What is Property Management?

no thumb?

What is Property Management? Even if you do not have a concrete insight into property management or the real estate industry, the term should tell you that it involves the management of a real estate property. Property management involves a situation where a landlord or the owner of a property gives out his property to a property manager or a management company to manage his property on his behalf, advertise the rental properties, screen potential tenants, make repairs to properties, and generally oversee the welfare of the rental properties.

Who is a Property Manager?

A Property Manager is an individual, or the representative of a property management company that enters into agreement with an individual, to manage his or her property on his behalf, collect rent and oversee the welfare and complaints of tenants on the property.

Property Management involves several duties, and a property manager is in place to handle the day-to-day operations of the property. A property manager or a property management company can take charge of several properties spread in different locations, be it single family homes, or large apartment buildings or vast office space.

Duties involved in Property Management

Whether you decide to pick a property manager or a property manager company to oversee your property, both of them perform the same task. The difference is in the experience being brought to the desk. Here are some of the duties involved in property management;

Advertising your Property: If you employ the services of a property manager from the onset, one of his responsibilities would include advertising your properties on various listings and finding the right tenant to place on your property. They are more experienced in this area and could even have a list of potential tenants. With the use of several software, and networking with other property managers, he efficiently advertises your property and gets a suitable tenant for the place.
Screening tenants: The quality of tenants you place on your property would go a long way to determine how long your property would last and the amount of money to be spent on maintaining and making repairs to the property. A professional property manager knows this and would go all out to ensure that only the best tenant is given the spot on your property. With a lease agreement, they ensure that the tenants are informed of their responsibilities, and could be held liable if they fail to meet up. Also, they check the financial history and criminal records of potential tenants, so as to ensure that those they give the properties to can pay their rents, and have no past criminal records.
Collection of rents: Before that, property managers, who are well grounded in the industry knows the amount of rent to collect in order to maximize your profit while not setting it on the high side. They set the initial rent amount and collect rents from tenants as at when due. They are also on ground to begin eviction proceedings against tenants that fail to pay their rents on time. Where legal actions arise against you as a result of one or two decisions taken by the property manager, the manager who is well grounded in the laws surrounding housing and rental properties also act as your representative in court.
Maintenance of properties: Property management involves making sure the property is always in order, handling maintenance and repairs request from tenants. Property managers fix whatever they can fix, and call professionals to do those they can’t do. Preventive maintenance is also carried out to ensure that things do not get way out of hand before they are handled.
Communication and returning checks: In property management, it is the duty of the property manager to communicate regularly with you as the owner of the property. This helps keep your mind at ease and builds trust between you and the manager. Also, the property manager has to ensure that at the end of every month, you get a check for your property. This is one of the major reasons why he was employed in the first place. A property manager who always gives excuses when it’s time to return checks to you is not a good property manager, and should be replaced as soon as possible.