Questions to ask your Property Manager

If you are considering a property manager there are things you should consider and look at beyond the fee that they charge. Just like any other industry, there are good, bad, and everything in between. Some place their value on a ultra low price and some pride themselves as a quality service and charge accordingly. Look for a quality manager that has a system and a process in place to ensure higher occupancy rates and lower eviction rates. Here are some questions to ask them and to consider when choosing your property management company.

  1. What areas do you work in? Some companies take all they can get and in a city as large as Phoenix that could take it’s tole on a smaller company. If they are going valley wide, do they have staff and managers to keep up with everything? Are they close to their properties and have local vendors to service the property when in need?
  2. What is your eviction rate and qualifications for tenants? How many evictions are they doing? Is their system flawed and perhaps choosing the wrong people to rent their properties? Ask them what qualifications they are looking for in a tenant to ensure great tenants. Dig deep in this area, getting the wrong tenants in your home could cause lots of trouble and cost lots of money.
  3. Ask for referrals. Call them and get the good and the bad from some of their clients
  4. Ask about pricing AND fees. Many companies in this industry use very low pricing as bait to get your attention. Look at their fee structure closely. Often you will see other fees that make up for the low management fee such as leasing fees/commissions when finding your tenants, maintenance coordination fees, eviction fees, document prep fees etc. I recommend taking their fee structure and model over the course of a year to see the true cost beyond the low monthly management fee. Below is a worksheet you can use. At AZ Property Management Group our pricing is transparent and we have no hidden fees.
  5. What are your guarantees? What the tenant flakes out after 3 months. Do you have to pay for another tenant? Unfortunately this sometimes happens, we guarantee our tenants for 6 months and if on our Flat Fee plan you NEVER pay a leasing fee!

Documents:
Plan Worksheet

Please contact us if we can assist with you management needs and take a loo around this website to learn more about our property management operation.