Columbus, Georgia is a hot rental market, and one of the reasons for that is our tenant base. A lot of military tenants are in town, and they’re looking for high-quality rental housing. Ft. Benning is one of the largest training bases in the United States. Thousands of soldiers spend six months or a year or longer in the area. Often, they move into town with their families.
This means there is a large pool of tenants who are responsible and well-qualified.
If you’re in the military and you’ve purchased a home in the area, we can understand why. The market is accessible in Columbus, and you can find affordable homes that also make great investment properties when you’re ready to move out of the area.
When you find yourself, as a homeowner, needing to move out of the area because new orders have arrived, you can sell your home. Or, you can rent it out. Here’s why that’s a better idea.
Hold onto an Appreciating Asset
One of the best reasons to hold your property and rent it out is that you’ll continue earning equity.
If you sell your property, you can cash out and walk away with some money. But, if you hold onto that property, you can sell it in 10 or 20 years and earn even more on it. Your tenant is paying down your mortgage while you benefit from the rising value of your investment.
Earn Consistent Rental Income
You’ll not only see the value of your property rising, you’ll also collect rent every month. This is a recurring and consistent source of income that simply requires that you keep your property occupied with great tenants.
Rents in Columbus, Georgia have risen in recent years, just like they have across the country. Depending on how you’ve financed your property, you may even earn some extra cash every month. Unlike larger metropolitan markets across the country, the rent you earn can make a big contribution towards your mortgage, taxes, insurance, and other expenses. You might even have some money left over after you’ve measured your income against your expenses.
Work with Columbus, GA Property Managers
To earn any money off your rental property, you’ll need to make sure you keep the home occupied with a high-quality tenant. You’ll need to keep up with preventative maintenance and understand all the state, federal, and local rental laws. There’s fair housing to navigate, security deposit requirements, and laws around eviction, habitability, and service animals.
Partner with a property manager so you can have the best possible leasing, management, and maintenance process. If you’re planning to rent out your property when you leave town for new military orders, you need to know that everything will run smoothly. As property managers, we have processes in place for everything from marketing to tenant screening to inspections, rent collection, and preventative maintenance.
If you’d like to talk about what comes next for your home now that you’ve received new military orders, please contact us at Bickerstaff Parham Property Management.