Once you have invested in your own rental property, it is possible that you will not have enough time or expertise to attend to the various management and maintenance tasks. A good solution would be to hire the services of a reliable property management firm.
Here are a few questions that you should ask them before deciding on a final team:
#1: Is the Management Team Strong?
The efficiency of a management team is of utmost importance when you hire a property management company. A number of issues can arise that are not particularly ideal, and a property management company should be able to handle these at any time. Some property management firms start as a side venture for real estate firms and can have a smaller staff. Make sure you can rely on this team for servicing you and your tenants, even if there is a shortage of staff due to any reason (sick, leaves).
#2: What are Their Rental Business Strategies?
Have a meeting with the property manager to discuss how they manage rental business. Since some companies stem from a branching of real estate firms, their property management teams can tend to have less experienced staff in rental management. Make sure that the employees on their team are experienced and reliable enough and have the knowledge base on rental business strategies.
#3: How Involved is the CEO?
Since most property management firms also function as real estate firms, you tend to see CEO’s attending to the sales department more than the property management department because it is a higher profit area. Hiring a firm where the CEO appears to be involved with property management is a good idea since this shows the dedication of the firm.
#4: What are their Client Screening Criteria?
This deserves extensive research since it is one of most important things your property management company handles. You do not want your property manager to hand over the keys to your property to any random tenant. A good property management firm will have reliable customer service and will personally screen prospective clients to choose the best tenants.
#5: Number of Properties Managed by the Firm
Make sure you know how many properties your property manager is dealing with. If a property manager has 200 or more properties to manage, they may have too large of a client load to offer you the best customer service. Other managers may handle about 150 at a time and may charge a higher service fee to allow for more staff, which in turn helps you to get better customer service from them, free from the hassles of mismanagement.
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