If you're a property owner in Arlington County and are looking to rent it out... what an amazing situation to be in.
Google around for anything pertaining to Arlington County real estate and it's simply unavoidable: Our real estate market remains one of the hottest in the nation, anchored by low unemployment rates, high-paying salaries and big-time announcements that are having quite an impact on our area, like Amazon's forthcoming HQ2.
We have a lot working for us.
But beyond simply putting your place up for rent, how can you get the most bang for your buck?
With 30-plus years of serving Arlingtonians, we've seen quite a bit. Here are three keys to maximizing your rental property's profitability:
1) Examine (and examine again!) the price of your rental.
Of course, you want to find that magic number that results in an appealing price for renters and more dough in your pocket. But, there's much more to that number that you may think. How much are your property taxes? How much are the utilities you may be covering? How valuable are the amenities that you offering in comparison to comparable properties? Factor in these elements (and more!) and you may land on a totally different figure.
2) How much are you paying for insurance? Perhaps it's been 3, 5 or, heck, even 25 years since you've given your landlord insurance rate a hard look. And, if you haven't, it certainly can't hurt to ask for a few quotes to see where you stand. You may very well be paying hundreds, or even thousands, more per month than you should be (contingent on how many properties you are renting out).
3) Hire a management company. Sure, you may be reading this thinking, "of course you're going to say this... you are a management company!" Well, we've seen it time and time again: Folks spending their hard-earned time, money and resources, well beyond what would be our fees, to take care of the seemingly simplest of tasks. Your time is your money. With a trusted property management company, you can rest assured that when a crisis calls, it will be handled and you may just find you'll be saving some serious dough, too.
For more information on property management services in Arlington County, call Arlington Realty Property Management at 703-836-2525 or email mypropertymgr@gmail.com.
