If you own rental property, you know that sometimes maintaining a property is time consuming. That is why many landlords choose to contract with a property management company to manage their units. Hiring a property manager can save you time but it is important to ensure that the manager complies with the landlord tenant laws of Alabama and your standard of maintenance and tenant relations. Always remember that ultimately your property manager represents you and as such, you will be responsible for the manager’s actions. With that in mind, here are a few things you should consider when dealing with managment companies:
- Understand the fee structure: It goes without saying that you should consider the cost of the service in relation to the services offered. Often managment companies charge 10% or more of the rental income on your properties. You can also expect additional fees for the initial rental and maintenance costs. Review the contract to ensure that you are not surprised by the cost of services.
- Review the rental companies proposed lease and termination notices: Ultimately, you are responsible if your manager is using outdated leases and termination notices. Problems with these forms can cause you to lose precious time and money if your eviction proceeding is delayed or dismissed because of inadequate forms.
- Review their fair housing policies: All property managers should know that there are federal anti-discrimination laws that apply in housing rentals. If a potential manager cannot answer your questions about the laws or openly makes discriminatory statements in your presence, you may want to think twice.
- Take a look at other properties the potential manager is currently handling. Do they look well kept? Is the yard maintained? If the other properties in the manager’s portfolio look run down, you may want to look elsewhere.
- How does the manager talk about the tenants? If a potential manager sees the tenants as the enemy, you may have future problems. In my experience, when people have healthy relationships with the landlord or property manager, they tend to cooperate and pay the rent. When the relationship breaks down or the tenant feels disrespected, it becomes harder to collect.
- What are the manager’s policies with regard to scheduled maintenance and inspections? It is a good practice to have quarterly walk throughs of your property to ensure that they are maintained. While you are there, you can see the properties yourself and talk to your tenants if there are things that need repairing. This is also a way to verify that the mainenance you were charged for was done in a satisfactory manner.
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