Are you stuck abroad and looking to let out your property? Instead, you could be looking to invest in your retirement home somewhere far away that’s hot, sunny, and exotic. Managing a property can be daunting at the best of times but you don’t have to worry about exceptional property management in Abbotsford. Remote property management is highly efficient these days so you don’t have to limit your geography.
Advantages of Building a Property Portfolio
With so much uncertainty these days, people aren’t so confident about banks or their pension plans. That’s why many are looking to the markets as well as property for long-term investment solutions.
In fact, there are many advantages to owning one or more properties:
- Rental cash flow
- Appreciation
- Potential tax breaks
Rental cash flow
There’s a difference between owning a fully paid property versus one where the rental income doesn’t cover the mortgage or operational costs. Assuming you have a fully owned property then you can enjoy a steady rental cash flow. Of course, you have to take into account the cost of property management in Abbotsford as well as any HomeOwners Association costs.
Appreciation
Everyone knows that there are housing market crashes but overall, property value tends to appreciate with time. The trick is to not have to rely on your property for quick cash. Chances are you’ll need to sell during tough times. So, make sure you have enough with all your other savings and investments to survive whatever crash comes along.
Potential tax breaks
Depending on where your property is located there are various ways to get tax breaks. For example, many countries have lower corporate tax rates. This means that you can set up a company through which you own your property. That way, you benefit from corporate rates.
Becoming a Remote Landlord
Before you jump into becoming a remote landlord, here’s how property management in Abbotsford can support you:
- Work with vetted full-service property management in Abbotsford
- Understand maintenance and repair providers
- Leverage digital technology
- Vet your tenants
- Regular communication
- Solid tenancy and management contracts
- Understand the local market
- Portered buildings
- Be flexible
- Diversify
Work with vetted full-service property management in Abbotsford
Many owners choose to work with property managers. This is partly because of the complexities of property law and also because they don’t want the hassle of dealing with tenants themselves. Moreover, managing repair vendors remotely can become a challenge especially if you don’t already have a strong local network.
Before choosing your property management in Abbotsford, you’ll need to verify that they are reputable and experienced. First, check that they are licensed with the BCFSA, or British Columbia Financial Services Association, as required by law. Secondly, it’s good practice to ask for recommendations and to review past experience for which type of property.
Understand maintenance and repair providers
If you want to manage the property yourself, you’ll have to get to know the right vendors that suit your price-quality criteria. Perhaps you’ve lived in the area for some time already and you know these vendors well?
If not, you’ll have to stay up to date with online research and recommendations. You can also leverage your network of friends, neighbours, and colleagues to get their up-to-date recommendations.
Leverage digital technology
These days, technology makes doing anything remotely not only possible but also effective. It’s the same for property management in Abbotsford. Depending on what you need, various software companies provide end-to-end cloud solutions with portals that both your tenants and vendors can access. This makes managing all the various processes much easier and it keeps everything transparent for everyone.
Imagine being able to let someone into your property remotely because they’ve signed up to your chosen app that generates unique access codes? Moreover, you can manage the heating and cooling remotely so that it’s optimised for cost and efficient usage.
Vet your tenants
The biggest challenge for remote landlords is vetting tenants. In most cases, you don’t get the chance to meet them, let alone know anything about their backgrounds. That’s why there are now software solution companies that provide you with the information you need.
You can expect these companies to do a full background and credit check. Of course, this doesn’t remove all risk but it does mitigate a huge amount. Even property management in Abbotsford is using this new tool regardless of how strong their network of potential tenants is.
Regular communication
Communication is key for any relationship and partnership. Whether you work with property management in Abbotsford or manage the property yourself, it’s good to check in with your tenants regularly. They’ll feel supported and you’ll get an idea of how they’re looking after your property.
Don’t forget though that the best property management in Abbotsford will do regular property visits to check that everything is working properly. They then report back on how well your property is being looked after which is always reassuring for remote landlords.
Solid tenancy and management contract
It goes without saying that you need proper agreements and contracts in place with your tenants and property managers. You should either hire a good property lawyer or work with reputable property management in Abbotsford that can do this for you.
Having solid paperwork in place makes any disputes easier to resolve later down the line. The law will also support you should you ever need to evict your tenant.
Understand the local market
Staying up to date on what’s happening on the ground helps you get new tenants when you need them. It also means that you know who the best vendors are because these things can and do change.
Actually, this part of the work is usually why people hire property management in Abbotsford. Most people don’t have the time, expertise, or inclination to know the ins and outs of the property market in the local area.
On-site building manager
You get another level of reassurance if you can invest in buildings with onsite management. Essentially, porters become another part of the team overseeing your property. They know exactly what’s happening day and night and you can ask them to report to you any issues.
Even tenants appreciate them because they know that they can access the landlord more easily through the porters. Of course, it isn’t always easy to get portered buildings but it’s worth bearing in mind. Either way, property management in Abbotsford also works closely with porters.
Be flexible
Whatever happens, try to be as flexible and adaptable as possible as a landlord. It won’t always be easy but property management in Abbotsford does have the inside track to what’s happening on the ground.
If they tell you to lower your rental price, you should understand the reasons but also trust them that they know what they’re doing. They’ll also advise you on how to replace broken appliances which again might not always match your expectations. Simply remember that they understand local requirements and that remote landlords lose touch very quickly.
Diversify
Last but not least, it’s always a good idea to get more than one property in a different area if you can. This will help you mitigate any risk of one area crashing. Nevertheless, it isn’t just your property portfolio that you should try to diversify but your whole investment portfolio. This includes pensions, various funds, and saving schemes.
Remote Property Management in Abbotsford
It isn’t just landlords who can be remote but also property managers. That means that when you find your perfect property management in Abbotsford, you can still ask them to manage any other properties you might have abroad.
Obviously, they’ll have to convince you that they can understand the local markets of the properties you own. Nevertheless, technology these days allows for a very efficient process:
- Oversee a connected team
- Market properties with digital tours
- Remote tenant screening
- Digital payments and reporting
- Follow local competition
Oversee a connected team
The first question for property management in Abbotsford is how are they going to connect with local vendors and tenants. There are many online portals and information sources but how knowledgeable are they about all this?
Moreover, how will they communicate with your tenants? Is there a process already in place for online checkups and conference calls? Another point to check is if they manage flexible working hours for their teams globally to cater to different time zones.
Market properties with digital tours
Property management in Abbotsford should be comfortable with virtual staging and conducting virtual tours for prospective tenants. It’s also important that they have the necessary digital tours to enable digital payments and reporting.
Remote tenant screening
Another revolutionary tool is being able to vet tenants remotely. As mentioned, online software companies can now do full background and credit checks to make sure that tenants can actually pay rent.
Another feature is for property management in Abbotsford to check in with your tenants remotely so that the tenants can give them an online tour. This is a great way to ensure that everything is as it should be without unnecessary damage.
Final Thoughts on Working Remotely with Property Management in Abbotsford
Managing any property remotely can follow an effective process with the right team and digital tools. Exceptional property management in Abbotsford will take this one step further by partnering with you and tailoring their service to your needs. They’ll communicate as often or as little as you need and can make executive decisions on your behalf when it comes to repairs. Either way, find a team you trust and you can focus on your life abroad.