Deciding to hire a property management company is a big decision. Going from a do-it-yourself landlord to partnering with professional property managers is an essential step to grow your business.
When interviewing property management companies, there are a few important questions to ask. You want to choose a professional and experienced property management company. These professionals are the best to protect your current investment properties and grow your business.
Before you hand over your valuable Beverly Beach investment properties to your property managers, ask as many questions as you feel you need to ask. Do a thorough evaluation of a property manager's services.
To help you narrow down some of the most critical things to consider, here are five of the most important questions to ask when interviewing a property management company.
1. How is Your Property Management Company Organized?
You want to make sure your property management partners are well-equipped to manage your properties and address your needs as a property owner.
Make sure they have plenty of trained staff to answer questions. If prompt responses are a priority to you, make sure they can respond to your requests within 24-48 hours, or sooner.
Discuss how quickly they respond to tenant requests, as well. Your tenants are one of your most valuable assets. Your property management company must commit to respond to tenant questions, concerns, or maintenance requests within a set timeframe and within local Florida and federal laws.
Ask if the property management has a solution for after-hours emergency requests. When a tenant's toilet breaks in the middle of the night, your property management company needs a solution to address that problem right away.
Understanding how your property management company works is one of the first steps to making sure they are a good fit for you.
2. What Are Your Property Management Fees?
You might find in many cases, fees range depending on the services you need from your property management company.
From listing only services to full-service property management, find a property management company that provides services that fit within your budget.
In addition to the fees, ask for clear documentation for the services included in the fees.
If you need listing-only services, make sure the fees include everything you need to list your property effectively. Don't assume you're getting professional photos of your property if it's not documented within the fees.
If you need full-service property management services, walk through each aspect of what the company provides, from listing the property to collecting rent to routine property maintenance, document each service. Confirm that the property management company also provides proof or invoices for their services.
Understand everything about the fees before selecting your property management company.
3. How Often Do You Communicate?
Talk through the process of reports and regular updates.
Your rental properties are a significant investment. You'll want to keep a close eye on how well your property managers take care of your properties and your tenants.
Do you need weekly status calls? Do you prefer email updates? Do you want to hear about maintenance problems before the property management company makes repairs?
Also, ask about financial reports. The best property management company provides 24-hours online access to financial reporting for your properties. You'll appreciate a real-time snapshot of how your properties are performing for your portfolio.
These are good questions to walk through as you interview your property management company. Make sure they work in a style that suits your needs.
4. How Do You Screen Tenants?
As we've already mentioned, your tenants are one of your most significant assets for the success of your rental property portfolio.
You need a property management company to have a thorough screening process to find the absolute best tenants for your properties. The best property management company has a variety of sources to make sure they can always find quality tenants to keep your properties occupied.
Ask what kind of technology they use to ensure accurate screening for tenants. It's better to have an empty property than to put the wrong tenants in your property.
Make sure your property management company has the right resources to put the right tenants in your properties.
5. What Kind of Experience Do You Have?
There are plenty of property management companies in the Beverly Beach area. To find the best property management, ask about their experience in the business.
How long have they been in business? What is the experience level of the company's employees?
You don't want to leave your properties to just anyone who has a property management business. With longevity comes valuable experience, professionalism, and market reputation.
Partner with the property management company that knows the market and the industry the best.
Ask The Right Questions to Find the Right Property Management Company
These five questions are some of the most important questions to get you started when interviewing a property management company.
Take charge of the process. Make sure the questions you ask will get you the answers you need to choose the best Beverly Beach property management company.
Everest Property Management offers a range of property management services. We're happy to walk through the interview process with you as you decide on the right property management partner for your rental properties.
Contact us for a FREE Rental Property Analysis to get started!
As a top producing Realtor and Property Manager; Terry specializes in sales, extensive construction homes, rentals, REO’s, short sales, and all aspects of Real Estate. After graduating the University of Michigan with a master in MBA, Terry continued his endeavor and now has over 15+ years of experience in the Real Estate world. If there is anything that has to do with Real Estate and sales, you can always be sure of Terry to provide important, specialized knowledge.
