Orange Realty Group wants you to have the best Property Management Service available. If you are considering multiple companies, don’t be afraid to ask these questions. We are more than happy to answer them.
#1: How long have you been in business?
This question will help you gauge how much experience the management company has. If you’re looking for someone to manage a rental investment, it’s likely because you don’t have the experience, time or proximity. Generally, look for companies with a minimum 5+ years of experience managing similar property types in your geographic location.
#2: How many rental properties do you manage?
This will help you gauge the size of the company, and understand the manager’s experience level further. Look for companies with at least 50 properties in their portfolio.
#3: Where are most of your properties located?
This question will help you determine two things:
a). Does the company understand the area your property is located in?
b). Do they manage properties outside your current investment area?
The second point can be beneficial because you may someday want to expand outside the immediate area where your current rental is located in. It’s convenient to keep management under a single company.
#4: What type of organizations are you involved in?
Do they belong to professional organizations like the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) or Institute of Real Estate Managers (IREM)? How about local realtors association? The answers to those questions will provide a good indicator of their professionalism and efforts to stay current on the latest management principles and local real estate trends.
#5: How do you determine rent prices?
Any credible management company should be able to conduct a comparable market analysis to pinpoint optimal rental prices across different properties and geographic locations. This will help you reduce vacancy, while maximizing cash flow.
#6: What type of properties do you currently manage? What is the portfolio breakdown?
If the company doesn’t manage your property type, don’t let them start with yours. This is a recipe for disaster. For example, if they specialize in single family houses, don’t let them manage your apartment or condo. Most companies will manage a range of residential property types – single family home, du-plex, tri-plex, apartments, condos.
#7: Do you personally invest in the local market?
It is a plus if the company’s leadership are also investors in the local real estate market. There is no better way to learn than by actually doing. They should practice what they preach.
#8: Can you explain the Fair Housing Laws?
This is a good screening question. Every PM company should know them. A violation could land you in hot water.
#9: What type of insurance do you carry?
A good management company should carry a large general liability policy, and an errors and omissions policy. These two types of insurance will help keep you covered and protect you from clerical mistakes.
#10: What does your lease look like?
Request to look at a sample lease. Most companies will use the local association of realtors’ lease template, which has been drafted by attorneys to comply with local laws and property codes. This lease will contain provisions to limit the landlord’s legal exposure.