Investor · DMV Maryland · Member since 2013 · 867 posts · 370 votes
Have a lunch meeting this weekend with a Realtor/Investor/Property Manager in Baltimore City. Looking to get into this market because of cash-flow potential. This will be our first property and will be using a PM from the get-go. Hubby travels for work a lot and we have small kids - not good for RE knowledge acquisition not to manage ourselves but this is our reality.
What are the top 10 questions I should ask a potential Property Manager?
Flipper/Rehabber · Greeley, CO · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
Call the property manager as a potential tenant wanting to rent one of their houses. See if they answer the phone and how quickly they call back if they don't answer. This will give you a great idea on if they care about renting your house.
Investor · Portland, OR · Member since 2012 · 266 posts · 128 votes
12y
Congrats!!!
I'm using a combined person who does the RE agent and PM side, and it's working great. But be sure you understand how much work he/she will do from purchase to rent, such as basic rehab. And what fee structure is there.
Ask about portfolio size and staff size. For a single person, I'd be cautious if he had fewer than 10 or more than 90 doors.
They all lie about vacancy rates, so ask "how many properties are vacant" and then follow-ups about how typical that is. Do a deep dive into these - view them online. How much traffic are they getting? Any leads? You should see activity, knowledge and foresight. This should give you a feel for vacancy rates, turn-around times, etc.
Understand the full fee structure. Including:
Monthly management fee, and if you pay it while the property is vacant
Leasing fee and whether that includes advertising fees
Renewal fees
Add-on for maintenance.
Set-up fees.
Be very very very careful making any commitments!!! Options have value, and when you've signed something saying "you will be my PM for 6 months" you have fewer options. In fact, I would not sign any RE agreement until I have a place we are offering on (and then I limit the agreement to that one house) and will not sign a PM agreement until I've gone through most of the purchase.
And finally, be careful of the salesman. In my experience, the best PMs are task people and lack charisma.
Flipper/Rehabber · Greeley, CO · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
Call the property manager as a potential tenant wanting to rent one of their houses. See if they answer the phone and how quickly they call back if they don't answer. This will give you a great idea on if they care about renting your house.
Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 13k+ votes
12y
Do they mark up charges for maintenance and service calls or pass them on at cost.
Get references.
Do they charge for placing a tenant in addition to management fee.
If the do charge do they guarantee the tenant staye for any length of time. This is to @Jon Klaus' point. If a manager gets paid a months rent for placing a tenant and they charge for handling an eviction, they have an incentive to place a crappy tenant.
I bet there is a blog post or thread about this here somewhere. - Ned
Real Estate Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2013 · 114 posts · 21 votes
12y
I am currently looking into this also because of time constraints at the moment.
I really like @Mark Ferguson idea. I recently asked a PM to email me a sample contract as well as a sample lease that they use so that I may look over it and address anything that I may not agree with. It also gave me a good idea of ALL of the charges.
I would like to find one that has a little skin in the game, to find and retain a quality tenant who takes care of the place and pays on time.
Salem, VA · Member since 2013 · 26 posts · 31 votes
12y
I don't have a lot of nice things to say about property management companies. I have used many but none in your area. The reason I just recently joined this forum is because I am about to manage my properties on my own, though I have previously manged homes I once lived in myself, I left all the investment properties up to the "professionals"
In my experience I found one of two things to be true with prop man companies. Either you set it on autopilot and they will spend every last dime you make, or they will contact you for every last request and you are basically doing it yourself but without meeting the tenants or driving to the property.
I prefer switching to doing it myself because I was asked by PM if I wanted to spend 10k on a roof, and I thought it was high, called a roofer, and went myself to get a quote. The man said "I would love to sell you a new roof, but all you have wrong is a handful of shingles blown off from the last storm, if you don't mind the shingles not matching 100 percent, I can patch it up for 300 bucks this afternoon and you should be good for 5 or 6 years or so before you need to replace it"
No one who rents treats a property as if they own it, and no one who manages does either. It boils down to if you want it done right, do it yourself.
... No one who rents treats a property as if they own it, and no one who manages does either. It boils down to if you want it done right, do it yourself.
@Jeff Owens - loved that post - particularly the snippet I quoted and put into BOLD here. All landlords should keep that in mind at all times.
Salem, VA · Member since 2013 · 26 posts · 31 votes
12y
lol thanks, I am new to this, only owned rentals for a handful of years. I grew up in real estate and when my father died I had to help my mother deal with the rentals my dad dealt with so I have a modicum of experience. Reading this forum makes me realize that I know enough to just be dangerous, never would have expected a vet like you to congratulate my post.
