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Driving Costs and Your New Hampshire Rental Property

A woman in a face mask getting out of a car in the driveway of a rental property**Updated May 25, 2021.

You may have found and purchased an investment rental property in a neighboring city in New Hampshire that initially seems great – low property cost, high rent, great residents, and only some minor maintenance that needs to be done. The drive is only about 45 minutes each way, and you only plan to visit about once per month. Everything looks great, so what could go wrong?

How Driving Costs Add Up

The number of trips you made to your New Hampshire rental property, and the resulting driving costs, can add up quicker than you may originally think. To begin with, residents do not last forever. Indeed, the average resident for a single-family residence will last a year and a half. People purchase their own homes, move for job opportunities, and other life events can result in a resident turnover. Once your resident leaves, you will need to get the property cleaned and prepared for the next tenants. You can hire professionals to do this work, but you will need to drive to your rental property to evaluate the work. If your vendors have missed a few small things, then this may require additional trips on your part.

Once your property is ready, you will need to advertise your property. Did you remember to take pictures when you inspected your vendors’ work? If not, then you will need to make another trip. Also, for each property showing, you will need to make a trip. On average, it takes 7 to 15 showings to find a qualified applicant. Often what works for your schedule does not work for applicants’ schedules, so you should plan on several trips.

Once you have found a solid resident, you will need to make an additional trip for the move-in process. However, residents often have several follow-up requests soon after moving in, whether it be a question on how to operate the dishwasher too small maintenance requests. So you will need to plan a handful of trips within the first few weeks after move-in.

There are many unexpected reasons you may need to visit your rental home; this is the nature of the job concerning property management. Although that 45-minute drive seemed so easy when you first purchased the property, it’s now a drain on not only your time but also the cost of gas, as well as wear and tear on your vehicle. How much is your time worth? That 45-minute drive each way for all the various aspects you will need to take care of will add up.

Purchasing a property in a neighboring city can be a great investment with the low purchase price, high rent, and solid residents that you had initially anticipated. However, the time and cost of the day-to-day duties can turn that dream investment into a nightmare.

When you partner with Real Property Management Seacoast New Hampshire, you can rest assured that you will cut driving costs and save money in the long run. We will show your investment property to potential residents, screen applicants, handle the move-in, deal with resident emergencies, and 3 am phone calls and attend to maintenance issues.

Have you calculated the true cost of your New Hampshire investment rental property? Contact us online or call us at 603-343-2202 today for more information about our services.

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