Questions to Ask When Hiring a Property Manager

Stop! Before hiring a property manager, there are seven questions you need answers to first! We share them with you, plus explain why it’s important to ask each one. Learn more now!

Treat hiring a property manager as seriously as if you were hiring them as an employee. They’re going to be responsible for your rental property, and we’d think that is a pretty important job after all. A good property manager will be more than willing to take the time to answer any questions you may have. So, we’ve put together a list of seven questions you should ask when hiring a property manager for your rental.

7 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Property Manager

Handing over the keys to your rental is almost like handing over cash. You wouldn’t want to give just anyone your money, so why give anyone your rental property keys? That’s where due diligence comes into play, in that you interview prospective property managers before hiring them. To help you do that, we’ve put together a list of ten questions to get you started.

1. How many rental properties do you manage? This will let you know how experienced and popular they are. If they have too little, maybe they are not experienced enough or are providing a poor service. Too many and their customer service levels may drop as they are too busy.
2. How do you calculate rent levels? A great property manager will have a solid understanding of the rental market in your area. They will know what other similar properties are renting for, plus be able to provide reasons as to why they set a specific rent.
3. What fees do you charge and how are they calculated? A property manager provides a service and you pay them a fee to do so. They should have a clear-cut fee schedule and can tell you what you will need to pay, when to pay it and how much it will be.
4. What can you do to keep my property in good condition? They should be able to tell you about their property inspection service, how they screen tenants and what they do if any damage is found to your property.
5. How do you collect rent and what do you do if it is in arrears? Also find out when you are paid and whether their fees are taken out before you receive the rental income.
6. How is maintenance handled for a property? Is there a pre-authorised spending limit? Who do they use to do the work? Do they manage after-hours emergency calls?
7. How do you handle a vacant rental? This will let you know their marketing skills, plus if you still need to pay fees if there is no tenant in your property.

These are only seven questions you could ask a property manager! There are plenty more and we welcome them all! If you have an Auckland rental and are looking for a team to manage it for you, give us a call and ask away!