By Shannee Theus

What to look for in a property manager! Let’s talk about all the questions you should be asking when hiring a property management company. We know that there are a lot of investors out there and a lot of new landlords so we wanted to go over what questions to ask or what information to get from property management companies because we know it can be a daunting process. It is very important to find a company that you feels like aligns with you best. Here are some topics that you should make sure to cover!

Are they Licensed?

First and foremost you want to make sure the property management company you hire is actually licensed.

Setting and Collecting Rents

How do they set rents and how do they collect them? Will there be a tenant portal that tenants are able to pay through or will they have tenants write checks. What does that process look like, and is it an efficient and relatively easy process?

Maintenance and repairs

When tenants have an issue with their apartment that needs fixing, how does the company handle it? Do they have a full time staff member for it or do they contract out? Finding out what that process is and how it works is important, because let’s be honest things will break and need fixing!

Property inspections

When do they do property inspections and how often do they do them? Are inspections done when a tenant is there and if not, how do they give notice and/or how much notice do they give.

Tenant Marketing and Retention

You want to find a company that does an adequate job in marketing listings. You want to make sure that your vacant property is marketed well so that it is reoccupied quickly. Also ask about their tenant retention. Do they have satisfied tenants that have lived with them for years or tenants that have recommended them to other people? These are important because it shows that the company is right-minded if they have repeat tenants and referrals.

Tenant screenings

Does the company require background checks or are they checking credit scores. You want to make sure that they have a process in place for screening tenants so that you have reliable tenants occupying your property.

Handling Tenant and Owner Funds

You want to ask how they handle the tenants funds and your funds. What accounts do they put the tenants security deposit in and how do they pay you. You want to make sure that there is a legal process in which they do these things.

What are their fees

You want to ask what their fees are for actually managing your property. Be sure to ask what their contract looks like and make sure that it aligns with what you want.

We recommend to find three property management companies that you are interested in working with and then comparing and contrasting them to see what works best for your needs. We do not have any rentals but we have a lot of people in our network that own rentals and are more than happy to share some recommendations with you! If you’re interested in who we know and highly recommend, schedule a call with us.