How to Manage a Rental Property

Appfolio Websites • January 26, 2021

source:  Apartments.com


Becoming a landlord begins with buying property and is followed by tasks such as learning the laws, determining the cost of rent, and advertising your rental property. But what about managing your property? Being familiar with every aspect of your business is crucial to becoming a successful landlord, and a major part of that business is knowing how to manage your rental property. Whether you plan to manage your own property or hire a professional property manager, it’s important that you know how to manage tenants, maintain your property, and manage your finances.

DIY Management vs. Hiring a Property Manager

Being both the owner and manager of a property is known as DIY (do it yourself) management. As the landlord (owner) of your property, you will simultaneously manage tenants and maintain the property without any assistance from a professional property manager. Although property management is a job all its own and hiring a property manager is a terrific option, it’s entirely achievable to manage your own property. There are pros and cons to each situation:

Pros of DIY management

  • You’ll save money by not paying property management fees
  • You’ll have control over every aspect of the property
  • You can screen and select the right tenant yourself

Pros of hiring a property manager

  • They will make your life easier and lessen your stress when it comes to managing tenants and maintaining your property
  • They can help you get optimal return on your investment due to their knowledge of the rental market
  • Property managers may be better equipped for dealing with tenants, especially in sticky situations such as late rent payments

Cons of DIY management

  • Managing your own property takes a significant amount of time and effort
  • You may not be as up to date on local real estate laws as a professional property manager
  • You may not have a list of reliable, professional contacts for contractors, inspectors, landscapers, or a maintenance team

Cons of hiring a property manager

  • A property manager may be overwhelmed due to managing more than just your property and therefore not manage it as well as you would like
  • The property manager may be dishonest about how much they are charging for rent and maintenance, pocketing some of the extra funds themselves
  • Hiring a property manager may lessen your rental income due to property management fees

If the property you own is out of state, it may be in your best interest to have a property manager in the same location as your property. However, it is possible to own and manage the property from afar, as long as you make yourself available to tenants when they have questions or maintenance requests. If you are managing the property remotely, be sure to have professional, reliable contacts for various repairs that may arise with your property.

Managing Tenants

One of the most important aspects of managing a rental property, whether you’re doing it yourself or hiring a professional, is the ability to properly manage tenants. This includes:

Screening applicants and approving applications

Many issues can arise during a lease term, including property damage, late rent payments, or even an eviction. The best way to avoid any negative scenarios is to properly screen tenants. Tenant screenings should include a full background check, which pulls a tenant’s credit, rental history, employment history, and criminal history.

Scheduling move-ins and move-outs

Managing your tenants involves creating a legal lease document signed by both parties that states the tenant’s move-in and move-out dates. Knowing the exact date the tenant will be leaving the property (if they don’t renew their lease) allows you time to advertise your property as available so that you may find a new tenant. A manager will also deal with scheduling move-in and move-out inspections.

Keeping tenant turnover low

Although managing tenants doesn’t always end in long-term tenants or renewed leases, it’s important to make a tenant’s stay comfortable and pleasant. Having tenants renew their leases means less time spent advertising your property, screening new tenants, and scheduling move-ins and move-outs. Attracting long-term tenants and reducing tenant turnover is a great way to receive positive reviews and lessen your workload. 

Handling maintenance requests

The property manager will handle all maintenance requests. Whether your property is lined up with a professional maintenance team specially for your property or you hire outside vendors to get the work done, the property manager will schedule repairs based off of maintenance requests from tenants. Maintenance also refers to weekly, monthly, seasonal, and yearly tasks that are required by your state and local laws.

Maintaining Your Property

First and foremost, the property you own and manage must be habitable. To avoid any legal issues with tenants, it’s in the best interest of you, your tenants, your property, and your finances to maintain the property properly. Maintaining your property includes both interior and exterior features:

  • Regularly mow the lawn (if applicable) and maintain landscaping
  • Pest control (bi-weekly or monthly)
  • Check that fire extinguishers are up to code (yearly)
  • Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors (yearly)
  • Clean the gutters (especially during the fall)
  • Inspect the roof for potential damage after storms
  • Trim tree limbs that hover over power lines, vehicles, or other structures
  • Check unit for water damage and leaks (once or twice a year)
  • Check for mold in bathrooms and kitchens (once or twice a year)
  • Change air filters (once or twice a year)
  • Flush your water heater (yearly)

Although we’ve provided an estimate of how often these maintenance tasks should be completed, how often you are required to do each of these items is dependent upon your state laws. Check your local laws on maintaining your rental property so you can create a timeline for yourself of what needs to be done and when. Keeping your property and everything in it in great shape is the best way to reduce tenant turnover.

