Property Managers claiming vacant units

[Andrew Lawrence]

Hi,

I recently explained what I wanted to do with a family member about how being a multi-family property landlord would be like and how property management works in the scenario. They brought up the question and basically asked me, "What do you do in the situation where the property manager is claiming some units as vacant, but have secretly rented them out and just pocketing the income from that?". 

So what is the most effective way to make sure your out of state property management company is doing things the right way / above board? Not trying to sound paranoid, but I've been reading horror stories and Id like to be able to assure future investors that everything is running smoothly when taking on a project like that.