For Indiana property owners, owning a rental in communities like Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, Noblesville, or Zionsville offers promising returns. But if your property isn’t delivering consistent income, it might not be performing as well as you think. An underperforming rental doesn’t always show red flags—it can quietly drain your ROI through vacancy, outdated rent, or avoidable maintenance costs.
So how do you tell the difference between a functioning property and a truly profitable one?
1. You’re Earning Less Than You Spend
The first and clearest sign: negative cash flow. When rental income doesn’t cover your mortgage, taxes, insurance, and repair costs, your property could be working against you.
💡 Learn more: Nolo’s cash flow breakdown
🔍 Common Signs Your Property May Be Falling Behind
1. You’re Seeing Negative Cash Flow
When monthly income doesn’t cover mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, and maintenance, your property isn’t performing as it should. Nolo’s guide on cash flow can help you understand the numbers behind your investment.
2. You Struggle with Vacancies
Frequent or lengthy vacancies can silently drain your yearly profits. If it takes longer than 30 days to fill a unit, it may be due to pricing, poor marketing, or lack of appeal.
3. Repairs Keep Coming Back
Ongoing maintenance is normal. But repeated calls for leaks, outages, or breakdowns point to deferred upkeep or tenant issues. Fixing the same problems repeatedly isn’t just costly—it’s a sign your management approach needs an upgrade.
4. Rent Is Below Market Value
If your rent hasn’t been adjusted in over a year, it’s likely underpriced. Even being $100/month under market value adds up to $1,200/year in lost income per unit.
đź’ˇ Estimate your pricing: Zillow Rent Estimator
5. Tenants Don’t Stay Long
High turnover means higher costs—cleaning, marketing, lost rent, and more. Happy tenants = longer leases and steadier income. Short leases might mean poor screening or lackluster service.
đź’ˇ Read more: A guide to reducing turnover
6. You’re Not Tracking Key Metrics
Owning a property is a business. If you’re not tracking performance, how will you improve it?
Top metrics to monitor:
- Occupancy rate
- Net Operating Income (NOI)
- Cash-on-cash return
- Turnover rate
- Operating expense ratio
đź’ˇ Resource: BiggerPockets KPI guide
How Geotane Helps
At Geotane Property Management, we take your property from passive to performing. Here’s how:
- Market-aligned rent pricing
- Professional marketing = fewer vacancies
- Proactive maintenance = fewer issues
- Strategic tenant screening
- Financial reports you can understand and act on
Our Service Areas
We serve rental owners throughout:
- Carmel
- Fishers
- Westfield
- Noblesville
- Zionsville
- Greater Hamilton County
Ready for a Property Performance Review?
Sometimes the smartest move is asking for a second opinion. Let our team review your property’s performance and uncover hidden potential. No pressure—just insights.
đź“© DM us or visit geotanemgt.com to get started.
