Owning real estate is one of the fastest ways to dramatically increase your net worth. After all, property value only tends to rise as time goes on since less land becomes available for new housing.
Most people simply don’t have the time to manage their own properties and choose to hire a property manager. However, not everyone knows what they should look for.
Let’s take a look at what you need to keep in mind.
1. How Is Their Reputation?
As you might guess, reputation is one of the most important factors to consider when looking for a property management company. After all, working with a property manager that has a tendency to provide subpar results could make renting your property extremely difficult.
In order to gain insight into this attribute, take a bit of time to research their online reviews. You'll want to prioritize property managers who have both a high rating and a large number of total reviews.
It’s worth noting that not all reviews should be taken seriously, though. If a review seems overly positive or extremely negative, there’s a chance that these may be exaggerated.
For instance, a property management company could provide an incentive to leave a highly positive review in exchange for a discount or other form of promotion.
2. Do They Have Experience Managing Your Type of Property?
Not all property is the same, and different types of property require different forms of management.
These factors mainly come into play when commercial real estate is involved. If your prospective property manager mainly focuses on office buildings, there’s no guarantee that they will be able to effectively handle your residential properties.
This is simply due to the fact that tenants for commercial properties look for many different factors compared to those who are searching for a home.
So, be sure that you keep this in mind when looking for someone to work with. It could make a significant impact on the results that you achieve.
3. What Is Their Tenant Screening Process Like?
As a landlord, it’s essential for you to properly screen tenants before you agree to rent to them. Otherwise, you risk dealing with a large number of different consequences.
One of the most significant is disrupting the quality of life of those who live in the surrounding community.
To elaborate, let’s assume that your property manager has a relatively lax tenant screening process. This then results in you ranting to someone who has been convicted of multiple violent felonies.
While there’s no guarantee that this person will cause trouble, there’s a strong probability that they are more dangerous than the average person given their criminal history.
A similar situation could involve you renting to someone who has multiple blemishes on the renter's history. Since evicting a tenant is an arduous process, it’s best to minimize the chances of renting to someone who can’t be trusted to follow the guidelines of their lease.
4. How Available Are They?
The property manager you work with should have systems in place to accommodate tenant issues at any given time.
To clarify, imagine if someone who is renting a home from you experiences a flooded kitchen in the middle of the night due to a burst pipe. If they are unable to get in touch with someone, significant damage could occur to your property.
Additionally, this could also strain the relationship you have with your tenant.
As a landlord, it’s in your best interest to minimize vacancies on your properties. Providing an immediate response to tenant concerns can help facilitate this.
It should come as no surprise that this level of service is only achievable through a high-quality property manager.
5. How Is Their Billing Policy?
The property manager you hire should be as transparent as possible when it comes to how they bill their clients. This means they should establish everything they charge for at the beginning of your professional relationship with them.
Common expenses include leasing, maintenance, and similar responsibilities.
Not only will this give you a better idea of the total cost, but it can help prevent working with a predatory company. It’s not uncommon for shady property managers to include hidden fees within their agreements.
Be sure to ask for a list of every potential fee before you move forward.
6. How Do They Handle Vacancies?
As previously mentioned, rental vacancies essentially cause you to bleed money. So, they must be avoided at all costs.
Before you hire a property management company, inquire how they plan to fill vacancies. In fact, it’s recommended to experience the process for yourself through the eyes of a tenant.
This will provide you with insight into any factors that need to be changed. To clarify, the property manager may not perform showings as effectively as they could.
This is a situation that could easily cause you to miss out on potential renters.
Fortunately, reputable property management companies will be more than willing to illustrate how they handle situations like these.
Finding the Right Property Manager Isn’t as Difficult as It Seems
The above information will help ensure that you are able to handle this responsibility as easily as possible. From here, you’ll find the ideal property manager for your situation and gain much-needed peace of mind.
Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to get in touch with us today and see how we can help.
