Having Trouble Managing All Of Your Properties? You Might Want to Think About Hiring a Property Management Company

f

How To Find the Best Property Management Company

Whether you own an apartment building or a small house, a property manager can be very helpful by saving you the time of frequently handling problems with your rental property, and will keep you from having to make regular site visits. This is especially beneficial if you have multiple rental properties. In these cases, your opportunity costs of hiring a property manager generally make it worth the money. But, only if you find a good one that fits your needs. If they do not have the skills, it will be more trouble than doing it yourself. Read: Tips for Hiring the Best Property Manager.

There are a many different types of property management companies. You want to be sure to find one that specializes in what type of property you have. You don’t want a residential property manager, managing your commercial property. If you choose a property manager that doesn’t specialize in your type of property, they won’t have the knowledge to deal with certain issues. Be sure to set up an appointment so that you can be sure they are experienced in your requirements. See: How to Collect Unpaid Rent from Tenants.

How to Choose the Right Property Manager
Come up with a list of skills that you want you want this property manager to possess. You want to be sure that they will provide you with the best services for the least amount of money, as you don’t want to overpay if you don’t have to. If you pay too much, you might as well deal with the property yourself. There are a number of services that you want to also be sure to include in your checklist, such as:

• Advertisement: A good management firm will do a great job advertising the vacant unit. It is crucial to choose a firm that is adamant in advertising; you don’t want your property staying vacant longer than it should be. You should be able to trust that they can rent the property faster than you could.

• Property viewings: The ways and times that they show properties will determine whether or not they will be placing stable, and quality tenants in your property. For example, if they only show properties Monday through Friday from 8-5, this will immediately cut out most working professionals with steady jobs. The firm you choose should have flexible hours, and be willing to show properties through the early evening, and on weekends.

• Tenant screening process: It is important that the firm you are interviewing does firm background checks on tenants. They should have a standard, thorough screening process to rule out problem tenants. For example, if the property you have is an apartment complex, one bad tenant could disrupt the rest of your tenants in the building.

• Collecting unpaid rent: Any legitimate firm will have a process for collecting rent from tenants that are late on their rent. If they don’t, nix them from your list find a different firm right away.

• Control of maintenance costs: One of the most important things a property manager should do is respond to maintenance issues, and charge reasonably. The number one complaint by tenants is failure to respond to repair requests, and in a timely and quality manner. Inconsistent maintenance communication is one of the biggest causes a tenant will move.

• Last minute or after hour emergencies: This is a must. Major accidents can happen in rental properties, and the firm should have a strong strategy in place as to how they handle emergencies.

• Liability insurance: This one is self-explanatory. Any good property manager will have up-to-date liability insurance. If not, run. Watch: When Should a Landlord Hire a Property Management Company?

Conclusion
Property managers can be a great asset. It is important to make sure that whatever property manager firm you go with have set processes of how they handle the common problems that come along with owning and renting out properties. Otherwise, you will be throwing money away, and losing tenants. Be diligent in your searches.

2 thoughts on “Having Trouble Managing All Of Your Properties? You Might Want to Think About Hiring a Property Management Company

  1. Can I fire my Property Management Co. that I hired about a month ago for not doing the kind of property management I expect of them? I noticed the agreement ties us up with this lousy company for one year! I didn’t know that, as they didn’t mention it to us about it at all, they just asked us to sign here and there, initial here and there, after doing a verbal presentation. Believing that the company was legit, we signed and initialed everything she asked us to sign and initial. After almost one month, she emailed me telling me she and her husband are moving, leaving her responsibilities to another property manager. In the meantime, my unit has remained vacant as if nobody really cared about managing our fourplex and guesthouse. Before continuing to lose more money in our rental business, I must fire now this property management company, despite the one-year agreement my husband and I were asked to sign. Advice?

  2. This is a common situation. You would be able to break the contract and it may be your only option, in terms of contract law, if one party breaks the contract, by nor performing you can sue them for a breach of contract, and an argument you would make is that they did not perform their part of the contract therefore it is void. You could also sue them now for damages and expenses you have incurred by their lack of performance as well.

    If you wish, you should consider having an attorney send a letter threatening legal action if they do not pay you for the expenses you have incurred due to their lack of performance of the contract, and suggest to them you will settle the matter if they break the contract.

    If you fire them, and they do try to sue you based on the remaining contract terms, you could counterclaim with a suit for expenses and lack of performance. Now, this information is based on what I have heard from others in your situation. I am not an attorney, so please be sure to consult a lawyer on this matter.

Leave a Reply to wbhnsd Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *