Weathering the Eviction Moratorium
Think Ahead to Life After the Pandemic
by Heather Park
Property managers and rental owners are experiencing unprecedented times. With the recent extension to the eviction mortarium, property owners and managers face more time without crucial rental income to offset costs and pay mortgages. We know it’s difficult watching cash reserves deplete without the ability to use a critical method of lease enforcement to collect past-due rent or find renters who can and will pay their rent on time.
What can you do? Compassion is critical at times like these, but when the law doesn’t allow property managers or rental owners to evict tenants for nonpayment of rent, staying afloat is challenging.
However, there are some things you can do to mitigate losses and prepare for the eventual end of the eviction moratorium. It might feel like we’ve been operating under these laws for a long time, but they are temporary, and they will end!
RentBridge works with property managers throughout the country, and we’ve seen the challenges owners and managers have faced throughout the pandemic. We’ll share some things you can do to weather the eviction moratorium and get ready for when you can once again use lease enforcement to deal with rent nonpayment and return to business-as-usual.
Use Available Resources
Rental property owners can request rental assistance on behalf of their renters to help offset mortgage and other operating expenses. The United States Treasury Department’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program helps keep families in homes by providing funds to eligible households.
These funds help offset rental income loss for landlords while the eviction moratorium remains in place. Work with your residents and the Treasury Department to access these resources.
Keep Managing Properties Well
Operating your rental properties with excellence should be a priority, no matter the extenuating circumstances. When the moratorium ends, property managers should prioritize retaining good tenants, working with tenants to get caught up on the rent, and maintaining their reputations as excellent managers in their market.
Even when a tenant can’t pay the rent due to the financial challenges of the pandemic, keeping properties well-maintained and delivering excellent service helps build positive relationships through trying times. When the moratorium ends, and you have access to eviction as a resource to enforce nonpayment of rent, you’ll benefit from an excellent track record of service despite those residents who took advantage of tough times and opted not to pay the rent.
Reduce Costs Through Optimization
Significant (and costly) property upgrades can wait until rental payments resume in full, but there are other things owners and property managers can do to reduce costs. Streamlining operations helps you become more efficient when operating with less cash flow. When business returns to “usual,” your streamlined operations continue to keep costs low to maximize cash flow and returns (and speed up your recovery).
To optimize operations, property managers should analyze workflows and consider automating routine tasks that take time away from more critical operational functions. When your team isn’t bogged down in tasks that an automated workflow can handle, your operations run more efficiently while reducing overhead costs.
Working smarter (not harder) helps property managers and rental owners survive when rental income doesn’t provide the support they depend on to cover expenses during challenging financial times.
Plan For Recovery
What will your property management company or rental property income look like after the moratorium ends? It’s time to start planning for that now as it is critical to think ahead to life after the pandemic.
Have you reduced staffing to manage cash flow for your property management company? Do you have a plan to work with tenants to start repaying past-due rent? While the moratorium might feel like it will never end, operating as though it won’t can prolong your recovery.
Property managers, if you’ve lost tenants or rental property owners through the pandemic, it’s time to think about your marketing efforts. Rebuilding your business requires more doors, but if you’ve reduced your staff, marketing your business to new property owners can feel like an overwhelming task to add to your team’s plate.
Optimization boosts the effectiveness of your property management operations, and it can also help maximize marketing efforts. With automation and the right inbound and marketing funnel strategy, property managers have tools in place to attract new leads, nurture them, and close more new business without overwhelming your pandemic-lean staff with marketing tasks.
Add More “Hands On Deck” (As You Recover)
Eventually, you’ll rebuild your cash reserves, add more doors, and have tenants who once again pay the rent on time every month. As your business recovers (and grows), it’s time to rebuild your staff. However, adding full-time, in-person team members might not be the ideal solution, given your experience of operating during a time of crisis through the pandemic.
One of the best ways to add more “hands on deck” is by hiring virtual assistants. Real estate and property management virtual assistants are becoming a valuable part of the industry, and they’re a more cost-effective way to maintain the streamlined operations you developed during the pandemic and moratorium.
Virtual assistants can handle a variety of tasks, including creating rental property listings, responding to tenants and property owners, processing leases and tenant applications, and more. Rebuilding your workforce with lower payroll costs is an excellent way to manage cash flow while delivering excellent services for rental properties.
Surround Yourself With the Right Partners
When the moratorium ends, property owners and managers will be able to proceed with removing tenants for nonpayment of rent. We know you’ve been as flexible as you can be with tenants in challenging financial situations, but the reality is that some residents will need to leave rentals when it’s legal to pursue that action.
If you are a rental property owner, make sure you have an excellent property manager and lawyer to guide you through the eviction process when it’s necessary and legal. Continue working with residents who are trying to catch up on unpaid rent but enforce the lease for renters who have taken advantage of the pandemic situation and withheld rent they could have paid.
Property managers, make sure you have the right partners to optimize operations and guide your recovering business into success as the moratorium and pandemic end. With the right support and strategies, you’ll weather the ongoing eviction moratorium and set yourself up for a faster recovery!
