In 2017 Buildium and All Property Management administered the annual Property Owners Perspectives Survey to nearly 700 property owners in order to gauge interests and desires related to ownership of property; the results were consistent with the first survey – showcasing the types of property owners and their perspectives on managing real estate.
Types
of Property Owners
In the Survey, property owners were split into two categories: In tentional and Accidental Investors (the Accidental Landlords category was added in the 2018 iteration of the survey – please contact us for a copy of those results). Intentional Investors are individuals who typically acquire between 2 and 40 properties as a vehicle to better their retirement. On the other hand, Accidental Investors own a couple properties due to circumstance (say inheritance or divorce) and typically do not plan to expand their portfolios – unlike unintentional investors who plan to continue investing.
Key
Findings
As identified by the first iteration of the survey, maintenance and tenant management continued to be the two biggest stressors. 61% cited maintenance, repairs and replacement as the primary stressor, 52% cited dealing with problem tenants, and 49% cited filling vacancies.
Stress
Free Tenants
The next two most popular responses were both tenant related; good tenants equal less stress. The top three qualities of a tenant that a landlord looks for are: 1. Tenant is Responsible (54%) 2. Good Credit (39%) and finally, 3. Cleanliness (34%).
Property
Management
According to the survey, 50% of property owners self-manage their properties, 41% hire a property manager, and 9% are thinking about hiring a property manager. The primary motivators to hire a Property manager are: maintenance and emergencies (60%), day-to-day management issues (52%), and finally finding tenants – along with not wanting to think about the property – are tied for the third at (34%).
Property ownership can be very lucrative, and a good property manager can minimize the challenges associated with ownership. If you are looking to invest in real estate, or you fall under the Accidental Investor category and need some help, give us a call at (916) 930-0001, or visit our website for more valuable information.
This post was co-authored by Pawel Ryzinski.