Due Diligence: 1-4 Unit Property Managers in Greater Indianapolis

[Jimmy S.]

As more and more clients ask me to recommend property managers for their SFH, Duplex and Fourplex properties, I'm updating my due diligence checklist when comes to what to ask a property management provider:

Here are some of the questions I have:

1. Preliminary (Time in business):
2. Operations (Geographical Footprint Of Properties Managed)
3. Preliminary (Credentials / Associations Involved In)
4. Operations (Number Of Rental Properties Managed)
5. Operations (Property Type Managed and Percentage Breakdown Of Each)
6. Preliminary (Personally Invest In Properties Managed)
7. Legal Compliance With Fair Housing
8. Legal (Insurance Carried)
9. Legal (Contract Terms and Cancellation Policy)
10. Legal (Company Sample)
11. Operations (Managers / Staff Employed)
12. Sales (Rental Price Determination)
13. Sales (Vacancy Fees)
14. Sales (Management Monthly Fees)
15. Sales (Company Cancellation Fees)
16. Sales (Miscellaneous Fees - Marketing, Cleaning etc)
17. Operations Specific (Marketing To Good Tenant Base)
18. Operations Specific (Tenant Income Requirements)
19. Legal (Eviction Timeline - When Does It Start?)
20. Operations (Rental Insurance Requirement)
21. Operations Specific (Position Of Tenant Selection - Owner or PM)
22. Communication (Owner/Tenant Response Time)
23. Communication (Tenant Access To Owners)
24. Communication (Property Updates/Owner Online Portal For Information Access)
25. Service (Service Offerings To Owner)
26. Service (Marketing Capabilities and Strategy)
27. Service (Collection Protocol “Owner Direct Deposit” and Ways To Pay Rent)
28. Service (Occupancy Guarantees / Average Occupancy Rates)
29. Lease Up (Average Owner Retention Rate)
30. Lease Up (Average Occupancy Length)
31. Lease Up (Average Vacancy Rate)
32. Lease Up (% Of Tenant Lease Renewal / Lease Renewal Strategy)
33. Lease Up (Average Eviction Rate)
34. Lease Up (% Of Security Deposit Refunded)
35. Maintenance (Tenant Request Process & Tenant Portal Availability)
36. Maintenance (Reserve Requirements With Owner Notification)
37. Maintenance (Discounts With Established Contractor Relationships)
38. Maintenance (Repair Markup)
39. Maintenance (Exterior Landscaping Maintenance)
40. Tenant Move In / Move Out (Documented Process)
41. Additional Resources To Grow Investments

Any other feedback would be helpful as well as great property managers that would be willing to review the list with me that serve the Greater Indianapolis market.

[Ivan Barratt]

@Jimmy S. good list! Here's a few more in no particular order.

Q: what asset classes do you specialize in?

Q: property management software?

Q: what's your company's goals?

Q: what day(s) of the month do you process owners' draws?

Q: do you hold an operating reserve? if so, how much per unit? (*if they don't it's a red flag IMO).