If you choose hire a manager, the best place to start is to ask for referrals from your friends or other investors at a RIA meeting.
There’s under of ways to find a property manager, it is important to question them thoroughly before hiring them. You should interview them, ask for references and interview those references as well. Make sure the manager specializes in the types of properties you own. If you own C class rentals, a management company that specializes in A rentals will almost certainly do a terrible job and vice versa.
Some questions to ask include:
- What are the property management fees?
- How long have they been property managers and how many properties do they manage?
- What class of properties do they manage?
- How many evictions do they have each month?
- How long do properties usually stay vacant before being leased?
- How do they screen and do they accept anyone who has had evictions?
- How do they handle maintenance requests?
- What is the minimum charge for a maintenance visit? Is service done in house?
- What do they do when a tenant doesn’t pay?
- How do they intend to market my property?
Be sure to get the answers before starting on your own. Getting this wrong can be a nightmare and really impact your bottom line.