The goal of having rental properties is to make as much money as possible from them. It can be challenging to do this, especially if you live in a competitive area where prices are constantly being driven down. However, if you are able to squeeze more money out of your rental properties than your competitors do, you increase profits and are able to use those profits to purchase more properties in the future. Here are some tips that can help you accomplish this goal.
Rent Out Parking Spots and Other Popular Amenities
Most metropolitan cities and even small towns have weeks out of the year when parking is premium because of fairs, major concerts, or other festivities. If you own properties in these areas, why not rent out parking spaces on the lawn of the property? Tell your tenants that you will cut them a portion of the profit or reduce their rent for that month. Depending on the flow of traffic, this can be a win-win for everyone.
Turn Additional Space into Rentable Storage
If you are renting out space in a multi-family building, you could turn extra space in the building into rentable storage. It’s surprising the number of people who need storage for their stuff. Since storage items do not have the same rights as people, if renters do not pay for storage, it’s easy and quick to remove the items and turn the unit over.
Use a Property Management Service
At first, it may sound counterproductive to think that by paying someone else to manage your properties you can make more money. However, property management companies take a lot of the stress and risk out of getting new tenants and streamline the cash flow of rental property investment. The biggest challenge with getting a bad attendant is that it is hard to get them to leave your property.
Property management companies are able to screen and verify tenants to make sure that you only get tenants who have a history of:
- Long-term renting
- Paying rent on time
- Not causing problems
- Not damaging property
Of course, you want to work with a good property management service that has experience with thousands of tenants. For example, property owners in Austin can compare Austin property management companies to find the right one. The work they do will ensure that you won’t spend money dealing with time-consuming discrimination lawsuits. It will also help you save money by avoiding scams.
Rent Out as Many Units as Possible
This seems like a no-brainer, but if you have empty units, you are losing money. It may be better to slightly reduce the cost of rent and get renters in the building to generate some income as opposed to leaving the units empty and having them be a financial liability. Something as simple as offering the first three months at 50 percent off may entice more renters to your building.
Install Solar Panels and Become the Utility Company
Gone are the days when electricity is governed by a government-sponsored monopoly. Electric companies are becoming more democratic in that smart power grids are allowing two-way transfers. This means that properties that have excess electricity can sell it back to the utility company.
Solar panels have been redesigned to look like normal roof tiles. This means that you can install solar roofs and become the utility company, selling energy to renters and selling excess energy to the grid. If you don’t want to put meters in every unit, just raise the rent and let the renters know that electricity is included.
Clearly, there are a number of options available that can allow you to make the most out of your rental properties. It may take a little planning and ingenuity, but it will pay dividends in the long run.