Things to Consider When Choosing a Property Manager

Why it’s Important to Choose the Right Property Manager

Buying an investment property is an excellent way to build personal wealth—if the property is managed correctly. Before you take that step, consider who will manage the property. If you don’t have the time or skills, you’ll need a property management company to maximise your returns and protect your investment.

Six Tips for Choosing the Right Property Manager

Choosing adequately experienced property managers makes property ownership a pleasure. Here are six tips for choosing the right property manager:

1.      Experience

Property management can be challenging. The manager must be able to deal with tenants and be thorough in the search for potential tenants. They must be able to manage repairs and maintenance efficiently and handle arrears situations. Experience is even more important when something doesn’t go to plan.

Look for candidates experience who:

·         Know how to handle tenants that have defaulted

·         Can vet tenants according to their rental history and creditworthiness

2.      People Skills

Numerous disputes can arise over property issues. Your manager must be perceptive and tactful enough to find equitable solutions.

3.      Workload

The number of properties an experienced manager can handle will vary, industry standards range from 120 – 200 properties at a time. It really does depend on the efficiency and the support structure around them. However, if you want a relationship with your Property Manager and only want to liaise with the one person.  You should consider no more than 100. Anything more than that means that they have too little time to deal with your property. Ensure that you’re getting the attention that you deserve by checking:

·         How many properties the company manages and;

·         How many managers they employ

4.      Reviews

Do copious amounts of research before considering any company. What have reviewers said about it? There are bound to be some negative reviews–that’s the nature of the game, but if there are no positive reviews, look elsewhere. Ensure you look at Google and Facebook

5.      Arrears

Collecting rent is an integral part of the function. You need to ask your candidate what percentage of their tenants are in arrears—two to three per cent is the industry average. If it’s higher than that, or they can’t tell you, move on.

6.      Tenants

Ask what procedures are in place to vet prospective tenants. What points do they check? Which databases can they access? How will they minimise your risk as a property owner?

The more thoroughly the prospective tenants are vetted, the fewer issues you will experience.