Sit Back and Relax: Here’s What a Property Manager Takes Care Of
Sit Back and Relax: Here’s What a Property Manager Takes Care Of
Sit back, relax, and let Alpine Edge do the rest. Have you ever wondered what a property manager actually does? Check out this guide of responsibilities.
Do you own a vacation home in Breckinridge and need some help taking care of business? Or perhaps you’re an investor and own multiple properties or an HOA that needs a hand to keep things running smoothly?
Properties can be difficult to manage. Especially when landlords live far away. So what do you do if you don’t have the time, knowledge, or interest to take care of your property?
The answer: hire a property manager. Property managers do a variety of tasks to help keep peace of mind and to keep the cash flowing. Here is what is expected of a property manager and how they can help property owners.
1. Property Managers Can Help You Find Qualified Tenants
Property manager responsibilities include finding qualified tenants for rentals. You don’t want to rent your property to the wrong tenant who has a history of eviction, neglecting properties, or upsetting other tenants.
A property manager performs a thorough screening process to learn about tenant applicants. This can help you weed out problem tenants, including people evicted for not paying rent, noisy tenants, and people whose habits have caused good tenants to move.
2. A Property Manager Should Be Great at Marketing
Property managers hold a wide variety of marketing know-how to help you find tenants. They help landlords advertise their properties in several places so you can have a wider tenant pool to choose from.
A property manager can hire talented photographers to take exceptional photos or virtual tours to make your property look attractive. Some property managers possess excellent photography skills.
3. They Know What to Charge for Rent
Sometimes it’s difficult for a landlord to know what to charge for rent. Rent prices depend on certain criteria such as market conditions, upgrades in a home, and a number of other factors.
A property manager knows what the rental prices are going for in your town, neighborhood, and block. They obtain this information through marketing analysis they have access to.
This way you won’t overcharge or undercharge the rental amount for your property. You don’t want to turn away a good tenant or charge a tenant less than your vacation rental is worth.
4. They Collect Rent
One of the other duties of a property manager is to collect rent from tenants. Either in person or through a system such as a rental portal they set up for you. They can arrange for tenants to set up an autopay account so that the rent goes into your account on the first of every month or another date agreed upon depending on the terms of the lease.
This assures optimum cash flows to you faster. And it’s great if a property manager takes over if you’re not technically savvy.
5. They Adjust the Annual Rent
Each state or township allows landlords to raise the rent by a certain percentage annually. A qualified property manager knows the local and state laws. If there is any reason the rent should be lowered, managers can do that, too.
If a tenant gets upset about having to pay more money when their lease renews, your property manager can show the tenant documentation that gives you the right to raise the rent based on the cost of living increases or other real estate laws.
The manager will also set the lease terms and write the appropriate clauses in the lease to protect your interests. Examples include establishing the security deposit amount to be paid, pet policies, appliances included, and other terms.
6. Property Managers Handle Eviction and Tenant Complaints
When a tenant doesn’t pay rent for a period of time or violates the terms of the lease, the property manager knows how to file for an eviction with the court. There are certain procedures that must be carried out, paperwork required, and other filing responsibilities a good manager will know how to handle.
Evictions can be particularly stressful and emotional for landlords when they’re losing money due to non-payment of rent, getting damage to their property. Or when good tenants want to vacate the rental because they perceive this tenant to be a threat to their safety or security.
By hiring a property manager, it takes the anxiety out of the court experience. It won’t be as emotional if a property manager can take care of the details and represent you in court.
A Local Property Manager Can Respond to Emergencies Quickly
Managers can also handle tenant emergencies that happen to the property. Some examples could be water damage due to a storm or plumbing and electrical issues.
A property manager can make the arrangements to contact the right contractor to rectify the situation. Since property managers are local, they’ll be able to react to the situation more quickly than a landlord who lives out of town.
7. How Property Managers Handle Vacancies
When tenants vacate the property, landlords are required to perform certain duties before they can legally rerent the unit. Here are some of these duties:
- Thoroughly inspect the property
- Check the unit for damages and calculate what amount of the security deposit will be deducted for the landlord to make repairs and what portion will be returned to the tenant
- Get a Certificate of Occupancy if it’s required before renting the unit
- Cleaning and painting the unit and arranging for any repairs to be done
When a rental is vacant, time is of the essence. It’s important to tend to these responsibilities. Every day an apartment is vacant is another day of rent lost.
8. Other Roles of a Property Manager
A property manager performs other roles. They need to ensure the property is in tip-top shape and the landlord is following real estate laws. Here are some of the other duties
- Continually maintain the property’s exterior such as landscaping, inspecting roofs, cleaning gutters and making the property look pristine
- Ensure the property is safe and there are no obstructions, wires, or holes on the property that would jeopardize the safety of inhabitants
- Shovel snow
- Trash removal
- Hire licensed contractors for repairs
- Be extremely knowledgeable of tenant laws and landlord responsibilities
- Assure employees such as security guards do their jobs effectively
- Hiring and firing of new employees
- Maintain budgets and keep accurate records of any expenses
- File taxes for the landlord
The Takeaway on Hiring a Property Manager to Protect Your Investment
You may have not known all the landlord duties a property manager can do for you. Some managers handle a few tasks or all of them, depending on the agreement between the owner and the property management company.
Are you looking for a property manager in Summit County to help you relieve some headaches? Contact Alpine Edge Property Management today to learn how we can help.
