As a property owner, you should create a management plan that will help you meet your obligations in a timely manner.

A thorough property management plan will address each aspect of property management, helping you avoid foreseeable mistakes or oversights. In addition, an effective plan will alleviate much of the stress involved with managing your property.

1. Property Management in San Diego Will Help You Meet Important Deadlines

You must remember to keep to a schedule to properly care for your property. For instance, the HVAC systems in your rental units should undergo tune-ups every six months. You will also have to keep up with roof inspections, pest control treatments, fire extinguisher tests, and other tasks.

When you create an established timeline with your management plan, these obligations won’t creep up on you unexpectedly. Instead, you can plan for them in advance to ensure you and your tenants are aware of the need for these services.

2. Reduce the Time It Takes to Make Repairs

When you create a plan for property management in San Diego, you should establish a policy for responding to requests for repairs. In particular, prepare for emergency repairs, such as a burst pipe or an electrical short. Your policy will ensure repair personnel are able to address the problem and resolve it expediently.

A repair response policy will also save you money in the long run. Failing to repair an issue promptly will give the problem time to worsen or spread. For example, it’s more cost-effective to repair a small roof leak than to wait six months and face the expense of replacing a larger portion of the roof.

3. Fill Vacant Units Faster

Another facet of your property management plan should revolve around filling vacancies. If you set up an evergreen vacancy announcement, you can quickly post it online and on public bulletin boards. When you start receiving applications, have a system in place for collecting financial information to run credit checks, verification of employment and in general, vetting the candidates.

An established process will help you weed out poor candidates or potential tenants who are bad risks. As a result, you should be able to fill your rental units with long-term tenants who are reliable and trustworthy.

4. Ensure More Efficient Rent Collection

An essential part of property management in San Diego is rent collection. Visiting each renter to request payment is time-consuming and can feel intrusive to your tenants. Instead, set up an easy process for submitting rental payments. Your tenants will enjoy the convenience of making online payments or being able to deposit payments directly into an account.

To address late payments, set up a simple reminder process. For example, you might create a form letter, which you can print out and address to specific tenants. This letter will save time and allow you to remind tenants of their late payments.

5. Shorten the Time It Takes to Prepare Vacant Units

When a tenant moves out, every day the unit is vacant is money that you have lost. This makes it important to prepare vacant units as efficiently as possible.

Create a checklist for your maintenance staff to run through in preparing each rental unit. The checklist should address cleaning tasks, updates, and repairs that are required before a new tenant can view the unit.

6. Keep Your Rental Property Safe and Legally Compliant

A good property management plan will help you keep safety features up to date. You’ll know when to schedule testing and evaluations for sprinkler systems, fire alarms, and other important safety equipment. This will help you ensure your tenants will be safe while living on your property.

Effective property management policies will also help you remain legally compliant — especially when you include safety checks in your plan. You’ll avoid costly fines and penalties by ensuring that your property meets local and state safety codes. As laws change, correct your property management plan to address those changes.

Review Your Plan to Make It More Effective

Don’t assume you will use your plan as it is for as long as you own your property. When new concerns present themselves, you can add them to your plan. Adjusting your plan as situations change will help you make your plan more effective and actionable.