Advice on Choosing a Property Manager
You have a new property or you have been renting one and self-managed for a while, but now you decided that maybe its best to just offload that work and choose a property manager, so what is the next step?
Well its almost the same as with choosing any company, you go online and search for companies, look for reviews, maybe compare fees and check their contracts and maybe even interview a couple of companies that you are interested in, that’s a lot to consider, so here are some tips to make a better and informed choice.
- Company Size Matters – Sure a very small company or one person property management office might be a good fit, but also they will always have their hands full, 9 out of 10 times a larger company with more staff will be better equipped to handle all situations so you the home owner can be relaxed that any and all situations are taken care of.
- Keep it Professional – That doesn’t mean that the company you choose has to be serious, but just because the property managers are welcoming and friendly doesn’t mean they are organized and professional, this is a service and you should always expect prompt and professional behavior.
- They wont always Accept your Property – The property management company might not accept your property, the reasons can be from the size of the property, the amenities, the quality and conservation as well as the location, so you cant expect just because you found the perfect company that they will accept your property.
- Prices and Contract has to be Clear – The contract for the service has to be clear with marked services and prices, with all the expected and unexpected charges being clearly remarked, if you see a contract with unclear language, with lots of exceptions and disclaimers that is not a good sign.
- What Services are Outsourced – This is a important point with property management firms, if they keep their most important services in-house, like maid service, laundry, repairs, gardening, pool maintenance, etc and what services are outsourced to another company, since outsourcing something like gardening might be fine (not all houses have gardens), but outsourcing something like the cleaning and maid service is not a good sign, since that is a essential service for the maintenance of the property and for the only way the company can guarantee a good service is if they run it themselves.
Hope these tips were helpful and if you have a property around Praia da Luz, Lagos, you should give us a call!