S
o…you’ve started on the road
to real estate investing: You’ve
purchased a property(ties) to
add to your portfolio. You can
relax, sit back and wait for
those rent checks to roll in…right? NO! A
critical piece of the investment puzzle is
protecting your assets and that translates to
two words: Property Management.
A property management company in-
best case scenario would be if they have
their own maintenance team. It is impor-
tant to understand how you will be billed
for these services. Most property manag-
ers have an “up charge” for managing the
contractors. The norm for this service is
between 10-20%. I have seen companies
as high as 40%. If you don’t ask the ques-
tion, you don’t know what you are going to
be charged.
with the company. Meet with the staff, of-
fice and maintenance. Are all familiar and
well-versed with current property and Fair
Housing laws? Inquire as to the handling
of rent collection, monthly statements,
eviction procedures, knowledge of Section
8. Vacancies need to be filled as quickly as
possible. What’s their vacancy rate? Aver-
age time from a tenant vacating to the new
tenant’s lease signing? Effective advertis-
Property Management:
by Missy McCall Hammonds
The Key To Protecting
Your Investments
sures that your investments are maintained
and rented or rent-ready after a vacancy.
In my opinion, whether you’re a fledgling
or seasoned investor, a qualified property
management company is a necessity. The
everyday details and tasks of maintaining
and renting properties can be daunting. We
all know that time is money and your time
can be better spent on finding more proper-
ties and building your portfolio and leave
managing your rentals to the professionals.
Why is a property manager critical?
A qualified management company will
prove to be invaluable. They are the key
to your financial success after you have se-
lected a perfect property. They will handle
the entire rental process from marketing,
showing, qualifying prospective tenants,
and the lease signings.
Starting with a thorough screening,
which includes a background check, rental
and employment verification, and contact-
ing previous landlords. You should ask the
property management company for a copy
of there leasing criteria. They should have
a rental procedure, in writing about how a
potential tenant is evaluated and accepted.
Once a tenant is occupying the prop-
erty, the management company will be
responsible for scheduling and completing
maintenance issues, tenant disputes or con-
cerns. Your property manager should have
existing relationships with contractors and
Realty411Guide.com
You should ask how you are billed and
if there is evidence the repairs have been
made. I can’t tell you the number of clients
that have told me about buying appliances
for there rental that was never delivered. I
picture tells the story!!!
Finally, you need to know their policy
on how a tenant requests a repair and their
policy on when and how quickly repairs
are done. The number one cause for ten-
ants moving is a property not being main-
tained. A vacant property doesn’t make you
money!
Last, but most important, is how your
money is collected? What is the procedure
for the collection of rents, monthly state-
ments, filing evictions? If they just expect
the tenant to send them money on the first
and don’t have a billing process, you might
want to keep looking! How much are late
fees? Who gets them when they are col-
lected, and how do your receive general
accounting information.
What should I look for in a property
management company?
It’s imperative that you do your due
diligence in your search for a property
management company to entrust your
real estate assets. Thoroughly research the
company’s history: length of time in busi-
ness, how many properties do they man-
age, do they handle both single and multi-
families. Talk with past and present clients,
ask for a testimonial as to their experiences
PAGE 42 • 2011
ing is crucial to having a large pool of qual-
ified prospective tenants to choose.
We strongly encourage potential tenants
to get pre-approved when we receive no-
tice that a property will be vacated: Often,
we have a deposit and tenant ready to go
and our vacant-to-rented time
is 0 days!!
Missy McCall Hammonds
has perfected the art of prop-
erty management. Missy has
bought and sold many properties and her
company currently owns and manages in
excess of 350 rental units. When asked her
secret to successful property managing, the
reply is to have a professional, competent
maintenance and rehab team in place. As
with all aspects of Missy’s success in real
estate, she stresses the importance of sys-
tems for managing properties. Missy’s
team of qualified professionals are skilled
in rehabbing and maintaining single and
multi-families. They are responsible for
preparing rentals for the market, daily
work orders and maintenance in addition
to total rehabs of newly-purchased proper-
ties. Systems are implemented to facilitate
the process of insuring that the properties
are maintained and vacant-to-rental time is
kept to a minimum. The maintenance team
is available 24/7 for emergencies. Missy’s
record of long-term tenants and reputation
of quality rentals speaks volumes for her
property management.
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