When you rely on a property manager you expect everything to be taken care of for your investment property. The responsibility of maintaining your property is in their hands. You’re paying them to look after the house so there’s no need to stress, right? But let’s be real, not all property managers provide the same level of service.
Some property managers are simply too overworked or disorganised to do a proper job maintaining your property. If your investment property isn’t getting the attention it deserves then it might not end up being profitable like you imagined. If you’re concerned about the quality of service they’re providing, there are ways you can check.
Read on to discover seven questions you can ask a property manager. Asking these seven questions is a good way to gauge how well a property manager will look after your investment property.
How and where will you advertise my property?
A real estate agent or property manager may decide to advertise your investment property in newspapers and on ‘for lease’ boards. But looking at the latest numbers you’ll see that 95% of all investment property enquiries come from the internet. So the old-school forms of advertising are basically redundant now. They’re also very costly compared to online advertising.
So if you find a property manager that prefers older forms of advertising it’s a sign of two things. One, they’re looking to make extra money out of you for an irrelevant form of advertising. Two, they don’t understand current real estate trends or how advertising works anymore.
How many properties do you personally take care of?
Asking a manager how many properties they manage can be a good indicator of how much attention your property will get. If a property manager personally manages between 120-150 properties, then it’s a tell-tale sign they won’t look after yours properly.
A Property Manager physically doesn’t have the time to complete all the essential responsibilities of managing a property with so many to look after. They won’t have the time to answer tenant queries in a timely manner or perform duties like 6 monthly inspections of the property.
Will you personally handle my property?
The busier a property manager is, the less likely they’ll do everything themselves. You might initially meet them in person. Afterwards you may find that the responsibilities of your property are passed onto a less experienced manager in a junior role. This is often done to help spread the load of work and cut costs.
How will you make sure I’m getting the best tenant possible?
There are many procedures that should be followed to ensure you’re getting a good quality tenant. Your property manager should be making sure all prospective tenants complete a full application form. References should also be checked thoroughly. The NTD (National Tenants Database) should also be checked to screen applicants.
Do you provide keys to prospective tenants?
The right answer should be obvious here. A real estate agent or property manager should never be handing out keys in order to let prospective tenants look at your property. Doing this is irresponsible and it can seriously jeopardise the security of your property.
Do you charge an initial letting fee?
There’s no real need for real estate agents or property managers to charge an initial letting fee. It’s just another tactic that’s often used to make more money out of tenants who are inexperienced or know little about property investment.
How often will your review rent?
The industry standard for a review is at least once every year. Rent should also be reviewed 90 days prior to the lease expiring. This gives your tenant plenty of time to know about any proposed increase in rent. An increase in rent should be done by checking and comparing industry databases that show the rates of other rental properties in the local area.
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