Property management is a complicated and fast-paced business, so it is important to find the right property manager for you and your rental. Your property manager has an extremely important task to do and that is to take good care of your investment. A potential property manager must be, having a positive attitude, be communicative, detail-oriented, organized, honest, and passionate about real estate. The following are questions to ask a property manager before hiring them.
A responsible manager does his job in the best manner by finding quality tenants to rent your property and motivating them to stay long-term by taking care of their needs, as well as the property. They face a lot of challenges but ultimately, they work for you. It’s important that they should have your back when it comes to issues with tenants, evictions, and maintenance requests.
Questions to ask a property manager before hiring them:
There are a lot of questions to ask a property manager that will help to determine whether they’re the right fit for you, your property, and your long-term goals.
What services do you offer to clients?
There are many responsibilities to manage a potential property. From finding tenants and dealing with complaints and to initiate evictions. You will hire a property management company that can handle multiple functions.
For instance, they should administer in-depth background checks, conduct inspections, and provide top-notch maintenance.
Tell about your level of experience.
You’re looking for a property manager, so it goes without saying that they should have enough experience. You wouldn’t want a property manager with little or no experience. Look for someone who has worked in the field for at least four years.
What criteria do you use to decide the rent amount?
A property manager with a lot of experience will figure out how much rent your potential property can get. There are many things to take into account. For example, to look at similar rental listings, the area’s amenities, the property’s amenities, and the value of the property.
How many and what types of properties do you manage?
You need to find your “just right” level. There should be at least 80 rental units and no more than 600.
When there are a lot of housing units, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd. Or, too few units will show how inexperienced they are. Here are the rules you should keep an eye out for.
Are you affiliated with any professional organization?
Do they belong to any local real estate association for Realtors or they belong to the National Association of Residential Property Managers? Affiliation with any of these professional real estate organizations points to a professionally run property management company.
How many staff members do you have?
Too few staff members means there’s a high likelihood of poor service. Similarly, too many means you can get lost in their sea of clients. The size of the company gives you an idea of what to expect.
What type of insurance have you availed?
Property managers need to have some type of insurance coverage. In North Carolina, property managers demand for a real estate license. Check, what your state requires and only interview potential property managers who bear such certifications.
Is there any fee for pulling out of the contract?
Some contracts cannot be escaped. You should first understand the terms before you sign on the dotted line. Some companies will be flexible while others will try to hold you captive with a contract.
Is your company privately owned or it is part of a franchise?
Most franchises are less flexible and have more worries than privately owned businesses. Also, they care less about customer service and more about how much money they make.
For example, think about the quality difference between McDonalds and your local burger joint, do you see the difference?
Can you give a few references?
Most of the time, the best way to predict the future is to look at the past. A person who wants to be a property manager will have a lot of references. You can also ask to see those for your type of property.
You can also look at their online reviews and see if there are any red flags.
What do you know about, Federal Fair Housing Rules?
The Federal Fair Housing Rules help to protect a tenant from landlord’s discrimination. For instance, a landlord cannot discriminate against a renter based on the colour of their skin, their national origin, sex, status, disability etc.
If the property manager finds difficulty in explaining these rules, look elsewhere.
What kind of properties do you manage?
You want a property manager who can manage your type of property. Each kind of property requires a specific set of skills. Managing a commercial rental property has different requirements as compared to manage a single-family home. Don’t risk it and make sure the company has experience managing your type of property.
Is there any requirement of maintenance reserve?
Property management companies want the owner to come up with a budget for maintenance and repairs. Usually, older properties require higher maintenance reserves than newer ones.