Investor · DMV Maryland · Member since 2013 · 867 posts · 370 votes
11y
My partner and I are getting ready to rehab two rental properties and will be determining who will PM them as we go through the process. He has already used a company and most likely we will go that route if he is satisfied with his other B'more experiences with them. I do know that @Tyrus Shivers does PM work in the city and county. Stand-up guy who is an excellent communicator, which is important in property management.
Investor · Jessup, MD · Member since 2013 · 437 posts · 180 votes
11y
What I find is that most PMs have almost identical contracts and fee structures give or take a percent or two. What would be important to me is whether or not the PM is going to follow the lease and the PM agreement to the letter. How well do they work under pressure? How reachable are you? What software do you use to manage my property? Do you have an attorney, cpa? Are you ethical in your dealings? These questions are harder to gauge from one meeting which is why references are needed.
Specialist · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
11y
Questions to Ask prospective management companies
What are your average days on market for vacant homes?
What is your average rent amount for all properties managed?
What is your average work order cost for the owner?
What is your average make ready cost for the owner?
Are all my invoices uploaded to my owner portal?
How do you advertise your vacant units?
Do I receive video of my pre and post make ready?
Do you have a setup fee?
Do you upcharge on maintenance?
When do you make owner payments? How often?
Are you a Certified Property Manager?
Are you a member of NARPM?
What is your Guarantee?
Here are some things that we feel set us apart from our competitors:
We provide dreams and piece-of-mind for owners and tenant
• N.A.R.P.M. president and national award winner • Amount of real estate managed $32,000,000+ • 7 point guarantee or “NO” management fee
Certified Property Manager on staff
Over 35 years of on hand real management experience
• Member of Better Business Bureau with “A” Rating
• Highly sought after for Workshops and Informational Video Blogs
Investor
Investor analysis video for property going to purchase • Free one-on-one sit down an investor plan • Welcome Gift
Operation
We get you line item bids for your make ready and do not charge you for the bids • Walk property once per week when vacant•
150-200 move in / out pictures and video
• 2% eviction rate - even if other agent leases prop we do background check
Average vacant days -14-19 days• Rent collection over 90%•
Average Vacancy Rate – 8%• Days to complete a Make-Ready – 48 – 72 Hours
Tenant
We have a 24 hour maintenance hotline with a professional always answering the phone • 24 / 7 Online portal access
Leasing
We list your property on multiple websites for real estate to get your property leased is quickly as possible • Provide tenants with welcome basket and review lease terms
• Licensed Leasing Agents • Great Screening Process
Investor · Elkridge, MD · Member since 2014 · 11 posts · 0 votes
10y
@Christina R. Sorry to dig up this old thread, but was curious if you could share how it went and who you are using now? I'm in the same boat, looking for someone to help me in Baltimore City. Thanks!
Investor · DMV Maryland · Member since 2013 · 867 posts · 370 votes
10y
Sure,
I have @Tyrus Shiversmanaging the property through AMS Property Renovations, LLC. Another person did the lease-up because at that time I thought she was taking on more properties to manage in that area; that changed right when mine was ready to rent but she agreed to lease it up.
This unit has been occupied for almost 3 months. So far so good.
Lacey, WA · Member since 2011 · 48 posts · 8 votes
10y
-How do work orders work?
-Do I get monthly reports?
-How much is a minimum service call?
-Do they charge a premium on repairs? 90% of the time they will even if they say they won't btw...
-How do you deal with a BAD tenant?
you need to be on the exact same page as to the process you're willing to accept when it comes to dealing with tenants. You should be clear cut to the letter with your PM.
-What types of guarantees do you have for leasing a tenant?
I dealt with a company where if they had to replace a tenant in 30 days, I'd keep the first month's rent. ....60 days I get half back....90 days they keep the whole first month's rent.
Rental Property Investor · Albany, OR · Member since 2015 · 312 posts · 136 votes
8y
I know this is old, but for anyone reading this in the future, here are my suggestions.
First I'd make sure you're clear on what services you are getting for the price.
I'd ask about their processes they go through for leasing your property and then for ongoing management. How do they list the property, where do they list it, what is their criteria for screening and selecting tenants? How do they determine rental prices in the area? For ongoing, how do they collect rent, handle maintenance calls, deal with problem tenants? Do they provide accounting and bookkeeping, monthly statements, direct deposits to your account?
Ask for specific examples of how something went wrong in the past and what they did to fix it. Ask for references and follow up with those references (Take what they're saying with a grain of salt, they won't likely give you a reference unless they know it will be a positive one). Check google and yelp reviews.
Pay attention to how they respond. Do they seem honest? Are they friendly and polite? There's no reason to deal with someone who is being rude. Also, did they respond quickly? They likely aren't going to try harder AFTER they have your business.
Hopefully this helps, if anyone has a PM that they are considering but have questions about something they said that doesn't seem right, feel free to reach out and I'll give my opinion.