One of the benefits of having your own business as a property owner is having the flexibility to have the long-term income necessary to manage your lifestyle goals and needs. That includes everything from taking vacations to spending time with loved ones as often as you can. However, that can often be hard to realize as a solo investor managing a portfolio of even a few properties. Your single-family homes and multi-family rental units aren’t going to run themselves!

Couple on a beach

Thankfully, with a NoVA property management team to help you, that’s not a problem. You already know from experience that if you don’t hire a team, there’s a lot to do to properly manage your property on an ongoing basis. This can make it challenging to step away for even a moment—especially if you handle your own maintenance and repairs!

If you want to take a vacation as a property owner, you’re going to need an extra pair of hands and an extra set of eyes on your Northern Virginia investment properties at all times. After all, you never know when a renter will call with a maintenance issue!

What You Have to Do to Take a Vacation

Tackling maintenance requests for your rental properties while you’re away can be a challenge for multiple reasons. Though every situation is unique, it’s often the case that you’ll need to be available to your renters whenever there is a problem to provide the customer service they expect from renting. If you have more than one property, that increases the likelihood of needing to find help—or that you’ll have to be the one who’s readily available to handle any concern that pops up.

Understandably, you can see how this might impede your freedom to hit the open road with your family if you choose to manage your property independently. When you opt for the DIY life when it comes to the Northern Virginia rental market, you’ll be the one responsible for meeting your renter’s needs from the road.

Instead of making real estate investing a breeze with a NoVA property management company like Renters Warehouse, you’ll be on the hook for 24/7 renter care to ensure they’re safe and comfortable in your investment properties.

Find Someone to Be Accessible 24/7

If you cannot be available to your renters, it becomes necessary to have someone who can be there. You may need a fill-in you can trust to be there to answer all renter questions and to manage any property issues that can occur. You may have a family member or a friend with experience that can help—but do you really feel comfortable leaving your valuable assets in the hands of a friend?

Handshake isolated in office

If you make this decision, consider:

It’s the very last factor that tends to trip up most property owners when it comes to leaving their investment properties in the hands of another party—and it’s just another reason to trust the experienced NoVA property management team here at Renters Warehouse.

However, if you choose not to go the professional route, then you need to prep your volunteer for what comes next.

Communicate All Necessary Information

A key part of preparing for a vacation is ensuring you don’t get called on a frequent basis while you’re enjoying your time away. To experience that kind of freedom, you need to provide your replacement with all of the information they need.

The following are some of the must-haves property owners should provide when planning to leave the care of their rentals to another.

Renter Information

Vendor Details

Your Contact Information

Financial Details

If your temporary replacement is handling rent collection, instruct them on how to manage this process. If you have a specific way of going about this, let them know the steps they need to take, if any. If your rent collection is automated via an owner portal, they may not need to worry about this process at all.

Let Your Renters Know What’s Happening

What happens if there are emergency maintenance issues, and your renter doesn’t know you’re not in town? It’s critical to provide your renters with some information before you leave, including:

You don’t have to tell them where you are going. Most often, you don’t have to provide them with any contact information for you. Rather, be sure they have the contact information for the person or company who will be acting in your stead.

Property Management Services Make It Easy

There’s a lot to think about—and plan for—if you decide to take time away from your business. Yet, you can do so more efficiently (and without taking all of these steps) by already working with a skilled NoVA property management company!

You’ll find it’s possible to live your life without having to worry about the day-to-day management of your portfolio with the help of our Rent Estate™ Advisors. We can help you keep your investment properties properly running even while you’re enjoying a trip—whether that’s a weekend away once in a while or every weekend.