If you recently became a rental real estate investor in Virginia Beach, good job, you. According to Niche.com, it's one of Virginia's best places to live and is the #1 best suburb in the Norfolk Area. And despite its many attractive qualities, its median rent remains relatively affordable ($1,568) for renters (35% of the total population).
However, for your investment property to pay off, you must first implement savvy rental property strategies.
Join us at PMI Virginia as we share real estate investing tips for VA investors like you who have just made their first rental property investment.
Complete All Necessary Repairs
Hopefully, you've had your real estate investment undergo a comprehensive property inspection before you purchased it. If so, the next step is prioritizing necessary repairs and making the property rent-ready. Start with those that could affect the rental's habitability and safety and the health of prospective tenants.
Residential plumbing leaks, which, according to the U.S. EPA, waste almost a trillion gallons of water annually, are a perfect example. They waste precious resources, cause severe water damage, and promote unhealthy mold growth. Moreover, they increase indoor humidity and reduce comfort levels.
Other examples of repairs to prioritize are:
- Electrical, heating, and air conditioning system problems
- Roof issues
- Damaged doors
- Broken windows
Stage Your Property
Staging your rental investment property in Virginia Beach involves:
- Cleaning the entire property
- Decorating and furnishing the rooms to highlight their best features
- Ensuring bathrooms are clean, sanitized, and nice-smelling
- Making the kitchen, including fixtures and appliances, sparkle
All those steps are worth it because they make it easier for potential renters to imagine themselves living in your rental. When your staged home brings positive thoughts, prospective tenants are more likely to agree to the lease term and rental agreement.
Work With Virginia Beach Property Management Experts
After staging, your property is ready for marketing and welcoming tenants. However, you should not rent to just any tenant; you must carefully select them through background checks that look into their:
- Credit history
- Employment status
- Income sources
- Rental and eviction history
- Criminal history
You should also draft clear and concise lease agreements and adhere to Virginia's fair housing laws. Then, you must enforce the lease, collect rent, perform accounting, and ensure your property stays habitable and safe with prompt and regular maintenance and repairs.
As you can see, being a property investor and landlord is a lot of work. But worry not-our full-service property management company, PMI Virginia, can handle all those tasks for you. So, if you want to earn like a landlord without doing all the hard work, consider hiring us as your property manager.
Ready to Become a Savvy Real Estate Investor?
Being a savvy real estate investor isn't just about making sound property-buying decisions. It's also about maximizing your investment's income potential, which includes making the property rent-ready, staging it beautifully, maintaining it, and finding and keeping the right tenants.
Let PMI Virginia help you with all those tasks. Our owners, Troy and Patti Robertson have been in the rental real estate business since 1993. We'll use our extensive experience and local knowledge to help your investments thrive.
Connect with us today for a free property consultation and learn how we can help you maximize your Virginia Beach rental property investment!
