New landlords who are faced with leaving the area frequently call me asking if I will lower my management fee because they have already done the HARD PART and secured their own tenant.
I explain that I would not charge my "leasing fee"; however, I would charge my monthly management fee as I collected the rent. I then go on to question where they are in their process with "their" tenant? * do they have applications from the tenants? * is there a signed lease? what type of lease form did they use? This is often where they realize that maybe all of the "heavy lifting" has not been done and that the "lease up" job is not completed.
While they may have applicants and even application paperwork, they have not screened the applicants, done their past landlord reference checks, run credit reports, done employment checks NOR do they have lease paperwork.
To these landlords, the "hard part" is over; to a professional property manager, the FUN PART is OVER and the HARD PART is just BEGINNING.
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM * GIBSON MANAGEMENT GROUP, Ltd.
Central Virginia
LandlordWhisperer
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As a Realtor who specializes in Residental Sales myself....
I hire a property manager for my own rental properties. Priceless!
~Deb Cullen, Century 21 Sunbelt, Cape Coral, FL
A good property manager is worth their weight in gold. With the right kind of checking up front, you'll have long term tenants that take good care of your property.
Good morning Wallace,
I have an excellent property manger I always recommend. One of my sellers is out of the country and is haggling with her over her fees and the things she needs to do (move out her furniture in her large home and neutalize the bedroom paint). She just lost precious time that was needed to have the home listed and secure a tenant (our community leases in June & July as school starts August 24th). They just don't gt it!
Good property managers provide very valuable service. We have clients that have asked us to help them manage properties, but we decline. It is too much effort and takes a real pro.
Our school starts mid-August and then there are the DINKS * double income no kids * who will be renting through mid-October...have KEYS will SHOW!!!
Everyone needs to be paid for the services they render. Why shouldn't Property Managers do the same? You pay for convenience, and hiring a Property Manager takes most all the worries off of you. Don't buy an investment property if you don't want to manage it yourself or pay someone to do it for you.
Wallace-
A skilled Property Manager makes it look **so easy** but it really takes alot of knowledge and tact to keep the owners out of court. Many don't see it that way....they think that it's easy to find a good tenant, all you do is run an ad. All of us who manage property know that this is not true. We can only hope to convince them that we are worth our weight in gold.
Wallace some owners just throw away so much money in their efforts to save money and keep more of it. While at the same time underestimating the value of someone manages many properties and streamlines the process from beginning to end. Some owners think what we do is so simple.
Wallace,
Love this post and comments. So true! It's been a roller coaster day with tons of craziness, all a typical day in the life of a property manager. Where the heck is that EASY button again?
We work real hard to do the right thing for our owners benefit, but we pick the right owners to help, just as important as getting the right tenants.
All the best, Michelle
Wallace, thanks for that post. I believe you should definitely stand by your fees because, let's face it, knowing the law and working with the intellectual and empirical capital you have acquired over the years, is well worth the money. Preventing "misunderstandings" or "arbitration" (or worse) from happening is worth the money for landlords. I'm a landlord of a few properties and am a REALTOR and let me tell you, it's been an invaluable experience. Jark.