Need a Property Manager? Not Just Any One Will Do
Posted on: 22 November 2016
If you have rental property, you understand how much time it can take to find and keep tenants, keep the property in what would be considered habitable condition, and deal with different maintenance issues the tenants may have. If you have multiple rental properties, the problems multiply exponentially. Unless you plan on making this your full-time job, you should consider hiring a property manager to take care of things. However, you cannot just call a real estate agent and hire them for the job. You need to make sure he or she will be the right property manager for you.
Vetting Potential Tenants
You have to decide if you want to leave the choosing of the tenants entirely up to the property managers or if you want to have some say in it. It is common for property owners to let the property manager do all the hard work and then give the owners all the information and have the final say. You need to be very clear in how involved you will be. You should also find out what qualifications they require from potential tenants. You may find they are more strict or not as strict as you would like. Tell them if you have a problem with their requirements.
Property Maintenance
By law, you must maintain the property in a habitable condition. When something goes wrong or breaks, it is your responsibility to fix it. Luckily, the property managers will have contractors and technicians that will take care of the problems. You need to make sure that they contact you and get your approval before paying someone to do the work.
Dealing with Tenants
Part of the good thing about property managers is the fact they are used to dealing with tenants. They have heard all the different stories on why the rent is late and why the yard is a mess. When there is a problem, you need to be notified of what is going on. Have the managers give you any information the tenant has given them so you can make the final decision unless you want to be left out of the loop completely.
By deciding to what extent you want to be involved in the rental property and what amount of power you want the property managers to have, you can determine which agent is right for you. Some real estate companies have their policies set in stone and will not allow you to make changes to them. Make sure you know what you are getting into before signing a contract.
Share