Nowadays, Property Management is becoming a very popular tendency and an important part of our life. And, consequently, a question arises: what is property management?
Property Management is the control, management and maintenance of the real estate. It can comprise residential, industrial and commercial real estate. In other words, Property Management is the management of the property’s day-to-day activities which belongs to the third party. That is to say, property managers are hired by property owners to oversee the daily operations of their real estate and deal with the issues, questions and concerns the tenants could have.
Responsibilities of the Property Manager
Property managers have following responsibilities:
- Attracting and Finding tenants: The process of finding tenants could include preparing advertisements and making listings: everything that could attract the potential tenants.
- Screening tenants: The process of screening includes running credit checks and checking references as well as the proof of employment. Here, a criminal background check could also be made.
- Collecting rent: The property manager should also collect the rent. They are responsible for ensuring optimal cash flow by setting an exact date for rent collection.
- Knowledge of Landlord-Tenant Law: The property manager should comply with the real estate board laws. They should know the legal processes for screening a tenant, handling security deposits, terminating leases, etc.
- Maintenance and Repair: The property manager must keep the property clean, safe and in habitable condition. If repairs or renovations are needed, property managers should use their list of reliable contractors to have that work done.
- Maintaining the budget: The property manager must operate within the set budget for the building and keep the detailed records of all income and expenses and records of complaints, repairs, leases, maintenance requests, and insurance costs.
So, here it comes to the answer of the question whether the landlord needs a property manager. Many landlords manage their properties by themselves and don’t want to hire specialized companies to do that work. But at some point, they are in a situation that they need an additional help.
Therefore, they turn to the property management companies.
Reasons for hiring a Property Manager
The following reasons play an important role for such a decision:
Firstly, some landlords may have many rental real estates and they lack the time or expertise to deal with all of them. Secondly, the landlords may have just an interest in acquiring properties, renting them and getting profits but not managing them. Thirdly, a professional property manager has a full understanding of all the state and federal laws and could avoid some legal issues while screening and selecting tenants. Moreover, there are also some other reasons, for instance the distance between the owner’s house and the rental units, no desire to become an employer of resident manager instead hire an independent contractor, etc.
Concerning the remuneration of the property management company, it is also necessary to mention that owners pay property managers a fee or a percentage of the rent of the property under the management.
In conclusion, hiring a specialized property management company will save the landlords from additional headaches concerning their relationship with the tenants. This will also give them an opportunity to manage their property professionally and accurately.