17 Apr Best Practices For Managing Your Multifamily Investment through COVID-19
Are you searching for information on how to manage your multifamily investment properties in Los Angeles while COVID-19 is affecting the LA area? If so, you’ve come to the right place!
In this article, we will share with you our best practices for managing your multifamily property during COVID-19.
What Is the Best Way to Collect Rent During COVID-19?
One of the most important things that landlords in Los Angles are concerned about right now is collecting rent from their tenants during COVID-19.
Since the LA area is still under lockdown, and social distancing is a way of life, the first thing that landlords should do in the age of coronavirus is to stop collecting rent physically from their tenants.
Instead of letting their tenants pay via check each month, landlords should set up other ways for their tenants to pay their rent including setting up payment systems so they can pay their rent online.
Thankfully, in today’s world, there are a wide variety of payment systems that landlords can use to collect rent that are also very easy to set up. Some of the most common payment platforms include Zego, PayPal, Square, Venmo, and Cozy.
How Do You Show Rental Units During COVID-19?
Another BIG question that most landlords have right now is how do they continue showing rental properties during COVID-19?
This question is an understandable one to ask. The good news is that with technology there are a variety of ways that a landlord can still show a vacant property.
Although many owners are relying on video chat to show their vacant units to prospective tenants, others are utilizing more advanced technology and lock boxes so that tenants can “self-tour” their vacant units without the landlord having to be there in person.
Rently offers tools that enable landlords to self-tour vacant rental properties. All the prospective tenant has to do is go through Rently’s screening procedure which is based on criteria like pets, evictions, income and credit score.
If a prospective tenant passes all of Renty’s pre-screening questions, they will become a qualified lead and the landlord can then feel confident about letting a prospective tenant self-tour a unit in their multifamily property.
Let’s say that the rental property that the landlord wants to show is still occupied, the landlord should make arrangements with the current tenant so that they will be gone when the landlord wants to show the property to a tenant.
What if two or more tenants are interested in a property at the same time? The landlord should schedule appointments with prospective tenants at different times so that social distancing rules are followed.
How to Handle Maintenance Requests During COVID-19
Maintenance has to continue being a priority during COVID-19 but it should be prioritized so that tenants know that emergency maintenance issues like a broken water pipe will be handled first while maintenance like a yard that’s not been mowed or trimmed will be handled later.
When working with outside maintenance companies, landlords should make sure that they work with maintenance professionals that use “due diligence” to protect their employees and the tenants in the rental units that they work in.
At the very least, a maintenance company’s due diligence efforts during COVID-19 should include requiring their employees to wear facemasks when they are working inside rental units and gloves at all times because this will help to stop the spread of the virus.
Which Amenities Should Be Open or Closed During COVID-19?
If a landlord owns a multifamily property that has amenities like a pool, spa, clubhouse, tenace court or other amenities, the reality is that all “non-essential” amenities should be closed while essential amenities like on-site laundry facilities should remain open.
Before closing amenities, make sure that all tenants are notified of the closures and informed that those amenities will be reopened when the California Governor announces that non-essential businesses can reopen.
Contact MW Real Estate Group
Are you struggling with managing your multifamily property during COVID-19? If so, we can help! Our company has decades of property management experience and can provide you with the property management services that you need during today’s complicated rental market.
To learn more about the services we can offer you, contact us today by calling (213) 927-2117 or click here to connect with us online.
This document and all associated forms are for general guidance. Given the unpredictable nature of this national crisis, laws, rules and regulations are bound to change, resulting in possible omissions or inaccuracies in what we provide. This information is provided with the understanding that the association and its authors are not rendering legal, accounting, tax or other professional advice or services and should not be used as a substitute for such.