Property Manager Interview: Am I Being Too Tough?

[Julie Desautels]

Hi Everyone!

I am interested in buying a rental property, and after months of reading I am starting to take action!

One tip I've heard was to find your property manager first. Reach out to property managers in the area you want to invest in, and make sure they are good property managers BEFORE you find your property.

So I selected a potential market, have done research on it to get a basic understanding of the rental rates, and got a list of rental property mangers from NARPM. I have sent them all out an email introducing myself, and with a list of 10 basic questions (vacancy rates, their fees, how many properties they manage, etc).

In my reading, it recommended asking for email responses so they don't sidetrack you with a sales pitch and actually answer your questions. It is also easier to compare each manager side by side, and makes it easier for people who still work a full time job (such as myself) to review after business hours.

I have gotten an email back from two out of four property managers asking me to set up a call, even though I noted I work full time and would like an emailed response. Should I push them to answer my questions via email? Is this their first "test" of what sort of property manager they will be? Or should I let it go and call them? Am I being too tough? Or starting off as a pushover?

Thanks!

[Lynnette E.]

As you are weighting them out to determine if you want to hire them, they are assessing you to see if they want to work for you.

They may want to be able to pick up the phone and discuss an issue and not have to write a bunch of reports about every issue.  Their time is valuable and what they can say in 10 minues may take them an hour to write out and explain.