Questions to ask Property Management Companies

[Kyle Mitchell]

Hi everyone,

I am interviewing several property management companies and wanted to make sure I am covering everything.  Any suggestions on the specific questions I should be asking when interviewing them?

Thanks,

Kyle

[Sean McDonnell]

1) Ask them to explain the city, state, and federal laws for dealing with tenants.

2) What are the steps for evicting a tenant?

3) What are the rules for collecting and storing security deposits?

4) Are you available to show units seven days a week? 

- Obviously you want maximum flexibility.

5) What type of extra fees do they charge? (advertising, evictions, tenant placement)

6) Do they provide an itemized list of all expenses for maintenance requirements?

7) Do they take professional photographs of the property? 

- We used a property management company to find, vet, and place tenants for one of our rentals and they advertised the fact they take "professional" photos...  It ended up just being a lady who works for the company and her ipad.. The pictures were not terrible but they were not anything special.

8) Who are the contractors that they will contact in the case of certain maintenance emergencies? 

- You should follow up and do research on each contractor yourself.

Good luck to you!