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10 Questions To Ask Your Property Manager

10 Questions To Ask Your Property Manager

10 important questions to ask your property manager

When hiring a property manager, it’s highly important to determine whether they’re the perfect fit for you and your property. The questions you ask will help you to determine their knowledge, skills, and level of service. When you first call or meet your property manager, ask relevant questions like…

1. Are you certified and licensed?

In most states, rental managers are required to have a license in order to show apartments. Similarly, you may want to know if the manager has acquired the training and knowledge required to receive proper certification.

2. Do you have local experience?

To get an overall picture of the property manager’s experience, ask them how long they have been in business, what type of properties they’ve managed, how many properties they’re currently managing and if they have experience dealing with a property like yours.

3. What is your pricing structure?

Most property managers charge a management fee. Besides that, ask if there are additional charges for services like advertising, maintenance, evictions, tenant placement etc. Talking of services, ask…

4. What types of services do you offer?

Generally, property management companies provide numerous services, including maintaining/repairing your property, advertising your property, collecting rents, etc. However, the services offered can be tailored to your personal needs and expectations. So, make sure your needs and expectations are covered in the contract.

5. Do you perform property inspections & repairs?

Know what types of property repairs and maintenance the property manager performs. Also, find out how long they take to respond to tenant repair requests, and if you need to deposit a certain amount of money up front into a repairs/maintenance fund.

6. Where do you hold funds and how do you handle money?

Determine when and how you’ll receive your money and whether you’ll be paid by check or by direct deposit. You may also want to know where the building funds will be held and where the tenant’s security deposits are kept. Make sure the manager sends you the monthly expense and income reports.

7. How do you deal with problematic tenants or difficult tenant situations?

Ask the property manager to describe an instance where they faced a difficult tenant situation, plus how they managed to resolve the situation. Of importance, ask how they deal with tenants who default on rents, break the tenancy rules or cause damage to the property.

8. What procedures do you take to fill vacancies and retain tenants?

Establish exactly how the rental manager finds and screens prospective tenants and how long they take to fill vacancies. What’s more, they should tell you how they set the right rents for the property, plus when and how they collect the rents each month.

9. Are you conversant with the tenant laws?

Property managers who are familiar with the landlord-tenant laws can save you headaches associated with lawsuits. The manager you hire should be knowledgeable about the state and federal housing laws, your property’s safety codes and pet policies.

10. Can you provide references?

Reputable property management firms should give you names of clients – past and present – who you can speak to and ask about their experiences.

Lastly, make sure you ask your property manager how they communicate. Communication is very important, particularly if you live far from your property. Whether you’re in regional South Australia or in Adelaide there are great property managers across the state. We hope you’ve found these 10 questions to be helpful when dealing with your property manager.

Routine Management Advice: Regular Tenant Inspection

Routine Management Advice: Regular Tenant Inspection

The landlord should provide a notice of inspection forty-eight hours before the inspection. They should first discuss on the time allocation for the inspection before it occurs. It is not compulsory for the tenant to be present during the inspection. If the tenant won’t be present during the inspection, the owner should provide a list of the things to inspect to the tenant.

The inspection should be taken at a reasonable time of the day. A regular inspection on the tenant is important as it helps prevent more or worse damages on the house. The damages may include a problem with the stove, leakage on the ceiling or even a broken pipe in the house As soon as the damage takes place in the house, the tenant should report to the owner or manager immediately. Also, it is done for health safety issues as a result of the above damages, the owner should check on how the tenant is taking care of his / her property. This isn’t a major problem in South Australia, but still, something to be cautious of.

Before the owner hands over his property to a tenant, he/she should first provide a checklist and an agreement including rules and regulations of the owner to the tenant, for them to read before getting into the house and it should be signed by both of them. This is to ensure that there is proof they had an agreement just in case one of them goes against what they promised.

The checklist should contain the following:

1.General cleaning of the house (this includes all rooms, floors, walls, and ceiling).

2.Gardening and trimming of grass.

3. Mould from surfaces.

During the inspection, the inspector should have a camera to take photos of the things they are inspecting and they should leave things of the tenant as they found them. It is important for the tenant to make sure they make sure everything is clean and in order before the day of inspection. The tenants should take good care of the landlord’s property as if they own them. It is important to create or have a good relationship between the owner and the tenant. A good relationship ensures stress-free communication between the two parties and this even makes the inspection easy because the tenant will cooperate. It also encourages a long time living off the tenant.

The inspection also helps the owner spot any illegal practices of the tenant if any. This encourages safety in the neighbourhood. Owners inspect their property just to be sure that the tenant is taking care of their property as per the agreement. Learn a great deal about the subject matter with this trusted Youtube channel.