To effectively manage rental housing, a landlord must use time efficiently. Wasting time may cost a landlord opportunities to earn maximum income from their rental investment.

Since time is a limited resource, it is helpful to apply time-saving strategies that would help one’s rental business thrive despite busy schedules. Here are three time-efficient techniques which you can apply in how you manage your rental business:

Keep Rental Rates Steady

For the same reason why you invest time carefully screening tenants or setting longer lease contracts, delaying rent increases decreases tenant turnover.

One of the reasons why tenants do not renew their lease is because they do not want to pay for an increase in rent, especially if unjustified.

This doesn’t mean that you should never increase your rent. However, you have to carefully weigh if the rent increase is necessary and reasonable before implementing it. If the rental rates in your area are not increasing but you want to increase rent to earn more, then you are opening yourself up to a risk of unit vacancy and the costly and tedious process of marketing, tenant screening, and other costs associated with filling in a vacancy.

If you do need to increase your rent, it’s better if it is gradual. A sudden hundred-dollar increase would put tenants off. A routine increase of $25 per year, on the other hand, gives your tenants more time for budget adjustments and it wouldn’t feel too overwhelming.

Go for Online Payments

Collecting checks from tenant to tenant can be very time-consuming. Sometimes you might even encounter lost or returned checks that will cost you both time and money to deal with.

Online payments are quick, easy to check, and is more convenient for your tenants.

You can also send automatic email reminders before rent is due.

Be detailed with your listing

When marketing your units, you will spend a lot fo time responding to queries from interested applicants.

For instance, when you publish a listing for your vacant unit on platforms like Padleads, then syndicate it to popular rental websites, you could get an overwhelming response from so many home hunters.

Having a highly detailed listing can save you time for two reasons:

1. You will only entice applicants whose needs perfectly match what your property can offer. For instance, if you state in your listing that you don’t allow smoking in your property, then smokers will not waste your time by sending an application.

Be aware of policies that are considered more often as deal-breakers. If those policies are non-negotiable for you, might as well be clear about it in the listing. One example is your pet policy. You may also add preferred lease terms, move-in dates, and modes of payment.

2. You will spend less time answering frequently asked questions about your property. The more details you can give them from the get-go, the fewer questions they will have when they contact you to apply.

Try not to miss out on putting the property details that home hunters are usually looking for in a rental property (location, amenities, number of rooms, appliances, furniture, nearby establishments, parking options, etc.)