Absentee Landlord Advice: Common Mistakes to Avoid in Palm Coast, FL

Florida is one of the most popular states for people from outside its borders. About 43% of Florida residents hail from other states. Many property owners on our sunny shores don’t even live here at all. If you’re an absentee landlord trying to manage a rental from afar, you might be wondering how best to run your property without being here.

It’s hard enough trying to stay in touch with what your renters want, let alone managing day-to-day operations remotely. There is a stigma that absentee landlords will be less capable because they can’t show up physically to their properties. This stems from some common pitfalls that property owners fall into. But there are ways to avoid them and successfully manage your rental property long-distance. 

Evernest Property Management has been around the Palm Coast enough to understand the common pains landlords run into here. Here’s the 411 on the mistakes you should avoid as an absentee landlord.

1. Neglecting Regular Property Inspections

One way to allow your property’s value and quality to slip over time is failing to perform regular property inspections. This is an easy mistake for absentee landlords as they’re not there to regularly make the inspections themselves. As a result, inspections happen very rarely when the property owner does make an appearance if they happen at all.

Property inspections are important to be done on a schedule for several reasons. They catch maintenance problems that tenants might not be aware of before they get worse. They make sure tenants aren’t damaging the property. They also allow for proactive maintenance. Even if you don’t live where your rental is, you should still conduct routine inspections through an outside company or a property manager.

2. Ignoring Tenant Relations and Communication

Out of sight out of mind is the outlook of many absentee landlords. Once a good tenant has signed a lease, it’s easy to think the hard part is over and income is secured. So tenants then get the experience of slow response times or being ignored altogether. On the contrary, the real work towards long-term profitability is keeping those good tenants. 

Your tenants should always feel like they have an avenue of communication with a representative of the property. Ensuring their contentment will lead to more resigned leases, better reputation for your rental, and more stable income for you. Never leave your tenants to fend for themselves once they move into your home.

3. Overlooking Legal and Regulatory Obligations

If a property doesn’t have your full attention, you might overlook the Florida legal guidelines that have to be followed in rental practice. This is even more true if you live in a state other than Florida. But overstepping legal boundaries even accidentally will impact your income, your reputation, and your property in major ways.

For instance, if you fail to meet certain standards of livability as dictated by Florida law, your tenant is now free to refuse to pay rent should they decide. They can even break lease early, leading to you dealing with an unexpected vacancy. You can also run into unnecessary legal fees if you aren't able to handle the problem in a reasonable timeframe remotely.

4. Underestimating Financial Planning and Budgeting

Many absentee landlords consider property investment to be a source of passive income. Because of this, they can allow the financial planning of the investment to fall to the wayside and assume that they can simply sit back and collect rent. These kinds of absentee landlords will often struggle to make significant gains on their investment.

The rental landscape is always changing in every state. Staying on top of it through rental analysis keeps your rental rates where they should be. You always have to actively budget for expenses and emergencies on the property. Despite rental income being passive, managing a property is an active job to maximize your profits and minimize your costs.

5. Failing to Plan for Property Emergencies

Speaking of emergencies, when they happen on a rental property they can be highly challenging for an absentee landlord to respond to. When a pipe bursts or a fire starts, are you going to be readily available to handle it? Even if you are, keeping your tenants calm and minimizing damage is going to be stressful when you can’t get there at a moment's notice.

When you can’t be there as the landlord when an emergency strikes, you have to have a plan in place for safety’s sake. Have a dedicated emergency line for your tenants to contact. Then have a plan in place for them to get out safely, as well as local contacts who can be dispatched to handle the situation quickly. 

6. Not Having Local Property Management

The biggest mistake you can make with your long-distance rental is not having a trusted, local property manager to represent you. All of the mistakes we have mentioned can be personally handled by hiring a property manager. It will also make your tenants feel more comfortable having a local team to support them and communicate with them.

Choosing the right property manager is the key to being successful as an absentee landlord. Especially if you’re not as familiar with the city. Make sure you properly vet your choice for a property manager and don’t just rush into a decision. You need someone who knows Palm Coast properties and will improve upon tenant relations.

Remote Property Management Success with Everest

Everest Property management is the premier property manager for absentee landlords all along the Palm Coast. From St. Augustine to Daytona, and the city of Palm Coast itself, we help Florida absentee landlords of all types of properties. Our full-service property management services will cover everything your rental needs with the local knowledge to take the worries off of your mind.

Landlords with a property manager make 10-15% more money on average. To start investing smarter in real estate, partner with Everest today.

Learn more here about all of the services we can offer you as an investor.