Property Management – North Hills – Residential and Commercial Property Managers
How to Hire the Best Property Manager
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to hire a property manager that isn’t very good, can’t perform the duties and ends up losing you money. To avoid the costly error of hiring a bad property manager, read up on these mistakes landlords make when hiring a property manager.
1. Don’t go on price alone
You may think that all property managers or management companies are essentially the same and choose the one with the lowest rates. It’s hard not to base your decisions on price when it comes to your business, but it’s essential to consider a variety of factors in addition to price when it comes to the care and management of your rental property.
2. Always check references
You can get references for other property owners, as well as real estate agents. When you get a reference from someone, make sure that the other property is similar to yours in size and scope, otherwise you may be setting yourself up for failure. Also, if your property requires a certain expertise, such as being a low income housing rental unit, look for a property manager with that background and proper references for that specialized niche.
3. Ask very specific questions
It’s not enough to just ask vague questions about how they like their work. Hit them hard with specific questions that will let you know how they will treat your property and ultimately your business. Some specific questions include how they plan on dealing with after-hour emergencies, or how they plan to advertise vacancies. Other ideas include asking how they plan to control maintenance costs and what type of liability insurance do they carry to protect you and them from lawsuits.
4. Get a commitment outline
The best property manager may have several properties to manage, so get an outline of how your property or properties will fit into the current management structure. Ask how often your property will be visited in person and listen to the potential manager’s thoughts on how he or she will approach your property’s needs, from tenant screening to lease renewals and everything in between.
5. Match personality
You’ll be hearing from the property manager often enough that you want to make sure that you get along on a professional level and that you like their style of communication. It’s a mistake to think you will be turning over everything to the property manager and you’ll just go on autopilot. Instead, recognize that you’ll be working through issues large and small with this person or this company, and you need to feel like you are on the same page to start.
From: http://www.rentprep.com/
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