property management

[Dean Kohler]

hi

I'm new to all this rental stuff.. we are looking for a property management company to rent out our house, and to take care of the things that go wrong while a tenant is renting it...  

my question is, what questions do we need to ask so that we don't get may surprises down the road in future? we live in vancouver washington and the people we have talked to all want X amount for a monthly fee, then they want any where from 300-500 just to put someone in the house...  then there is the charges for service calls when thing go wrong and need to be repaired...  

i understand that a service call for a broken appliance is going to be there and that any company will need to get paid for what they do... 

i would appreciate any thoughts anyone has about their experiences, and any tips that would help us... if anyone in this area that has input, i would especially like to hear from you..

thanks for reading and for your response...   

[Gino Barbaro]

@Dean Kohler

Hi Dean

We self manage our properties, but I did employ a management company when I owned a couple of small duplexes.

Here is a list of questions I ask Management companies

How long have you been in business?

Do you have a website

How do you utilize social media?

How many units do you manage?

What are the types of properties that you manage? Single Family, Multifamily?

Do you manage any units in the vicinity of my property?

What is your fee to manage properties?

What services are included in the fees to manage the property?

Will you employ an onsite manager, and what are the cost associated?

How much do you charge to renew leases?

How do you advertise your rentals?

What are your tenant screening policies?

What is the cost of your staff: leasing agents, maintenance crew?

What are the hours for the office?

What type of property management software do you use?

What is the cost of your average apartment turn?

What is the timeframe for your average turn?

How long does it take for maintenance requests?

How do you document maintenance requests?

Do you employ your own maintenance staff, or hire outside contractors?

Will you inspect all work performed on the property?

Will you hold my account in a separate bank account?

Do you perform tenant surveys?

What is the average rent in the market for my apartment?

Do you charge security deposits?

What type of fees do you charge tenants?

What is your strategy on increasing rents to market?

Do you handle Section 8 tenants?

How long is the contract for?

Do you handle eviction, and if so, what is your process?

Do you have an after hour call center?

Do you belong to any Property Management Organizations?

Has your firm been sued in the last five years?

Do you employ an employee handbook?

What type of training do you offer to your employees?

Do you have a tenant referral policy?

Can you provide me with a list of a couple of properties that you manage

in the area?

Look over the documents that the management company uses, and the policies

that they will be enforcing.

Hope this helps. These questions may all not apply to SFH.

Gino