A Few Things To Look For In A Property Manager
If you have invested in real estate, and have accumulated too many properties to take care of yourself, you may want to consider hiring a property manager. You may choose to have this person or company manage the places that are farthest away from you, the commercial properties or all of them. However, before you sign any agreement, there are some things you need to know and some things you will want to be sure are included in it. Here are just a few things to look for.
Written Guides
A good property management in your area will have written guides for both the property owners and the tenants. These guides will detail what is expected of everyone. It should tell you when and how often they will contact you in regards to your properties, how they screen tenants, what happens if there is a maintenance problem, what happens if there is a problem with rent being paid, and how often they will drive by or inspect the properties.
The guide for the tenants should detail what the tenants are responsible for taking care of, how to report any problems, when rent is due and how to pay it, and when and how to contact the manager. Also, if you have any restrictions you want to be placed on the property, such as pets, landscaping, or things left in the yard, they need to be put into both guides as well.
Term of Agreement
It is a good idea to ask for a short-term agreement at first. You should try out their services before signing something for a long amount of time. To make things simple, have the agreement prepared so that the first three to six months are on a trial basis. Either you or the company can give 30 days notice that the agreement will end and no one will suffer any repercussions. This way, if you decide having a property manager, or this particular one, is not working out for you, you do not have to keep them for a year or more.
However, once you find a company you enjoy working with, you may want to sign an agreement that lasts longer than the tenant leases. This way, you can be sure to have the same person dealing with the same tenants, and things will be much smoother for everyone.
Having a property management team to handle the renting out of your investment properties can save you a lot of time and headaches. However, you need to find a company that has the same property and rental ideals as you.
