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A good property manager should be able to effectively maintain and manage your rental property. It’s important to figure out if you want to outsource this critical job to a third party or not. A good property manager or company can help you keep your sanity and actually make a decent profit. Here are a few relatively easy tips to insure that you pick a good one.
The first thing to do is determine what you want the management company to do. Do you want them to handle maintenance, evictions, disputes, collect the rent, find tenants and handle repairs?
If you aren’t sure of exactly what to do you can always just ask the manager for advice. Yet, it is still important to know what you want before signing a contract.
Conduct some research on the manager you are considering. The place to begin is the company website, that is if they have one. Ask the landlords next. Attend a local landlord meeting and ask for reviews and recommendations of local property management companies. Chances are that someone at that meeting might be willing to take your property.
Interview the prospective manager and ask some of the following questions to decide if they are the right person or company for your task:
Ask if they have adequate insurance. What type of accounting do they use? How much of an understanding do they have of landlord tenant laws? What’s included in their fees? How much experience do they have in the industry? Will they do absolutely everything you need them to do to effectively complete the job?
Be aware of how much it’s going to cost, as fees associated with property management are usually determined by a number of different things including services required of the manager, the number of properties and the location of the property.
The two most common fee systems are a percentage of the rent received or a flat rate. Also, any materials or repairs will be added to the fees.
It’s smart to be clear of the base cost and any additional services included in the costs beforehand in order to avoid unexpected problems later on in the process.
Make it official by signing a contract with the property manager that outlines the duties that will be completed and the fees that will be charged to you. The document should also include the amount of time of employment for the property manager, along with a date for renewing the contract as well as contingencies for any kind of unforeseen break in that contract.