Property Management Tips

[Jeffrey Donis]

Hello everyone!

My team and I are beginning to interview property management companies in our area. We have a bunch of questions we are asking them and hope to have 3-4 prospects once we are done interviewing. 

I wanted to see if anyone in this space had any tips when it comes to hiring a property management company for multi-family? 

Below are the questions we will ask-

1- How long have you been in business?

2- What geographic areas or areas do you cover? Must be local

3- How many units do you manage? Compare it to other companies we are in contact with- not too big or small- not smaller than 1000 units.

4- How many properties does each regional office manage?

5- How many do you own yourself? No conflict of interest

6- Do you specialize in or focus on a specific class of property? Value add or whatever we choose to pursue- if value add- ask what percentage of the ones they manage are value add.

7- What due diligence services do you provide? What is the cost if the deal does not close?

8- Do you take on value-add properties? We want experienced companies.

9- Can you describe your process for managing a moderate property renovation? How is the status of the work tracked? Who manages the contractors? How are invoices managed and verified against bids? Who approves the work before the contractors are paid? What fees do they charge for renovation or Capex costs?

10- What are some of the names of nearby properties that your company is currently managing?

11- What special training do your managers receive during training?

12- How do you manage a property's online reputation?

13- Who will be my point person? Ideally the site manager and not the employee of the site manager.

14- What do you see as the onsite manager’s duties? Managing unit turnovers, managing the implementation of the business plan, managing maintenance requests and the repairs, maintaining a clean environment.

15- Can I interview and approve the site manager?

16- What kind of relationship do you want your site manager to have with the owner? How often does the site manager contact you? Is it on a consistent schedule or when you request? What types of updates will they provide during the reno period and thereafter ? On which types of maintenance issues will they require your approval? How accessible will they be? If you call them, will they tend to pick up everytime, and if not, how quickly will they follow up with you?

17- Will you provide a written management plan? This refers to a reno plan and a marketing plan.

18- what % do you charge as a management fee? Typically over 100 units % ranges from 3-5% of the collected revenue. If you start off with a smaller unit size the fee will be higher. Also want to know on what criteria the fee is based. Is it a % of the gross rents or collected income?

19- What is included in the management fee? Is it all inclusive? Or do they charge one time fees for services like leasing fees, vacancy fees, set up fees, late fees, maintenance fees, lease renewal fees, eviction fees.

20- Which property management software do you use?

21- How much time do you typically take to make a make ready? 12-24 hours, - 7-10 days to prepare a unit for rent.

22- Can tenants pay with auto withdrawal or automatic payments? What other methods are available to them? You want to make sure that their demographic aligns with their payment method.

23- Do you require me to list the property with you during its sale?

24- Will you give me your cell phone number?

25- What are some of the reasons we should use your company?

26- Can you give me contact information for 3 current clients that have buildings or communities similar to mine?

Thanks!