When choosing a property management company to help manage your real estate rentals, you want to choose one that will be a good partner for you. Here’s what to look for in a property management company to ensure you have someone on your side and make real estate investing as low-stress as possible.
When you have a good property management company, they take care of the day-to-day challenges and stresses of rental property. You need to know that you can trust the company to look after your property, take care of repairs, and, most importantly, find great tenants who won’t destroy the rental.
Things will happen with rental property. Appliances will break, the AC will go out, and the garbage disposal will fail. It’s inevitable. Something will happen. Having a property management company and property manager who promptly takes care of these things will help lower stress for you.
You don’t want to get a call from your tenant that the AC is out when you’re on vacation and trying to relax. You want to know that you’ve got someone there to handle it and handle the situation.
You can start by asking friends who are also real estate investors whom they use for property management. You can look for ratings and reviews online. Visit the websites, talk to the company reps, and find out who you’d be working with.
There will be fees associated with property management. It’s a trade-off – you pay someone to vet the tenants, handle rent collection, and coordinate the repairs so that your life is less stressful and you don’t have to worry about everything that happens with your investment property.
You want to look for a company that’s been around for a while and is established. You want to ask how many homes they manage and how many properties each manager oversees. You want to understand their fee structure and ask about common issues homeowners face when renting out their houses (if you’re new to this) and how they’re handled.
Ask if they specialize in a particular area or property type. You want to ensure the manager you hire is familiar with your type of rental property and works with them regularly. You don’t want someone who has only ever managed short-term vacation rentals suddenly trying to manage your long-term residential rental.
Ask for references and talk to others who use the company if possible.
You also want to see if they have a network of repair people they work with regularly and if they do a good job. Most property managers have a repair team they manage or contract with local tradespeople to handle the repairs they need at the rental properties.
Ask about their reporting and payment terms. How do they handle it if a tenant doesn’t pay on time.
Do they automatically increase the rent yearly, or do you need to work with them on annual increases? Ask how they vet potential renters and how long it takes for most properties to rent.
A good property manager should tell you if there are any repairs or updates you need to make to the property before renting it out.
Ask them what they consider normal wear and tear on a rental vs. things tenants are charged for and what they do if a tenant damages a property or stops paying rent.
Finding the right property manager will make your life as a real estate investor much easier and less stressful. We'd love to chat with you if you’re in the Tucson, AZ, area and looking for a property management company. The SNL Realty and Rentals team manages short-term, long-term, furnished, and unfurnished properties. We have the experience it takes to make your life easier. Contact us today to learn more about our professional property management services.
