10 Ways to Spring Clean Your Real Estate Business

When the weather warms up, it’s a good time to clean out the nooks and crannies, and not just your closets. Every year, you should take a step back, evaluate your processes, take care of your business “housekeeping,” and set new goals.

You just did your taxes, so getting organized for next year is paramount. If you want to use this opportunity to refresh your real estate business, we’ve put together a checklist of items to address in your spring cleaning efforts, along with tips from two real estate investment advisors.

10 Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Real Estate Business

Organize and digitize your files

If you want tax season to go smoothly next year, you can’t keep your business documents piled up on your bedside table. Consider setting up a digital system to keep yourself organized. “I would definitely use cloud-based bookkeeping software with automatic expense categorization,” says Riley Nielsen, Strategic Real Estate Investment Advisor at Real Estate Bees. At the very least, digitize your records and receipts with a mobile app like Genius Scan and separate documents into folders where they’ll be easier to locate.

De-clutter your office and email inbox

Consider using powerful spam-blocking software like Edison to clean out your email inbox, says Nielsen. And give your physical space a little TLC, too. Too much clutter can increase anxiety, decrease focus and productivity, and even negatively impact your health. research shows,

Schedule spring maintenance for your properties

“Do maintenance checks on your properties to address any repairs or issues that may arise during the winter. This can help keep your properties in good condition and reduce future repair costs,” Armstead Jones, Strategic Real Estate Investment Advisor says housecashin, For example, you need:

• Inspects roofs, chimneys, foundations, and exteriors
• Inspect Attics and Basements
• clean gutters
• Clean and Service A/C Units and Furnaces
• reseal exterior woodwork
• wash windows and clean weep holes
• Trim Landscaping Overgrowth and Rake Lawn
• Replace batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
• Plug any leaks and clear clogged drains

Reevaluate Your Business Expenses

This is a good time to think about your business expenses and see if there are ways you can cut costs. For example, you need:

• Get new landlord insurance quotes: Premiums may change, and new companies may emerge that offer better options, so it’s a good idea to collect a few new landlord insurance quotes annually.
• See where you’re keeping your cash: Be sure to take advantage of today’s generous APY offers on high-yield savings accounts, so you can maintain a strong cash position while growing your money. Some online financial institutions are offering 4.00% APY or more.
• Consider a new business credit card: It’s a good idea to evaluate new business credit cards every two years. See if you can earn bonuses or get better rewards or features with your current business credit card. If you’re working on remodeling, repairs or furnishing a new property, take advantage of the deferred interest offers on some business credit cards.
• Look for ways to reduce your expenses: These may include working with your CPA on a new tax strategy, refinancing a mortgage with higher interest rates, appealing your assessment when property taxes increase, or increasing the energy efficiency of your properties.

Explore new sources of income and maximize your income

Take another look at the rental compass for your area and consider increasing the rent at lease renewal. Or, consider whether you can change your income strategy for your existing assets.

For example, if more digital nomads are coming to your city than ever before, would it be beneficial to switch from a long-term to medium-term strategy once your current tenants leave? Similarly, if you’re facing a lot of competition and high vacancy rates on Airbnb, might a long-term, furnished rental serve you better? If you’ve added a kitchenette with a separate basement entrance to a property, can you rent it as two units? can you redeem it co-living tendency And rent each bedroom of the single-family home separately?

Explore a variety of ways to invest your profits as well as use your skills to create new revenue streams. If you are an experienced investor, can you take on consulting work or provide advice to others in the industry? Keep an eye on the possibilities.

Evaluate and examine your business relationships

Consider whether the people you work with are living up to your expectations. See if you need new property managers, maintenance people or cleaning crews. If you are not happy with your real estate agent, consider looking for a new one. investor friendly agent, And examine the business relationships you want to keep.

Nielsen says you should meet with your CPA twice per year. “They can control the trajectory of your business so you don’t have any surprises come tax season,” he says. You’ll also want to make sure your attorney and accountant are on the same page. He also recommends meeting with your board of advisors, even if you have an LLC. If your business doesn’t have other decision makers, “it can expose your assets to a lot of risk,” Nielsen says.

set goals for the year

consider your strategy So that you can set (and crush) your goals. Jones recommends setting “Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound (SMART) goals for the year.” Then, break your goals down into more manageable chunks. “I try to break down my goals into 90 days at a time,” says Nielsen. “If you set small goals in a short period of time, it helps you stay motivated.”

Refresh your brand image and marketing strategy

“Review your marketing strategies and brand image to make sure they align with your current business goals and target audience,” says Jones. “Consider updating your website, social media and marketing materials to reflect any changes.” Also, update your blog content and optimize your website for search engines. And make sure your listings are still accurate and highlight your property’s benefits. Nielsen says this is a good time to scour your email list of inactive and temporary emails, which can reduce your marketing costs.

research new opportunities

Jones recommends keeping an eye out for new investment opportunities in the market. “This may include participating industry conference, networking with other professionals, and researching market trends and emerging neighborhoods. you can also see Boot Camp And webinar To address the gaps in knowledge that prevent you from maximizing your success. As you network with other professionals, keep track of your communications with customer relationship management (CRM) software to help you stay organized and reduce your liabilities, Nielsen suggests.

If you’re evaluating new markets, especially as an out-of-state investor, take sales activity into account. ramps in spring, Nielsen advises. Instead of comparing the new spring market to your current winter market, look to the previous year’s metrics when evaluating new opportunities.

refine your processes

Evaluate your current processes, and look for areas where you can improve your efficiency, for example with automation or digital tools. If you want to free up more time for yourself (or just enjoy the warmer days) to take advantage of new opportunities, consider hiring or outsourcing some of your current tasks. Jones also suggests using project management software. This can be especially helpful if you manage multiple properties and want to track lease agreements or assign responsibilities to team members and keep everyone on the same page.

ground level

We’ve all seen what can happen to physical space when you let things slide—those dusty piles of clutter can get in the way of productive work. The same can happen with your mindset, processes, and goals.

Whether you set New Year’s resolutions or wait until spring to deep-clean your business practices, you should set aside some time each year to get organized, make sure your strategies align with your goals, and eliminate unnecessary time. And eliminate the cost of funds, maintain your assets and check in with other members of your team. Spring cleaning your real estate business now will allow you to enjoy unabated growth in the future.

Note by BiggerPockets: These are the views expressed by the author and do not necessarily represent the views of BigPockets.