How to 'Manage the Propery Manager'?

[P R.]

Howdy. New here and a newbie to RE with one SFH property. Had property for 4 years - Kingman AZ. I've had mostly negative experience with Property Managers. In four years had 2 PM's and three tenants. The property managers have been pretty bad with communication and bad with follow through for late rents and lease agreements, such as landscaping. I occasionally have to write to remind them that rent is due or yard work should be cared for etc. The problem is that this is such a small town (and everyone knows everyone) it's hard to find professional managers....because there are none.

So the question is - How do you manage the property manager in a small town?

[Nathan Gesner]

Finding a good property manager is difficult in any area, but particularly in small communities. I'm managing 350 doors in a county of 25,000 people and I am the only professional manager in town. Not to brag, but if I didn't exist then this entire corner of the state would have nobody.

I think it's important to educate yourself on what a good property manager looks like before searching. Then set your expectations up front and "train" the manager in the same way you would "train" a Tenant. Lay out expectations in writing. When they fail, kindly and professionally point them to the agreement and correct them. If they are good people, they will make the effort to get better. If not, they'll repeat the mistake and then you should perhaps consider firing them and trying again. It's tough when you have limited selection.

Question: if you're using a manager, why not purchase in an area where good managers are available? I love my community and would like to invest here, but I would rather put my money where I know it can be managed properly. The point of property management is to protect my property, my income, and my time. If the PM is failing in one of those, what's the point?