CHBO General Corporate Housing

Important Criteria to Consider When Evaluating Property Management Companies

Admin
Published Date: 2018-03-02

It may seem that managing furnished rentals would be a pretty easy job, but most who attempt it as a DIY venture soon come to regret doing so. This is because it can be quite overwhelming, and even just owning and operating one or two furnished rentals or corporate suites can quickly take over your days and nights. It is truly a non-stop activity, and even those who are great at time management struggle to make it work. This is why many decide to work with a property management company.

Choosing Your Provider

As you might already know, no two businesses are alike and where property management companies go, you have to spend some time determining which among them is the best fit for your needs. Let's look at some of the criteria you should consider when hiring a firm to help with your furnished rentals and/or corporate suites:

What is their actual workload?

A company that seeks to take on your furnished rentals should have no problem admitting to you the number of properties they currently manage. If they keep this a secret, look elsewhere. You need to know how many people they have available at any time to help with your corporate suites or other rentals. A recommended ratio is to have one trained staff member to every 30 or so furnished rentals.

Will they be able to screen and choose tenants based on your goals or needs?

You should have an idea of what you want done before renting the property. A good property management firm will listen to what you say and then explain whether that works with their model. For example, you may say you want background checks on identity, rental histories and credit scores. If they are unwilling or unable to handle that, you need to move to your next candidate.

Which steps in the rental process do they handle?

Are they top to bottom managers; interviewing, screening and working with tenants as they move in? Because you are going to want to be hands-off, you need to know that they are going to be good at communicating and working with tenants, handling issues, managing rent collection and more.

What are their costs?

We all know that there is a lot of truth in the saying that you get what you pay for, and when you are searching for a good property management firm, you just cannot start with the costs or fees associated with their work. You also have to consider factors that demonstrate their value. For instance, are they incredibly busy? It is a sign they are good at what they do and popular with other land owners. Do they have low occupancy rates? If so, that too is another good sign. What it boils down to is simple: If you take the time to find a skilled and flexible provider of property management services, you see better profits and enjoy peace of mind; knowing both your properties and tenants are in good hands at all times.