You’ve purchased an investment property, and you’re ready to start renting it. Now it’s time to hire a property management company!
But how do you find the right property manager to support you?
Let’s talk about a few of the questions you should ask before hiring your property management company.
1: “How many properties do you manage?”
Every property management company has a different capacity. This will vary by the number of team members they have as well as how hands-on they get with each property and tenant.
You can get a good sense of how your property will be managed by asking how many properties are in the company’s portfolio. If it’s a bigger company with many property managers, a large portfolio isn’t necessarily a problem–but you should still consider how the size of the company could affect the level of personalized service you receive.
2: “If I sign with you, who will be my main point of contact?”
Before you sign a contract with a property manager, you need to know what type of communication to expect.
Will you be communicating directly with the property manager handling your property, or with an office manager? How many steps will it take to get a message to the person in charge of your property?
3: “What fees will I have, and how do they break down?”
Every property management company has its own pricing structure. There will always be some fees associated with hiring someone to manage your property; you need to know what to expect and how it all breaks down.
Do they charge a flat monthly management fee? Or do they charge a percentage of the monthly rent? (The latter is more common)
What is their fee structure for tenant placement services? Do they charge a vacancy fee? What about lease renewals? Evictions?
Most importantly, make sure you ask what each fee will encompass–you’ll want to be sure you won’t run into an unexpected issue months after signing on.
4: “Do you upcharge on maintenance or work requests?” And: “Do you have any financial interest or ownership in any vendors that you use?”
This goes along with the last question. Are you going to be upcharged for maintenance and repairs handled by the property management company? If so, you need to know in advance–and your potential property manager should be transparent about how it works.
Additionally, it’s a good idea to find out in advance whether your property management company has any financial interest in the vendors they use. Are they under the same ownership as their plumbing contractor? Do they get a referral fee when you use their preferred HVAC service? These are things you should be aware of before signing on.
5: “How are off-hours work orders and communications handled?”
Things happen.
You don’t need to have the exact same personality type, but we all have an easier time communicating with certain types of personalities than others.
Sometimes your tenants will have urgent repair requests outside of regular work hours. If the air conditioner stops working or there’s a leak in the roof, that needs to be handled quickly.
Find out in advance what will be expected from you and your tenants in an off-hours situation. Ask how their office expects communications to be handled, and what their typical response time looks like.
It’s important to choose a property management company that will take care of you, your tenants, and your property, even on the weekends.
6: “How do you handle non-payment?”
The unfortunate truth of owning rental investments is that sometimes a tenant just won’t be able to make their monthly payment.
Before you hire a property management company, find out what their process is for handling non-payment.
What are the steps they will take to attempt to rectify the issue? What communications can you expect during this process? How involved will they be if an eviction becomes necessary?
7: “What is your marketing plan for my property?”
Part of your property management company’s job is to market your property to potential tenants so you don’t have to. So you should find out before signing on what their marketing plan looks like.
Will they hire someone to take professional photos and videos of your property, or will a member of their team take cell phone photos?
Where will they advertise your property?
If you’re paying someone to market your home, you should make sure that you are getting what you pay for!
8: “How do you vet tenants?”
When you hire a property manager, you’re trusting them to find qualified tenants to rent your property.
So make sure you ask them about their tenant qualification process.
What are the criteria they use to vet tenants? Are they following all necessary regulations?
Do they run a credit check? Will they verify that the documents provided by potential tenants are real?
A good property manager will take every step they can to ensure the right tenant is placed in your home.
9: “What about pets? Do I have to accept them?”
Your property management company should have a policy in place about pets.
Generally speaking, landlords are not required to allow pets in their properties. However, the Fair Housing Act requires that reasonable accommodations be made for Emotional Support Animals and Assistance Animals. You can read more about how this works here.
Around 70% of renters own pets, so some owners choose to open their properties to renters with pets. Here at Emmantee, we take our pet screening process seriously. We want to provide peace of mind for property owners who choose to rent to pet owners.
Ultimately, your property management company should be able to clearly answer your questions about allowing pets, and should be knowledgeable about Fair Housing standards.
We Want to Talk to You!
If you are considering hiring a property management company in Charleston, SC or the surrounding areas, we would love to talk to you and answer any questions you may have. Our team is dedicated to providing hands-on service to each of our clients. Reach out to us at emmantee.res@gmail.com.