How to Find the Right Property Manager: 5 Practical Tips
Entrusting your property to someone else means doing thorough research and making sure that your property manager is both experienced, reliable and proactive.
A Property Manager or Property Management Agent is there to facilitate maintenance of the property, to screen and select appropriate tenants, address tenant concerns and to assist in creating a stable rental income for the client.
Here are our top 5 tips.
1. Local Knowledge
Check that the Property Manager has local knowledge, this will help when you need a guide to setting a rental price, hiring reliable local tradespeople, providing information to prospective tenants and so on.
The Property Manager may not live in that suburb and their office may not be located there, however, if they have experience with that local market, pricing and amenities it has to offer, then this is a positive sign.
2. Customer Service
Having a polite, efficient person or team to deal with from both the owner and tenants perspective is very important.
When you meet in person or speak to the property manager over the phone you can get a good sense of their customer service skills and whether they will be a good fit.
A good property manager will keep in regular contact with the property owner to keep them updated on any issues with the property, tenant vacancies, recommendations on rental price changes and simply to keep the owner assured that they are actively managing the property.
3. Property Management Experience
How many years experience does the property manager have? How long have they been at the company?
Typically the more experience and longer they have been at the company the better. As they are likely to have tried and tested processes that work.
For example, a tenant screening process in order to find high-quality tenants. This could save a landlord money and help them maximise their rental return.
4. Maintenance and Repairs
Find out how the property manager handles repairs and maintenance of the property and if it suits your needs.
What is their process for:
- Maintaining the property – do they hold regular inspections and note any concerns?
- Repair requests lodged by the tenant – will they inspect the property themselves before sending a tradesperson? Will they contact you before hiring a tradesperson?
5. Rent and Outgoings
Does the property manager have a clear, accurate method of recording rental payments and any outgoings on your account?
How does the property manager deal with the situation of late payment of rent? Are there clear processes in place to handle this situation?
The right property manager will take the stress away from owning an investment property and you can relax in the knowledge that your property is in good hands.
If you would like to speak with us about property management, get in touch with us via our contact form or call Leda, our property manager on 0431 018 486.
