How to interview a management company

[Wojciech M.]

Hi,

Can anyone make any suggestions on how to best interview a management company? What questions do I want to ask? It will be for our first rental property in Charlotte NC.

[Charles Carillo]

@Wojciech M.

When I am interviewing a property management company, there are a few things I initially look for. First off, I have the best luck with management companies that are referred to us. I want to make sure the company manages similarly sized properties in the same area as mine. Next, make sure that the majority of the units they manage are properties in the same class as yours. Lastly, when comparing pricing and fees, make sure you are comparing apples to apples. There are possibly a number of other fees in addition to the percentage of gross rents. You need to factor all of these in.

[Charles Carillo]

@Wojciech M.

When I am interviewing a property management company, there are a few things I initially look for. First off, I have the best luck with management companies that are referred to us. I want to make sure the company manages similarly sized properties in the same area as mine. Next, make sure that the majority of the units they manage are properties in the same class as yours. Lastly, when comparing pricing and fees, make sure you are comparing apples to apples. There are possibly a number of other fees in addition to the percentage of gross rents. You need to factor all of these in.

[Jon Shoop]

If I were looking for a good property management company this is what I would do:

Start with word of mouth of a trusted real estate broker. Then search Google rankings. From there, I would pick a few and compare prices and all that. If they seem equal or close enough, then reach out to them. 

THIS is where it gets interesting. See who is the first to reach back out to you if you submit a request through their website. If it is during normal operating hours they should reach out to you within 60 minutes. Our time is under 5 minutes during normal hours. 

If they aren't reaching out to prospective buyers quickly, how long are maintenance issues going untouched? Rent uncollected? 

• Questions to ask about the organization: 
  
  Is it just a one or two man operation, a single manager and everything else remote? Or is it a team of people with dedicated and separate job duties and responsibilities and run like a normal operating business?
• How many properties do they manage?
• How long has their company been in business?
• How do they conduct maintenance? Staff on hand, Third party, Handyman, They do it themselves?
• Do they inspect the property to check on it?
• How far is the next home they manage from your property? 
• What's their procedure if a tenant reports their HVAC breaking during an emergent time such as temperatures below 30 degrees and above 95 degrees?

[Wojciech M.]

Thank you both these proved to be very helpful in selecting the PM. We signed and we'll see what happens with the first rental. Just for reference these is the majority of the questions i asked if anyone finds it useful:

How long in business?

How many employees?

How many properties do you manage?

What about this neighborhood?

Show us similar properties to this one?

Do they inspect the property to check on it? How often?

How far is the next home you manage from our property?

How do you conduct maintenance?

What's their procedure if a tenant reports their HVAC breaking during an emergent time such as temperatures below 30 degrees and above 95 degrees?

How do you handle an eviction - process and how would you speak to a tenant that is behind on rent?

Who is reaponsible for cost and attorney fees?

How do you pre-screen tenants?

Do we get to choose the tenant from recommendations?

Do you guarantee a tenant and for how long?Who is responsible for coverage for excess damage to the property?

Do we have any contact with the tenants?(escalation, unhappy with your company)

How long of a lease do you suggest for the current time of year?

Tenant placement fee?

Lease renewal fee?

Move-out assestment?

Do you provide tax documents and at what cost?

How many evictions did you have per all your properties last year or 2?

What is the percantage of your rent collection in the recent past?