Managing your property manager

[Aaron Law]

I'm new to using a property manager to manage my SFH which I'll start renting out in about 2 months.

I read a post on here the other day talking about better managing your property manager. What are the best tips on how I can better manage my property manager so they're doing their best job at taking care of my property?

Are there any benchmarks in relation to property management that I should know and hold my PM to?

Thanks for your replies!

[Drew Sygit]

@Aaron Law

You actually ask a very good question! 

More property owners should understand that rentals are NOT a passive investment like mutual funds.

Issues to Monitor (politely)

1) Monthly P&L Report - if they don't consistently send it around same day each month, they are not organized and it doesn't bode well overall

2) Monthly Owner Draws - should come about same day each month, hopefully via ACH, with statement showing how calculated

3) Maintenance - question EVERYTHING! #1 source of owner dissatisfaction & confusion.
- We tell all our MNT Admins that if they can't understand a maintenance issue, then how are they going to be able to properly explain it to an owner?
- Some PMC's terrible at overcharging, not properly charging tenants for damages when warranted and doing unnecessary repairs. 
- You should expect communication about ALL maintenance work within 72 hours
- You should know the contractual threshhold requiring your approval and make sure it is adhered to except emergencies. We have a local competitor that deliberately seperates single service call issues into separate Work Orders, so each issue falls under the threshhold and they don't need owner approval. Owner only finds out about it all when they see large amount of maintenance charges on their monthyl statement.
- Get your PMC's definition of an emergency in writing and hold them to it.
- EVERYONE has a camera phone, so there's ZERO exuse for a PMC to not provide before & after pics/videos 90%+ of the time, so you can confirm what you paid for was done and done properly.

4) Rent Collection - PMC should communicate when they receive a payment, any NSF, when rent is late, and their ongoing collection/eviction efforts. 

5) Lease Renewals - owner should have a say in new rent amount. We send owners statement of current rent amount, how much market rent is for tip-top shape and our recommendation given current property condition and tenant payment/maintenacne history.

6) Vacancies - you should know what's going on after 2 weeks.
- We send owners market analysis with ad copy for approval. 
- Thereafter, we send biweekly marketing report with any suggestions to improve results

Hope all this helps!