If you happen to own a property, rental management is a common term you’re probably heard of. For those who have no clue what it’s about, rental management typically involves a third party (a rental management company) that takes care of the properties a property owner owns.
The tasks of maintaining the property are passed over to a rental management company. There are two types of rental management: short-term and long-term. Below, we dive deeper into the differences between the two.
Short-term rental management vs Long-term rental management
There are a few key differences between short-term rental management and long-term rental management. Here are some of the main ones you need to know about to gain a better understanding:
What is short-term rental management?
Short-term rental management involves guests who rent the properties for a short period of time (several days). The properties are located in the cities’ prime areas (also known as the hot spots).
What is long-term rental management?
Long-term rental management involves guests who rent the properties for an extended period of time (several months or years). The properties are scattered around the city but tend to be around non-tourist areas.
Why is short-term rental management better?
1. Better flexibility
In terms of flexibility, you have the freedom to rent out only specific dates. Perhaps you want to stay at the property yourself or rent it out to any relatives or family members. Since most renters are short-term, you can get to choose when you want to rent it.
2. Get protection from rental platforms
Unlike renting out to long-term renters, your property will be protected when you list them up on rental platforms such as Airbnb as guests will have specific rules to follow upon renting with you. If you encounter any problems with your guests, you can simply communicate with the rental platforms.
3. Higher ROI
Compared with long-term rentals, short-term rentals usually bring in more ROI (return on investment) in the long run. However, you have to ensure the occupancy rate is high because the idea is to get as many short-term rentals as possible to gain more profit.
Things to do before renting out your property
Now, before you start renting out your property, there are a few things to take note of which are:
1. Decide whether the property is furnished or unfurnished
You can choose to leave it unfurnished, partially furnished or fully furnished. Depending on how furnished your units are, you may set a higher rental.
2. Be familiar with the current rental rates
Take a look at your competitors (or similar properties) and notice how much they charge. You shouldn’t stay too far off from the market rental rate.
3. Decide how to manage your properties
If you have plenty of time on your hands, managing your properties will be a breeze. However, those who are always busy will find themselves struggling to maintain them. Instead, it would be much wiser to engage with a rental management company to take care of your properties for you.
4. Get to know your tenants
Identify the kind of tenants you’d like to rent out to – but don’t discriminate against them based on religion, race or colour. You can narrow it down to singles, married couples, with/without pets, and so on.
Things to do after renting out your property
1. Maintain your property
You should always keep your properties in good condition to encourage tenants to consider renting your property.
2. Keep an eye on the economy
If the economy is going downhill, you might have no choice but to increase the rental costs. Of course, you have to let the tenants know too.
3. Provide guidelines to the rental management company
If you are engaging with a rental management company, you should let them know what are some of the expenditures they should ask your permission for.
4. Maintain a good relationship with your tenants
It’s best to get on your tenant’s good side so that they will be happy renting your properties. But do keep in mind not to be overly friendly with them so that they don’t take advantage of you.
Wrapping It Up
Maintaining your rental properties shouldn’t be too hard if you hire a rental management company. If you’re looking to get someone to handle all your properties for you, consider Airhost, a reliable rental management company! They offer professional rental management services and have been in the industry for many years. Rest assured, your properties will be in good hands.