but there are a TON of new renters. For every foreclosure property that pops up on the MLS there's a new family renting. Sad though it may be, it's true. If you have a vacant house that won't sell right now, or your client has that vacant house, help both of yourselves out and assist them in turning it into some postive cash-flow.

Some owners don't want to hassle with the troubles of renting, and that's where you could come in and help. Assumingly you are already in an office downtown with every capability in the world to help them manage their properties. Most property management companies charge 5-10% to manage a property on behalf of the owner. So for a $1000/mo rent house that's $50-$100 per month income for you and $900+ for the owner. That sure beats a sharp poke in the eye.

It's not as hard as it sounds either. Many real-estate firms are diversifying into property management because there's real money in it. 20 properties could mean $2000/mo additional monthly cash for your firm. Each state is different and this may not be the best idea for a recovering market with less inventory but I think it is worth serious consideration for those markets that are having a difficult time recovering.

--- about the author ---

Rentec Direct provides property management software free to landlords and property managers. Because of the importance of thorough screening for prospective tenants, we have integrated tenant screening directly into the software so in just a few clicks a complete and comprehensive background check including previous evictions can be done on any new tenants.