Investing in buy-and-hold properties in Des Moines is an excellent way to build out a diversified investment portfolio, fund your retirement, and help you provide a dreamy lifestyle for your family.
Yet, as an investor and landlord, you will certainly face challenges.
One of the largest challenges will be to keep your units filled with high-quality tenants that will pay their rent on time, won’t cause problems, and will stay for a long time.
Here are some long-proven strategies you can implement to overcome that common hurdle and make the most out of your Des Moines investment properties.
Advertising Your Investment Property
Your rate of occupancy is going to be one of your biggest concerns as a buy-and-hold property owner. Obviously, in order to keep your rentals full, you’re going to need a solid advertising game plan in place. I suggest having professional photos taken of the unit or units at their best and having a professional description written. From there, you will want to get the property as much exposure as you can across all of the appropriate online platforms including social media, apartments.com, and Craigslist.
The Value Of Background Checks
The last thing you want in your life as a landlord is an eviction battle. Not only are they time-consuming and costly, but they are also one headache after another that can drive you to want to give up on your investment altogether. Putting all of your potential renters through a background check is a smart and simple way of mitigating the risk of dealing with an eviction down the line. For a nominal fee, you can learn about an applicant’s criminal and rental history along with their credit score to make sure that you’re putting your property in the hands of the right people.
The Role Of Applications & Fees
Again, asking every potential tenant to submit an application is a great way to flush out the bad apples. I suggest that you ask for their employer’s information so that you can verify their income, as well as, a few references you can verify. Want to improve your pool of applicants even more? Tack on an application fee so that you won’t waste your time on people that aren’t seriously interested or don’t think they will pass through your approval process. You can also use that fee to cover any costs of approval like the background check.
The Benefits Of Hiring A Property Manager
If you plan on making your Des Moines investment property your full-time job or only want one property, you can probably manage to do all of this yourself. However, if you don’t want to be bothered or want the help and assurance of a professional, I strongly urge you to hire a property manager. A property manager will tackle all of the day-to-day maintenance of the property and fight like hell to keep the property filled with the most desirable tenants because it's in their best interest as much as it is yours. In general, this will only cost you between 9-13% of what you charge for rent and nearly everyone that uses a property manager loves the convenience.
Need Help Finding Des Moines Investment Properties With The Best ROI?
I’m glad that you have seen the light and realized that there is no time like the present to start building your portfolio of lucrative Des Moines investment properties.
However, not all investments, strategies, or properties are created equally.
That is why it is so important that you reach out to me so we can work together to build an investment strategy that makes the most sense for your unique circumstances.