Although there are requirements to keep a property habitable, you may also find that you want to upgrade your property every few years. Installing new flooring, appliances, fixtures, countertops, and windows are great options if you are interested in increasing the value of your rental property and your rental income. 

Financial Management

It’s crucial to have your finances in order as a landlord and property manager. The financial and accounting responsibilities of landlords/managers may include:

  • Researching and setting the cost of rent
  • Collecting rent, move-in fees, and late fees
  • Researching and communicating rent increases with tenants
  • Handling security deposits
  • Dealing with the cost of property damages
  • Filing taxes and taking account of all property expenses

Documents to keep on hand

Managing a property is more than approving a tenant and collecting rent each month, so if you intend to practice DIY property management, it’s important that you prepare yourself for the task at hand. Owning and managing properties requires a lot of paperwork as well. To stay organized, you can simplify the process by keeping the most important rental documents stored in a safe place (along with digital copies). These include:

  • The signed move-in/move-out checklist by both tenant and landlord/property manager
  • Rental applications
  • Tenant emergency contacts
  • Lease agreements
  • Addendums to the lease agreement
  • Property mortgage and improvements
  • Utility providers
  • Lease renewal letter template
  • Move-out letter

As a landlord, you have an important decision ahead of you: choosing to self-manage your property or hire a third party (a professional property manager). If you believe that you are the best person to manage tenants, maintain the property, and manage the finances, then hiring a professional property manager won’t be necessary. However, if you feel that the workload will overwhelm you and you’re not interested in taking it on as a full-time job, then hiring a pro is the best next step to ensure that everything is handled efficiently. If you need assistance with screening tenants, collecting rent, and lease signings, remember that Apartments.com Rental Tools are here for you!


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Are Home Prices Dropping? Here’s the Real Story.

By KCM • March 15, 2026
Are Home Prices Dropping? Here’s the Real Story. You’ve probably seen posts on social media talking about how “home prices are falling.” And when you see something like that, it’s normal to wonder: Is this the start of a crash? What does this mean for my house? Let’s clear this up right away. This is not a crash. And your home is not suddenly losing a lot of value. The National Story – Prices Are Still Going Up Here’s what often gets left out of what you’re seeing online. While some markets are experiencing slight declines, they’re the minority. Most places are still seeing prices rise or at the very least, hold steady. That’s why, at the national level, home prices are still rising, just at a slower pace. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR): “Home prices continued to rise in the fourth quarter of 2025. National median prices rose 1.2% year over year to $414,900.” That’s not the rapid growth of a few years ago, but it’s not a downturn either. And just to really drive this home, here’s a look at the data from NAR at a regional level, so you can see that the negative narrative spun up online isn’t the whole truth (see graph below): Home prices are up (or at least holding steady) in the Northeast, Midwest, and South. The West has seen some small declines in certain markets, but “small” is the key word. There is no wave of falling prices across the country. Instead, there are just a few pockets adjusting after several years of what’s typically considered unsustainable or exponential growth. Yes, Some Markets Have Come Down, But Look at the Bigger Picture. Okay, but what about the places where prices have declined? According to ResiClub and Zillow, that’s not a cause for major concern. When you zoom out and look at those same markets over the past five years, the story changes (see graph below): In the areas with recent declines, home values are still significantly higher than they were just five years ago. That’s a direct reflection of how much home values have gone up. Online chatter tends to shine a spotlight on the few areas that are down. But the bigger picture shows most homeowners are still in a very strong position. Of course, every market, and every home, is different. But broadly speaking, home values are holding steady. And this isn’t a sign of widespread trouble in the market. Bottom Line Despite what you may be seeing online, home prices are rising or holding steady in most parts of the country. If you’re curious what your home is worth today, let’s take a look at the numbers together. Because context, and local expertise, matter more than what you’re seeing online.

