I was referred to Dawna by a mutual friend when I started looking for my dream retirement beach house in Cayucos. Our journey together took three years with lots of looking and discussions to finally find me the perfect house. I can't thank Dawna and her amazing Executive Assistant Jodi for all of their patience, helpfulness and hard work on my quest to find the perfect home. Both Dawna and Jodi made me feel like they had all of the time in the world for me when I called with questions or concerns. Dawna is always cheerful and such a pleasure to work with. She is very responsive and extremely knowledgeable about the central coast. I highly recommend Davies Company Real Estate for all of your real estate needs. I wouldn't hesitate to use Dawna again and I did.... I used Dawna to sell my Paso Robles home after I purchased my new home. I once again found both Dawna and Jodi to be extremely professional and knowledgeable about the market. Dawna did a wonderful job of marketing my house and went above and beyond until it sold.
1. Determine if you (owner) want to manage property: Landlords get calls at night, on holidays, and at other inconvenient times. Decide if you like working directly with tenants. If this is an experience you seek, get educated ASAP about property management in the state where you plan to own property. This is an expensive career if you intend to learn-as-you-go. Meet with real estate attorneys, look up real estate education websites, ask your local association of REALTORS® etc.
2. Determine if you want to hire a property manager: If you intend to hire a property manager, evaluate property management options in the neighborhood of the property. Be sure to check unconventional sources for referrals like landlord-tenant law attorneys, local CraigsList postings, Yelp reviews, and even opinions from moving companies.
3. Plan your rent increases in advance and stick to your plan (i.e. yearly). One of the easiest ways for a multifamily property to perform as expected is to consistently keep rents at market prices. This is also one of the easiest ways to increase and maintain your property value. Keep in mind that there may be state or local rent controls in place that may impact the amount/timing of your increases.
4. Don't be tempted to keep rents low: Maintaining less-than-market rents to keep tenants from complaining rarely works. In our experience, quality tenants will pay fair market rents for a clean well-maintained property and respectful treatment by a property manager/owner. In fact, expect 35-40% of your rental income to go towards property expenses and if you do not have enough income, the property may not have enough income to be properly maintained.
5. Keep all documents up to date: Update your applications, leases, and communication forms for current laws. Civil code sections have changed many times over the past century, but some forms currently in use by some landlords appear to be from the 1950s. Remember: just because it is on the internet, does not mean that the document is current. Take the time to look up your state’s Civil Code sections that pertain to landlord-tenant law, and consult periodically with legal advisors to review your documentation.