What's the First Question That You Shouldn't Ask A Property Manager?

[Adam Bartomeo]

As a tenured Property Manager I meet a lot of folks that are in the real estate industry - agents, PM's, contractors, and owners. I get a lot of questions about sales, the market, and rental pricing. But, normally, the first question that I get from agents and owners is "How much are your fees"? The second question that I get from owners is "Would you be willing to lower that"? I have to shake my head... 

It never ceases to amaze me how these questions immediately expose how inexperienced and naive these folks really are. It shows their lack of knowledge and understanding about how important a PM really is to the success their investment. Ask any experienced real estate investor and they will tell you that the most important team member you can have on your buy and hold team is your PM. The PM will MAKE or BREAK your investment. Now, I am not saying that understanding the fees or negotiating fees isn't important but it is nowhere near as important as other factors. It's like looking for someone to marry and the first question you have is "How are you in the sack"? and the second is "Can you be better than that"? No wonder you are single... 

It is much more important to get to know what a PM's experience is, how many years they have been managing properties, are they also an investor, what types of owners they work with, how many total units they manage, what their largest property is, what class of properties do they manage, how do they handle tenant communication, maintenance requests, expenses, do manage commercial or residential, and what type of software they use.

Just some advise from a seasoned investor and property manager, The First Question That You Shouldn't Ask is, How much do you charge?