The Hidden Advantage Repeat Buyers Have Right Now

By KCM • March 13, 2026
The Hidden Advantage Repeat Buyers Have Right Now What if you didn’t have a mortgage payment on your next house? It may sound a little unrealistic. But for a number of homeowners, it’s actually doable. Nearly 3 in 10 homes purchased today are bought in cash , according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That’s far more than the pre-pandemic norm (see graph below): So, how are so many buyers pulling that off? The answer is simple: home equity . Back in 2020-2021, mortgage rates and the number of homes for sale were both at all-time lows. And that combination pushed home prices up, fast. If you owned a home during that time, it likely gained significant value – maybe even enough to buy your next house in cash . NAR explains : “. . . rising home equity has armed many existing homeowners with the financial leverage to make cash offers , allowing them to convert years of price appreciation into immediate purchasing power.” Here’s why you may want to go that route yourself, if you have enough equity to do it. 1. Your Offer Becomes More Attractive Sellers value certainty. And an all-cash offer removes one of the biggest unknowns in a transaction: financing. As Rocket Mortgage explains: “ Cash offers are attractive to sellers. Sellers often prefer to work with cash buyers if they can because they don’t have to worry about a buyer’s financing falling through at the last minute.” In many markets, an all-cash offer can give you a serious edge. 2. You Can Close Faster And since you don't have to worry about underwriting, lender approvals, and loan processing, the time it takes to close shrinks. Cotality puts it this way: “Cash buyers have always enjoyed an edge over borrowers. They remove financing risk, reduce delays, and often close in days rather than weeks .” If the owner of the house you're buying is already under contract on their next home or they just need to move fast (like for a new job), that speed is a real draw. 3. You Won't Have Monthly Mortgage Payments When you buy in cash, you don’t have to finance your purchase. That means you don’t have to worry about what today’s mortgage rates are and you own the house outright from the day you close. And that’s a big deal. No mortgage. No monthly payment. Full ownership. That financial freedom opens the door for other big lifestyle benefits. Zillow explains: “Paying in cash means you own your home outright. This eliminates the need for monthly mortgage payments, freeing up your finances for other priorities like savings, travel, or home improvements.” 4. You May Get a Better Deal And here’s one more thing that surprises a lot of homeowners: cash buyers often pay less for the house. According to Cotality, all-cash buyers tend to spend roughly 9% less on the house than buyers who use a mortgage. That’s because some sellers are willing to accept lower offers to get a deal done quickly, with more certainty of closing, and fewer financing hoops to jump through. As Cotality explains: “From a seller’s point of view, a lower but reliable offer can feel preferable to a higher one that may collapse weeks later.” And that advantage grows with each passing year (see graph below): Is an All-Cash Move Realistic for You? Not every homeowner will buy their next house outright in cash. And that’s okay. But the bigger takeaway is this: the equity you’ve built may give you more options than you think. Whether that means downsizing and eliminating a mortgage entirely, or just relocating with stronger negotiating power, your current house may be what makes it possible. Bottom Line Before assuming you’ll need another traditional mortgage, it’s worth asking one simple question: How much equity do you really have? Because the answer might change what you thought your next move could look like. Curious what your home equity could do for you? Let’s run the numbers and see what kind of buying power you’re really sitting on.

How Your Equity Could Help Younger Generations Buy a Home

By KCM • March 11, 2026
How Your Equity Could Help Younger Generations Buy a Home For a lot of parents or grandparents, watching a family member struggle to buy their first home right now is hard. That's because you saw firsthand how homeownership gave your life more stability and helped grow your net worth – and you want your loved ones to have those same opportunities. But with all the affordability challenges in recent years, that can feel like an uphill battle – even though it’s slowly improving lately. Here’s what you may not realize. You may be in a unique position to help (thanks to the equity in your current house). The Equity Advantage You May Not Be Thinking About You’ve likely owned your home for years, maybe even decades. And during that time, two things happened: Home values rose Your mortgage balance shrank (or you paid it off entirely) That combination has created substantial equity for many homeowners like you. And while you may think of that equity as something you want to have in your pocket for retirement, it can also serve another purpose: helping the next generation clear the biggest hurdle in their way. The #1 Thing Holding Young Buyers Back When John Burns Research & Consulting (JBREC) asked renters what’s keeping them from buying, the top answer wasn’t mortgage rates or home prices. It was the upfront cost, particularly saving enough for their down payment (see graph below): That’s where you may be able to make more of a difference than you realize. You can’t control rates or prices. But you may be able to use your equity to help with this upfront expense. And giving money to your loved one so they buy a home doesn’t mean putting your own future at risk. Even a small portion of your equity can put them in a position to finally get the keys to their first place – and, if you’re strategic about it, you’d still have a lot leftover for when you retire. With an estimated $68 and $84 trillion of wealth expected to transfer from older generations to younger ones over the next two decades, many families are already thinking differently about when and how that wealth will be passed down. Maybe it makes sense for your family to think about too. Help from Loved Ones Is Making a Move Possible for Many First-Time Buyers A growing share of young buyers are using gifts and loans from their loved ones to springboard into homeownership. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), nearly 1 in 5 first-time buyers use a cash gift from their family or loved ones for their down payment. And other young buyers are using their inheritance or a loan from someone they know to finally break into the market (see charts below): This Is About Opportunity, Not Obligation Every family’s situation is different, and your decision should be made carefully. It’s just that, if you’ve built up a lot of equity, you may have more room to help than you think. It’s not just a financial gift. It’s giving stability, security, and a foundation that could change their lives for the better – especially at a time when they may not be able to do it on their own. Bottom Line If you’re curious what your home equity could make possible, for you or for your loved ones, let’s start with a simple conversation. Because sometimes the most meaningful investment you can make is for the next generation.
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