There is this great blog by Landlord Source called “What to Expect from Your Property Management Company.” You can read it here. Hiring a property manager is a little different than managing your own properties.
- Make sure you know the responsibilities of the manager. This way, there is no surprise at a later time. Also, know the cost, if any to each of the responsibility.
- Know the communication style. You may like to be contacted all the time about everything. Or you just like to be left alone unless there’s an emergency. What is the communication style of the property management company, and does it match with what you like?
- At the end of the day, you hire a property manager because you have a rental property, and you have a rental property because of the financial benefits it gives you. So know how you will pay your property manager, and how will you get paid. When will you get paid? What method? How is the payment calculated? Will you be able to see a financial report? Do I get charged when the property is vacant?
- Finally, let them do the job. As long as you choose a reputable, experienced property management company, they should do a solid job managing your property. It might be attempting to “manage the manager,” especially if you are an experienced landlord. While that’s understandable, know that the property management company is handling a lot of other properties with different owners. It is not really a good business decision to have different management styles for every single owner. You don’t go to McDonald's and complain that there is no pizza. Know what you are going to get before you get in = hire a property manager.
