Maybe your investment portfolio of rental properties has become too large for you to manage yourself. Or maybe you will longer have the time or the inclination to manage them yourself. Either way, you are looking for the services of a property management company to do the job for you. Here it is a checklist to help you to choose the right company to meet your specific requirements. You should bear in mind that choosing the right company to deliver the right quality service is far more important than saving a few bucks. The wrong property management company could
- rob you blind because they are in charge of rent collection
- land you with the wrong tenants because they lack the knowledge or the commitment and
- cost you a bomb on maintenance by marking up your maintenance costs
Preliminary homework: draw a shortlist of property management companies by asking people you can trust or who have expert knowledge. Check them out with the local better business bureau to see if there are any complaints against them or any black marks if possible, with a property or to that they manage and see for yourself what is the condition of the building . Talk with the tenants and see what they think of the property management company. You can then precede to shortlist the companies that you like what the next phase, which is to interview them.
Preparing for the interview: if you prepare well for the interview and carry out a methodical questioning of each company, you should find yourself in a much better position to make an informed decision. To start with, you need to put down on paper exactly what it is you require of your property management company whether in terms of finding and screening tenants, maintenance and other services. The more specifics you can put into your wish list, the more exhaustive you can make your interview questionnaire.
Drawing up a questionnaire: it is important that to conduct your examination of the property management companies methodically and logically and the questionnaire streamlines the process. Here are some of the areas you may wish to cover:
- finding good quality tenants. Your primary purpose for investment in property is to produce quality recurring income and for this you first need good tenants. Your questions should be aimed at finding out that companies track record in managing rentals, the speed at which vacancies are filled, how the company markets and property and their procedures for screening tenants.
- keeping good tenants. Having found a good tenant you would want to keep him for as long as possible. Not only will this give you stable and stress-free income, but you will also be able to keep maintenance costs to a minimum. You want to find out the rules and policies that the company uses and ensure that their documentation makes for your protection and speedy eviction.
- maintenance management. This is one area where a good manager can save you money while not compromising on the quality of your upkeep. You would like to know how the manager manages the maintenance, handles the contractors actually perform maintenance and controls cost (for instance by obtaining multiple quotations for an expensive job).
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