5 Tasks Every Property Manager Should Cross Off Their To-Do List
By Paul Esajian on September 29, 2017
In business you get what you pay for. As a buy and hold investor there are several benefits in paying for the right property manager. Regardless of how many properties you own it is a good idea to at least consider management. Whatever you lose in payment you gain back with peace of mind and increased time to focus on other areas of your business. However, all property managers are not created equally. You need to know exactly what you are getting and what services they cover. You don’t want to be put in a situation where three months into the lease you are handling tasks you assumed your property manager would cover. As much as a good property manager makes your life easier, a bad one causes you to do double work. When vetting your next manager be sure to ask them about these five tasks.
- Maintenance requests. The common misconception with new landlords is that a property manager handles all the maintenance. They handle the maintenance requests but any work still needs to be paid for by you. On the surface dealing with tenant maintenance doesn’t seem like a big deal but is much more time consuming that you may think. Trying to get a plumber to the property on short notice can take you several attempts, and literally hours out of your day. If you dismiss the request or can’t get someone in short notice you are doing your tenants a disservice. There are a handful of basic needs for any property and a working toilet is one of them. Even though handling these requests is one of the basic jobs of a property manager you need to make sure they have a handful of contacts they can lean on in the event of an emergency. If they are going to just pass the request off you need to find someone else that can do the job.
- Rent collection. Everything in a rental property revolves around rent collection. At the end of the day, if you are not getting your rent in a timely manner, or at all, nothing else matters. Over the past few years the methods of rent collection have changed dramatically. No longer do you have to show up at the property on the first of the month looking for a check. You don’t even have to wait by the mailbox to get your rent. With increased technology there are several ways you can collect rent that is easy for your tenants to set up while still securing your privacy. A good property manager should take care of this for you. They should give the tenants a few options for payment and make sure the rent is in by the fifth of the month, no later than the 10th. They have no problem enforcing any late penalties and making sure rent is collected every month.
- Marketing (new tenants). One of the most difficult times for any landlord is the end of the lease. Not only do they need to coordinate property showings they also need to work with their existing tenants on move out expectations. For a few weeks most of your day will be engulfed by your rental property. A property manager handles this often well before the end of the lease. They know the best places to market the property to get maximum interest. Not only do they handle tenant requests but they also schedule and perform any showings. They also go through the application process and collect any necessary documentation. When the tenant finally comes to you all you need to do is review the application and make a decision. What could take you several weeks, and dozens of hours, is easily wrapped up by your property manager.
- Lease & legal. Owning a rental property is more than just finding a tenant and waiting for rent checks. There are plenty of simple items that if overlooked can cause massive problems. The most prominent is your lease. The lease is something that needs to be constantly updated and reviewed annually. Most landlords haven’t looked at their lease in years. They assume there will never be anything that causes an issue, until it happens. It is the job of your property manager to make sure there is nothing on the lease that could be a potential problem. If so, they will offer recommendations to you and your attorney. They also handle any license issues with the town. If you own a student rental property, for example, there may be annual licenses and registrations that need to be updated. Most of these items are simple to do but if overlooked can lead to much bigger problems.
- Eviction. The worst nightmare for any landlord is an eviction. Not only does an eviction lead to a loss of rent but if not handled the right way will tack on additional months to the process. A good property manager is schooled on how evictions work and the right steps needed to take. They know what to get the court and may even be able to recommend a good attorney. They may even know how to talk to the tenant to get them to act or be able to offer up a solution based on experience. An eviction will cause good landlords to second guess what they are doing and if rental properties are for them.
A property manager doesn’t always make sense for every property. However, you should always consider the benefits. If you decide to go with a property manager you need to make sure they can handle these five important items.