Owning a rental property in Healdsburg or anywhere around Sonoma County’s Wine Country can be a profitable investment, even if you live outside of the County. Many of the investors we work with live in other states and even other countries.
Smart property management is even more important when you’re protecting your investment from out of state. When you’re not in the same location as your property, it’s difficult to know whether the home is in good condition and if the residents living there are taking care of it. You might worry about unreported maintenance or neighborhood nuisances.
Look for a professional Sonoma County property management company like Healdsburg Property Management, that’s local and experienced working with owners and investors who live out of the area.
Protecting the Condition of your Home
As an out-of-state investor, you want to be sure that your property will be safe from deterioration and damage. You will need to work with a management company that is set up to respond to emergencies 24 hours a day. In Sonoma County, property managers should be prepared to respond to an earthquake, fire, or any other natural disaster that could require an immediate response.
Emergencies will be rare if your property manager is proactively responding to routine and preventative maintenance. A good team of vendors will also protect your property. A Healdsburg Property Manager can present you with our plan for inspecting your property and holding tenants accountable to the lease agreement. As a remote owner, you need to know how often you can expect property condition reports with pictures.
Ultimately, you’re looking for a property manager who makes you feel like they’re taking care of the property as well as you would yourself.
Choosing Good Tenants for Your Homes in Healdsburg, Windsor or Forestville
Another part of protecting your property is identifying and placing well-qualified tenants. You want to know your management company has the skills and the systems to effectively screen all prospective tenants, within California’s strict fair housing laws.
As an owner far from your real estate investment, you won’t be able to meet potential tenants or show your property. As your rental management partner, we can:
- Facilitate convenient showings
- Offer online applications
- Conduct thorough screenings that include checking credit, verifying income, and reviewing prior rental experiences
- Discuss and sign the lease agreement once an approved tenant is identified
Talk with us about our tenant screening process so you know you’re getting residents who can be trusted to pay rent on time, take care of the property, and follow the lease terms.
Sonoma County Property Management Technology
It’s always important for property managers to communicate well with their owners, but when those owners live far away from their investments, and often in different time zones, it’s even more essential. Your Sonoma County property manager will need to facilitate easy communication so you know how your property is performing. If there’s a major problem at the home or an expensive repair that needs to be made, you’ll want to know about it, and you’ll want to respond to it.
Find a management company with a great online software system so you can log in from any place in the world and at any time to see how your property and your tenants are performing. You should have access to:
- Accounting statements
- Repair records
- Leasing documents
- Anything else you need to know
You need to have all of the information at your fingertips to know that your property is in good condition and bringing a good return on your investment.
These are a few things that long distance landlords and investors must really think about when it comes to protecting their out-of-state investments. If you have any questions or need any help with your Sonoma County rental homes, please contact us. Healdsburg Property Management manages single-family homes, duplexes, four-plexes and multi-unit properties of up to seven units throughout Sonoma County’s Wine Country, including Healdsburg, Windsor, Northern Santa Rosa, Cloverdale and Forestville.