4 Questions To Ask When Finding A Property Management Service For Your Rental Homes
If you have several homes you wish to rent out, you may have decided that you cannot manage them alone and want to find a property management service to help you. If so, use the following questions to give yourself a starting point.
How Many Properties Do They Manage?
The first question you may want to ask is about the number of properties they manage. If they manage a large number of homes, ask them if they have enough staff to cover each one.
If they have very little staff and many properties to manage, your homes may not get the attention they deserve. The service should have enough people to lease the homes, make sure the properties are well kept, and rent is paid in a timely manner.
What Types Of Leases Do They Typically Provide?
Another question you may want to ask is about they types of leases they offer. This is especially important if you want to give you tenants options. Some services only provide a one-year lease, while others also three- and six-month options.
How Do They Market The Properties?
Once the service takes over the management of your homes, how will they market them to ensure the vacancies are filled? Do they advertise in the newspaper or online? Or, do they do a combination? Also, ask if they bear the entire cost of advertising, or if you are expected to pay part of the marketing fees.
Also, ask how many vacancies they currently have and the average time a home stays empty. This can give you some measurement as to the success of their marketing campaigns for other clients.
Do They Provide Maintenance On The Homes?
You also want to find out about how they handle maintenance on the homes and properties. Ask them if they include any basic maintenance along with their service and fees, or if you are expected to pay the entire amount if something breaks down or if a tenant trashes one of your homes.
If they do include maintenance but you are charged for any calls, ask them about the procedure for service calls. You want to make sure you are called before any maintenance is performed so you can give permission to charge you for any services rendered.
While going through the above questions with a potential service, write down any other questions you may have. Then, discuss them with the representative of property management service to ensure you have all the information you need to make a decision.
Share