9 Biggest Mistakes in choosing a Property Management Company.
Paying a percentage (%) of the lease price as a Management Fee. Why do some companies charge twice as much to manage a $2000/month home as a $1000/month home? Are they harder to manage? No. In fact, low priced homes are the hardest to manage. Tenants in those homes are usually younger, lower income, and financially or emotionally vulnerable to life’s changes. As a result there are more job losses, break ups/divorces and surprise financial happenings that can easily affect the likelihood of getting rent on time (or at all). Renters Choice charges a low flat fee of $85 per month for any home we manage.
Trusting your Management Company. Does that sound cynical? Yes. But after years of shocking stories of promises made and not delivered by other companies, not trusting your property management company is the wisest move a smart property owner can make. With Renters Choice all of our communications are documented and available to you. All repairs have invoices with photos proving the repairs were done. All inspections are documented and date stamped and continually available for your review so that you know that we have done what we have said we would do. Will you trust us? Of course. But we believe you should “Trust but Verify”.
Choosing a Property Management Company doesn’t use electronic lockboxes. Not only do we use electronic lockboxes that requires tenants register to use them, we use Realtor electronic lockboxes as well. They track all activity from who seen the house to when. They also allow us to get feedback on all showings. With feedback we can quickly discover if your price is in line with other rentals in the area or if there is an easily curable condition that we can take care of quickly. That reduces market time and vacancy days. We never use generic combination lockboxes and give the prospective tenant the code. That is a huge security issue. Once a tenant has the combination what is to prevent them from coming back into the home and taking what they want?
Owner Fees:
$85 Monthly Management Fee
$895 Leasing Fee
(Includes MLS, Realtor.com and Zillow)
Due only after we are successful in placing a tenant.
Nothing out of pocket.
GUARANTEED Full Service includes:
Exterior inspections - Monthly
Interior Inspections - At six months and at lease renewal.
Smaller company means:
Celebrating 30 years
of Real Estate Sales and Management Excellence
Our philosophy at Renter Choice Homes is that hiring a management company should bring peace to your life. Once that is accomplished our fee is the best money you could invest in yourself.
As you may know, it’s the details that can make owning a rental a challenge, keeps you awake at night, give you anxiety and make you want to get rid of “that house”. In frustration, people turn to property management companies to handle “everything” for them. So, what is “everything”? It depends on who you ask.
An owner would say “everything” is:
To most management companies “everything” is:
So what’s the difference? And how does that affect you and your home? Two (2) main differences:
One of the most important details in managing a home successfully and one that is core to our philosophy is monthly exterior inspection and interior inspections after the tenant has been there 6 month (once the tenant has gotten comfortable and is living as they normally do) and a follow up inspection for the lease renewal. These inspections do two important functions:
Our leasing fee includes MLS and Realtor.com which exposes your home to the largest number and highest quality tenants both locally and nationwide. That ensures you are getting the house leased as quickly as possible for the highest rent possible. Does every property management company use MLS? No. Because it costs hundreds of dollars for each house because we have to pay the tenant’s agent. Using a company that doesn’t use MLS could save you $300 in fees but you could spend $1000 - $2000 in additional payment. Plus the tenant quality could be lower which increases ownership costs too.
If you are looking for the high quality property management that won't kill your bottom line please send us and email and we can show you how we do what we do. Email [email protected] for information, a courtesy drive by inspection (or interior inspection) and market analysis.
Sincerely,
Paul Ruston, Broker