Property management can be strenuous. There are many laborious tasks involved in managing a property profitably. Issues and conflicts may need to be resolved every week. Many property managers and owners incur losses when they are not able to tackle certain problems. If you manage more than one property, the tasks get all the more difficult. However, if you are aware of the most common scenarios that arise in property management, you can set systems in place to avoid conflicts as well as losses.
In this article, you’ll find the 4 conflict scenarios in property management you wouldn’t want to experience. In addition, the article will help you discover the precautions and possible solutions for these commonly experienced conflicts.
- The Maintenance Conflict
Maintenance problems are probably the most common conflicts that you can face in property management. These problems may relate to plumbing, electrical wiring or systems, structural damage, and other premise-related issues. Any delay or ignorance, relating to the tenant’s maintenance issues, can lead to more problems. In case you fail to respond to the requests of maintenance or completely fail in maintaining the property, the conflict can escalate further. Be it a housing area or individual houses, the properties are required to be maintained regularly for the convenience of the people residing in them.
There are some systems that you can keep in place to prevent common maintenance problems from plaguing you as well as the residents. It is a great idea to set up a preventive maintenance program and an effective complaint resolution system. Hiring professional maintenance staff to attend to the required repairs can help you resolve the issues smoothly and quickly.
- The Payment Conflict
An enormous part of property management includes making sure that the tenants pay the rent in time. Payment issues are one of the most commonly found problems faced by property managers. It can be daunting to recover rent from tenants, at times. While delays in rent payments can be frustrating, missed payments can be a cause of concern for owners and property managers. As a property manager, you must make sure that tenants keep their rent payments ready on time.
You can do this, either by assigning a person in charge of collecting payments or levying late fees and penalties if the tenants fail to make timely payments. However, these methods can only work if the owner can enforce the system strictly. Alternatively, you can set up automatic payment systems and offer the tenants an option to make their rent payments online. Doing this will help you remind the tenants who might have genuinely forgotten to pay the rent and keep a track of all the payments.
- The Eviction Conflict
While managing a property, you may have to face disputes over the eviction of the property. Failure to pay the rent on time is one of the prime reasons for the need for eviction. Although eviction is the last resort for the owner, it may be necessary if the resident is, more often than not, late in paying rent. If you’re a property owner who is having difficulty evicting your tenants, hiring a rental property management company can cut your hassle and save you time. While trying to evict tenants, you must have a good understanding of the local eviction laws and remember that it is illegal to remove the tenant without the authority and permission of the court.
Keep these things in mind when you are preparing the property’s lease agreements. Failing to abide by the laws stated in your state’s Landlord-Tenant Act can invite a civil action lawsuit against you as its owner.
- The Day-To-Day Conflicts
Managing a property means you will need to deal with complaints from the tenants daily. These day-to-day conflicts may include small issues like power cuts, noisy neighbors, or even parking space problems. In addition to this, the problem may include a lack of illumination in the common spaces or the presence of potholes in the driveway.
Every complaint must be looked into and solved at the appropriate time, especially the problems that can cause potential structural damage to your property. Excessive noise or unavailability of parking space can cause a lot of nuisance for the dwellers. To avoid problems related to day-to-day conflicts, you can set up a complaint system that is streamlined to process the requests of the tenants. It will help the tenants feel heard and also make it easier for you to manage the property.
To sum up, let’s quickly go through the 4 points. Attending and resolving maintenance problems quickly and smoothly is a sign of good property management. Payment conflicts are very common and become frustrating if proper rent collection systems aren’t put in place. When it starts to seem impossible for the owner to collect the pending rent from a tenant, they may need to employ the method of eviction to curb their losses. Keep a tab on the day-to-day issues as they arise and solve them quickly, so you can avoid experiencing any conflict.
