7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Choosing a Property Manager
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.
The fact is that there are a number of property managers today that are not professionals. They may have some form of experience in management, however it may not be in the type of property that you have; it could be that they will not take the job seriously or they may even give someone else the task of taking care of your property, as is the case when they manage multiple locations. So what can you do to be sure that your property manager is the correct one for your needs?
You can start by watching out for these 7 mistakes 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. COMES UP SHORT IN ACCOUNTABILITY: Does the property manager you choose have a bond? What is their reputation in the professional field for maintaining a property? Does he or she have a real estate license? The manager that you choose will not manage your property well if they do not have some incentive to take care of your property.
3. OVER PROMISING: When you are interviewing, does one of the potential manager seem to be overly eager for the job? So much so that they seem to be making more promises that the others? Be careful here, this is not a good thing.
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 EXPERTISE OR EXPERIENCE: Your property management company must specialise in your type of property, and have a good track record in management of their own or other people’s property.
6. LACK OF RESPECT FOR THE TENANTS, YOU AND THE CLIENT: This is a part of being treated like a number with some slight differences. How does the property manager strike you? Do you feel as if they will treat you with the respect you deserve? If they don’t make you comfortable, then your client won’t be comfortable either. There is a way to check this. Do they allow you to ask the questions you want answers to and then treat each question with the utmost importance? Or do they fly past it as if it really doesn’t matter?
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.
When interviewing property managers, you should make sure to screen them on each of these issues. You need a manager that is proactive, professional and experienced and one who will treat you as a partner by keeping in touch with you and treating your property as if it were their own. If you do this, then you will find an excellent property manager that will not only save you stress and time but increase your rental income and turn your property into an asset instead of a liability that it could become with the wrong manager.
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