Property Management – Calabasas
Calabasas Property Management
Property Management Outside Your Comfort Zone
One of the most frequent complaints I here from property owners who don’t live in the same area as their properties is how hard it is for them to find a trustworthy, dependable property manager. “Why is so difficult?” I usually reply. The owners often answer that it’s been there experience that when the property management firm knows you’re not local (and especially if they’re from out-of-state) they don’t give them the same level of service.
This may be true, and if it is than this is really a sad commentary. But the bright side is that if it is the rule and not the exception, and you’re an honest, reliable property manager, there are hundreds of clients who need you. How are these distressed and discouraged residential single or multi-family rental property owners going to find you? If they’re not fortunate enough to be referred to you, then they need a media that will help them to discover you.
An ad, an email, a banner, a great website that clearly and professionally says, “If You Own Rental Property in Phoenix (or whatever city your business resides) and You Want Dependable Service We’re Here for you” is imperative. Most landlords and residential rental property owners have an easier time finding a mortgage, a refinance, or more potential rentals to buy than finding a property manager who keeps their word.
If that statement isn’t true than leave me a comment that proves otherwise. Unfortunately too many owners have had the experience of an apartment building owner I’ll call Sam. Sam bought the right building in a good area in Spokane, Washington. He and his wife worked hard to do most of the repairs and update work that the multi-building apartment complex needed.
They lived two states away, so they needed to find a property management company to work with the residents and look after Sam and his wife’s best interests. They interviewed about 5 companies and chose one that said those famous last words, “Don’t worry about a thing, I’m the kind of property manager that won’t let you down.”
One of Sam’s fears based on past experience was that prospective residents wouldn’t be screened thoroughly, including both a credit history and a criminal background report. “Not too worry, Sam, we’re very thorough and we’ll screen prospective residents completely”, he was promised.
Six months later Sam’s worst nightmares became his reality. He noticed that vacancy rates were increasing and filling those vacancies was taking longer than the previous owner’s had experienced. Without notice, Sam and his wife flew to Spokane and showed up at his building unannounced. With his master key he opened the doors to several vacant apartments. What he saw almost made him faint.
Every one of them was completely trashed! Fixtures had been stolen and the internal damage to most of the vacant apartments was extensive. When they confronted the property manager he made a list of excuses, but he couldn’t prove that he’d used the best screening methods or a program with a built-intenant screening software.
As you might imagine Sam and his wife were furious. This led to a long and costly legal battle that also included negative publicity about the property management company in the local newspaper. After firing the property manager, Sam placed ads in the local paper and on Craig’s List clearly stating the kind of property management they were looking for.
Fortunately a property owner who saw one of the ads and felt sorry for Sam contacted him and referred him to the property manager she used. The moral of this story is: If you want to grow your property management business you may want to advertise outside of your local region.
You may also need some professional help with marketing your business by improving your web presence and making sure your website speaks to your excellence and integrity. Live up to your word and remember the wise advice that it’s better to “Under promise and over deliver!”
Make sure you ask your existing clients if they’ll give testimonials, referrals and recommendations. Have some of them on your impressive website. Your reputation may be your most important asset when it comes to the property management business. Insure that yours is the very best possible, and then spread the word!
