Looking for Property Manager in Azusa, Glendora, Monrovia CA

[Eric Chiu]

Hello BP members, I am planing to invest in multi unit in those cities and would love to talk to property managers or investors about them.  

[Steve Rozenberg]

As a fellow investor and owner of property management company, I am not sure I agree with the above statement. Only thing you are not taking into account is the fact that you are running a business with Profit / Loss, Income / Expenses, and Laws. You have the Fair Housing Laws, Discrimination Law, Eviction Law, Fair Credit Reporting Act, California Property Code law ( I am assuming California has this). 

Remember the landlord is the highest sued in real estate mainly because they do not take the time to learn these laws in a very litigious society. If you are willing to take it seriously and educate yourself on these laws then yes I would agree you could manage them yourself. But the bigger question is how much free time do you have and where do you place that value. I personally did not get involved in investing to have a second or third job just to have headache and stress because I didn't know what I was doing. 

I agree that yes there are some horrible property management companies out there. But there are also some good ones as well. You have to make sure you goals align with theirs and their management style. You have to ask the hard questions first and set the property expectations with not only a management company, but a vendor, a tenant, or any business venture.. most people do not think too much about the running of the business till after the fact, which is why so many people fail at this. 

Below are some basic questions for property management companies.

I would look up NARPM 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?
• Do you provide move in and move out reports
• How many pictures do you take of the property prior to tenant moves in and after the tenant moves out
• Do you get weekly reports when the property is vacant what prospective tenants are saying about your home
• Do you provide monthly newsletters to your tenants
• Do you hold investor education classes to help me become a better investor
• Do you have single point portfolio based management services?
• How many properties do the owners actually own themselves?
• What do you do to ensure that the tenant is responsible for security deposit disputes since that is the largest reason for owner lawsuits
• How familiar are you with the newly changed laws that can affect you the owner if they are not used correctly?