Working with a Property Management Company – What You Need to Know
When investing in real estate, it is important to make sure that you have the right people on your team, people who know how the investing game works, and what needs to be done in order to make the biggest return possible. For investors looking to rent their properties out, few positions are more important to hire than a property manager. For some, the idea of working with a property manager is not one that sparks any interest, after all, it means that you are trusting another person with large sums of money, allowing them to deny and approve tenant applications, and often providing them with keys to whatever units or houses they are responsible for.
All of that said, hiring a property manager is an important thing to do, especially if you are not necessarily around every day to handle the day-to-day situations, make sure that any and all houses or units have (credible) tenants, and collect rent when it is due – which is generally the case. Once of the biggest misconceptions about a property manager, however, is that once hired they assume all control of your property, essentially leaving you with no say. This, however, is complete fiction. A property manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations, in making sure not only that your property has tenants in it, but that all parties have happy as possible with the situation.
With a property manager being such an important role to fill, it is important that prior to hiring, to know the truth about some of the many myths surrounding property managers.
Myth: Property managers are expensive, and take a large percentage of your profits
False: Like any other employee, property managers do get paid. However, how much they are paid is based on what has been decided between the person doing the hiring and the property manager (or company that is being hired). Generally, this fee is a small percentage of them monthly profits.
Myth: Once hired, the property manager takes all control
False: Expanding upon what was said earlier in the article, a property manager is a lot like the manager of a store, and the owner of the property the owner of the store. Yes, the manager handles the day-to-day stuff, but the owner calls the shots and makes the final decisions.
Myth: Hiring a property manager generally leads to fewer vacancies
True: Often the relationship between the tenant and management is better when there is a property management involved. This allows the property owner to only have to deal with the bigger issues, and the property manager to focus on making the property that they are responsible for function the best it can. This leads to better and longer lasting tenants.
Hiring a property manager can be an intimidating idea, especially if you are not fully aware of what their job entails and what it means for you. Like anything, it is about finding the right fit for you, and what you are looking for.