Keeping tabs on your Property Manager

[Chris Martin]

This is mostly for owners of out-of-town property, but how do you keep track of your property manager? What kind of reporting do you require of your PM? Are they diligent in showing rentals and following up on rental applicants? How do you know?

A simple example: Tenants are to pay by the 1st, late on the 5th. If a tenant pays on the 6th, and the PM charges the tenant a late fee, do you always see the late fee as income on your statement from the PM? How do you know the payment was the 5th (no late fee) or the 6th (late fee applies)? There may be a temptation for a PM to pocket the late fee and tell the owner (if the owner asked) that the payment was on the 5th and no late fee applied.