When you’re looking for professional property management in Philadelphia, PA, you want to make sure you’re working with a partner who aligns with your values and goals. A good property manager will listen to your struggles and your challenges, and put their experience, knowledge, and resources to work in helping you have a better investment experience.
It’s easy enough to check out a management company’s website or read their positive customer reviews. Make sure you spend some time interviewing them as well. Here are the first 10 questions you should ask.
- How long have you been managing rental homes like mine?
It’s important to hire a management company that has the experience that’s required to effectively lease, manage, and maintain your properties. You want to look for more than years of experience, however, you also want to know what types of homes and properties they’re currently managing. If your entire portfolio is made up of single-family homes in HOA neighborhoods, a property management company that specializes in large apartment buildings may not be the best fit. - How do you communicate with owners and with tenants?
Communication should be open and transparent. Your property managers need to be available, accessible, and responsive. Make sure your expectations match what your management company is willing to do. Some owners want frequent updates and others don’t want to be bothered. You’ll want to know how often you can expect to hear from your property managers. - What are your vacancy and retention rates?
Vacancy and turnover costs are some of the largest expenses that property owners must face. A good property manager will be able to tell you how long their properties tend to be vacant before they’re rented and how long an average tenant stays in place. - How do you screen tenants?
Discuss the tenant screening process and the application procedures that the management company follows. It’s important that prospective tenants are being screened thoroughly and consistently. You also want to make sure your property management company knows and complies with all fair housing laws. - Do you invest in technology?
Personalized and customized property management processes are important, but technology and automation also has a role in the effective leasing, management, and maintenance of your investment property. You should be able to view information such as inspection reports and maintenance invoices online. Your tenants should be able to pay rent online. Marketing, leasing, and showings can all go more smoothly when your property manager can access the appropriate technology. - What’s your maintenance process?
You’ll want to know how routine and emergency maintenance needs will be handled. Ask about vendors and contractors. There should be a balance. You want your management team to protect the condition of your home, but you want it to be handled cost-effectively. - Is rent collected on time?
On-time rent collection is important to your cash flow and your long term ROI. Ask a property manager what’s done to ensure rent is collected on time. Find out how and when you can expect it to be paid to you. Most management companies will pay via direct deposit so you’re not stuck waiting for a check. Ask about late fees and other consequences for late rental payments. - How do you handle nonpayment of rent?
A lot of landlords worry about eviction. Your property manager should have experience filing evictions, and you should feel comfortable that if your tenant stops paying, he or she will be removed and replaced with a tenant who follows the terms of the lease. - Will you provide accounting statements and reports?
It should be easy for owners to log in and see rental payments, maintenance requests, and outstanding invoices. You should be able to access accounting statements and financial reports whenever you need them. Tracking income and expenses is an important job of your property manager. - How are you different from other management companies?
This is perhaps the most important question you can ask. You always want to know what sets one company apart from others. Pay attention to this answer so you know how the management company sees itself and how it compares to the competition.
There will likely be more than 10 questions you want to ask a potential property management company. If you’d like to hear out answers, please contact us at TCS Management.
TCS Management is a full service property management company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, also serving Cherry Hill, NJ, Wilmington, Delaware and the surrounding areas. We focus on single-family and multifamily residential property management of homes, condos, townhomes, and apartment buildings.
