Investors provide a real driving force in the rental property industry. Overall, properties that are owned by investors have added more than $100 billion to the single-family rental industry. Around the United States, about 3% of people call themselves real estate investors. They also say that they have plans to buy at least one property in the next 12 months. There are more than 10 million people around the country who own more than one investment property. If you are one of these people, you may be considering a property management company to help with rental management. Having a property for rent can be a lot of work. Here are some ways to make sure the experience you have with a rental management services company better.
- Pick a company that is well connected to the community. When you are dealing with a property for rent, you need to work with a management company that knows a lot about the community where that property is located. This means they should have an up to date and a decent website. Most companies that manage a property for rent have portals to accept the rent. That makes it a lot easier for tenants to get their rent in on time. If you go to a residential property management company that has a bad reputation in the community, it will come back to hurt you in the long run.
- Make sure the company makes the most of social media. People today like to have a number of ways to get customer service. This is also true when it comes to getting help with their apartment or house. This makes it easier to monitor communications with your renters but also shows how professional your management company is.
- Look at the other properties that they take care of. When you are looking for a property management company to take care of your property for rent, you are probably going to go with someone who has other properties that they watch over. Take the time to go by and see how well they are maintained. You will be judged, not just by your property for rent, but by all of the properties that are managed by the same company. This will also give you a sense of how they will treat yours. It is harder to rehab a building that has gone to pot than to maintain it properly to start with.
- Check out the leases. When you are working with a property management company, you want to know that the leases they use for their properties are up to date. They should have no typos, cover all of the areas that worry you and comply with the landlord-tenant laws in the area. The last thing you want is to be seen as trying to get tenants to sign illegal leases.
- Talk to the property management company about their staff. Ideally, you should try to find a company that does not have to deal with a lot of staff turnover. There are a few reasons that you should care about this. You need to know that they hire the right people and that they do not overwork their staff. You want to make sure the people they hire to maintain their properties are up to the task. Happy workers work harder and do a better job. You can tell how happy the people who work for the property management company are by seeing how much turnover they have.
- Get a written contract. You are going to want to get everything in writing so that you can look it over yourself but also have it looked over by your lawyers. If they are not willing to put the time in to get the deal they want with you in writing, you can bet they are not going to take the time they need to take to properly maintain and manage your property for rent.
Finding the right company to manage your property for rent can make a big difference for your and your investment and is worth spending time to get the right one for you.