Today we are helping you with a few questions that you should ask a prospective property manager. When you are interviewing someone to manage your property, you need to pick someone based on some important factors.
Size of Portfolio
First, ask how many properties they manage. It might be 10 homes or 2,000 homes, but knowing that number will help you determine whether they’re a good fit for you.
Experience and Expertise
Find out what their level of expertise is and how much experience they have. You need to know if they do property management full time or if this is something they do in addition to residential real estate or something else. It’s important to understand the level of importance they will place on you and your business.
Maintenance and Repairs
How do they handle maintenance? Ask if there is an in-house maintenance staff and if they work with licensed contractors. Be careful of companies that use friends or unlicensed vendors. This is important because you want to know how quickly they will respond to the tenant’s needs, how well the job will be performed and what kind of liability will rest with you. You also want to know how their maintenance plans will affect your property. Most owners want to be sure their property is being taken care of as cost effectively and quickly as possible. You need to understand how the property manager can make that happen for you.
Accessibility
You need to know how accessible the property manager will be to you and also to your tenants. Talk to a potential property manager about how they prioritize calls from tenants because if tenants are calling, there could be a problem. You also want a property manager who responds immediately to you and your concerns. Ask about who takes care of the phones on the weekend, and whether someone is always available to answer them. This is important, especially if you are trying to rent a property out. If someone is coming in from out of town and wants to see your home but cannot get in touch with the property manager, that’s going to make it hard to show the property.
