Top Five Questions to Ask a Potential Property Management Firm
There are currently 206,328 property management businesses in the United States today, and one of those is bound to be the optimal property management company for you.
The best property management companies can help you lower your monthly energy bills by about 50% by analyzing your building’s power needs and suggesting simple, low cost upgrades. All property management companies allow you to minimize your costs by establishing good relationships with your tenants and implementing preventative maintenance programs. Most importantly, you will now have access to certified professionals to maintain your property.
Because the relationship with your property manager will be a long and ongoing one, it is best to learn how to find the best property management companies out there. Here are the five essential questions to ask a prospective property management company.
- How many years has the company and the property manager you’re considering been in the business? The U.S. property management industry employs roughly 744,614 people, but it is important to ask how long those people have been maintaining properties. Similarly, going to a brand name agency doesn’t necessarily mean their service will be better. More years generally means more experience.
- Will the property management company give you a written proposal? A lot of times, commercial property management companies will simply go out, look at a property and add it to their repertoire. Instead, look for a company that will give you a written proposal. They should WANT to take care of your property for you and help you with your business, not just take care of your property to add to THEIR business.
- What geographic area does the property management company cover? As a property owner, you are probably looking to expand your business and own multiple properties. But once you own multiple properties, you may run out of time to maintain all of them. Ask the top property management companies in your area how far their management tendrils stretch. Thanks to new technology, many companies are expanding their services into broader areas.
- How many properties does the manager and company look after? The best property management companies will look after around 200 properties that vary from private houses to corporate offices. However, too many and they start to become an inefficient firm. Same goes for a property manager. If they are too busy, you will never hear from them and they may take a lot time to fix and issues you may have at your property.
- Do they have a system for performing tenant background checks? Part of your property management fees will go towards the firm checking prospective tenants for credit worthiness, past rental history, and current employment. Ensure that the property management company uses a database system and screens each tenant carefully so that you don’t run into any problems down the road that could lead to evictions.
