Which property management to choose ??

[Sandeep G.]

Hi, I am buying a new rental property out of state and will be relying heavily on a property management to run daily operations for me. There are tenants already in the property and a property manager in place that the seller is currently using. Should I just continue with the same management company (considering the tenants are familiar with them) or use my agent as the new property manager (since he knows the property well and I have worked with him closely for a month now) or look for a completely fresh property management . Can someone please help me understand what’s the best thing to go with?? Any clear advantage of using one over another

[Henri Meli]

@Sandeep G. Property Management is probably the most important member of your team, since they represent you in front of the customers, in front of the contractor, in front of legal, they also collect the rents (financials)..etc. Since you are remote, they are truly an extension of you on the ground. For those reasons, it is very important that you perform an in-depth diligence process selecting and managing them. Here is what I have done.

1. Get a list of 5 candidates.

2. Schedule about 45 mins interview time with each of them.

3. Prepare for the interview and make sure you have solid questions. (remember all the areas they will be representing you ... legal, customer facing, financial, contract work, ... etc). Have questions for each of these areas.

4. Compare their responses to my expectations.

5. Select one within 48 hours and notify them as well as the other ones, who didn't make it.

After the selection, have another meeting where you go over clarifications of your expectations, work relationships, how you want things done and communicated, response time, ... etc. Sign the contract ...

Make sure to schedule recurring bi-weekly meetings with the newly selected PM to level-set and discuss open issues.

For a duplex, this might be overkill, but the process at this time is really the most important. 

Good Luck !!!