How to select a good property manager

[Tina Chen]

Hi everyone, I am changing property manager in Las Vegas. Can anyone offer any advice on what questions I should ask in order to select a good property manager? Thank you so much. 

[Joe Ellis]

@Tina Chen, I think you should definitely find out how many evictions they have within the last couple of years, how many properties they manage and how many people they have working for them just to make sure there isn't one person trying to manage 500 properties and yours just becomes another that gets managed "so-so" instead of a PM that does a great job but has less properties. Also I think that you should find out what kind of process for tenant screening they have and to see if that fits with your ideals and if it doesn't, would they mold themselves for your properties to your specific criteria. If not then I think you should pass on them. There is a podcast (I don't remember which episode, sorry) that spells out very well how to search for a good PM. 

[Jeff Quayle]

I may just be lucky or not know any better, but I've been very happy with my property manager.

Owner is an agent of about 20 years in Vegas and is an investor himself. They do very through background checks including going and taking pictures of their current residence. All the contractors they use are required to take pictures very service (pool, Landscapers, etc). They have a portal online where I can access all the info about my rentals. They also give a discount for management of more then 1 property.

PM me if you're interested in contact info, but those are some qualities I'd be looking for if I purchased property outside of Vegas.

Jeff

[Steve Rozenberg]

. I would look up NARPM.ORG and start with them..Below are some questions I would think would be a good starting point for you to see who really treats their company like a business or a hobby.

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?

[Phillip Dwyer]

@Tina Chen There are a ton of resources on BP to help give you a checklist of good questions to ask.  I think BP even has a white paper or something similar they put out a couple of years ago.  

I'm not sure this gets brought up enough, but I think location of your properties and the property manager is very important for several reasons.  

1.  The closer the property manager is located to your properties, the more efficient he/she/they can be.  The more efficient the property manager is, the more profitable they will be.  The more profitable their business is, the more likely they will be able to adequately service your property for the long term.

2.  Agents and PMs that concentrate most of there business in one or two areas quickly become experts in terms of rent rates, vacancy, demand, floorplans, ect.  

3.  A property manager that specializes in a specific area is more likely to have prospective tenants already lined up for your property.

4.  When you go to sell your property, the PM may already have a buyer if they are really working that area.

Where are your properties located?