Bulding a Team, Property Managers

[Shafi Noss]

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering what process you use to vet managers in the multifamily space when moving into a new market. Is it much different from SF or small-multifamily management? Any other dynamics I should be aware of to do it right?

[Brandon Wells]

@Shafi Noss @Nathan Gesner gave you some really good tips.  I would say that narpm.org is garnered more towards single family, at least here locally to Indianapolis.  My advice would be that the bigger you go, the more qualifications your PM should have.  Are they involved with the National Apartment Association, local IREM chapters?  What are their reporting and accounting capabilities?  What CRM do they use and what level of access will they grant you to it?

As @Tj Hines mentioned you want to be thorough when interviewing, but you want it match the complexity of the property.  A 90 minute interview on a 4-plex would be redundant, but on a 100 unit reposition, I would expect it to be longer.  Remember though, a good reputable PM will be interviewing you as well to ensure you match with them.

I see a lot of investors look at their PM as their "employee" and they are in charge, and these are the types of arrangements I see fail more often than not.  The investor and PM have to be on the same page from the beginning and work alongside one another in achieving/exceeding investment goals.  I may be a little biased, as a PM and investor, but typically they are the most vital part of your investment.  HIre a good one and you will typically exceed your investment goals, hire a bad one and it could set you back.