What Type of Property Manager Should You Hire?

Even well seasoned landlords may not know where to start when seeking a property manager.  The task of finding the right property manager for you and your home might be a challenging task, but one that is well worth your time and effort.  There is a wide range of property managers in the real estate field.  Some are part time managers who are sales agents doing property management on the side, and some are “jack of all trades” who handle every type of property management including office buildings, apartment buildings, vacation homes, individual homes, shopping centers, as well as homeowner associations.  Then there are the specialized property managers who only handle one type of management.

After 26 yeas in property management I have found that being focused on one area of management is the most effective way to manage property.  The real estate business is very complicated and has only become more complicated over the years.  Managing an office building is completely different from managing an individual home.  Some significant differences include:  marketing, tenant screening, lease preparation, maintenance, rent collections, lease renewals, evictions, complaints, move out process, security deposit handling, and tenant relations.  It would be extremely difficult to not only become an expert in all of the different types of management, but also to stay up to date with all of the legal changes.

My recommendation as a first step is to locate a property manager that specializes in the type of property that you own.