You have decided to hire a property manager to rent out the property that you have. It could be a vacation home, commercial lot or a second home that you have decided you will be better off renting or leasing than selling. Well you need to watch out, because you may be surprised to know you may be making the wrong choice.
Many property managers today are not professionals. They may have management experience, but not with your type of property; or they may take the job less than seriously; or they may farm out the task of caring for your property to another person, especially if they manage many different properties. How can you be certain that your property manager is the right one for you?
You can begin by looking out for these 7 problems that are common among property managers.
1. NO COMMUNICATION: You should ask for references from each person that you are considering as a property manager and then check with the references on their communication skills. A property manager who doesn’t contact you at the end beginning of any rental period or at least a few times throughout the year, will probably end up costing you more time and money than if you managed the property on your own.
2. LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY: Is your property manager bonded? Does he or she have a professional reputation to maintain – for instance, is he or she a licensed realtor or other real estate professional? If your new property manager has nothing to lose, then they have no incentive to manage your property well.
3. OVER-PROMISING: You need to watch out here. Most property managers will usually have a standard of things they do. Is your potential property manager making promises that are way outside what the others offer? This is not a good sign as they are promising things just to try and get the job.
4. ARE YOU A PERSON OR A NUMBER: When you use a property management company you don’t know who will be managing your property, because they don’t guarantee that a specific person will handle your account. So when you need to speak with someone you get passed back and forth from person to person and they never ask your name, it’s always your account number. You will find that it is better to have a single property manager or a company that is small with a small clientele, this way you will be sure that your property receives the attention needed.
5. LACK OF EXPERIENCE OR EXPERTISE: You should make sure to select a property manager that specialises in the type of property that you are listing. They should also have a good record when it comes to property management, both their own properties and other people’s.
6. LACK OF RESPECT FOR YOU, THE CLIENT, OR THE TENANTS: This goes along with treating you like a number, but it’s a little different. Do you get the impression that your prospective property manager will treat you with the respect you deserve? If they don’t respect you, they won’t respect your clients. One way to tell: do they allow you to ask all the questions you want, and treat each one as an important topic?
7. COMPLACENCY WITH TENANTS AND YOUR PROPERTY’S MAINTENANCE: You really want a property manager that will be not just active, but proactive, when renting your property and caring for it. Ask about their vacancy percentage and their turnover rate. Both numbers should be very low.
Always screen each of your property managers for all these issues. You need a good proactive, experienced, professional property manager who will treat your property as his or her own, keep in regular close detailed contact with you, and always treat you as a partner. In the long run, your excellent property manager will increase your rents while saving you time and stress, turning your property into a real asset instead of the liability it could be with the wrong choice of property manager.
If you want proactive Property Management now, click here to contact the specialists at In House Property Management for a no obligation quote.