Not all property management companies are created equal – so how do you choose a property management company?
There are some important fundamental differences to notice when vetting property management companies that are not always obvious or spoken about.
So, here are a few things to pay attention to during the vetting process:
#1 Responsiveness is Indicative
A company’s response time during the vetting process if very indicative of what their response time will be like when you are actually a client. If they are taking days to respond or follow up, that is a very good sign of how long it will take them to get back to you once they are managing your property.
It is NOT good when a Property Owner is attempting to find out information on their property and has to wait days on end to receive a response, especially when it comes to something urgent and you need information now. This leaves you at the mercy of someone else – NOT spot you want to be.
This is why we are very adamant about being responsive with our Property Owner clients. It is very important to be available when handling someone else’s investment – which is what a rental property is. We know this because we are Investors / Property Owners ourselves!
#2 Are they Investors / Property Owners themselves?
If you don’t know the history of KeyVest – we were founded by Investors / Property Owners. At the time they owned 100+ single family home portfolio (much larger today), and were in need of property management. So when they started vetting companies, they wanted to know if the owners / operators were also investors themselves.
If they are not owners and investors themselves, they will NOT know what is important as a property owner, and therefore won’t be able to take care of your investment – which is what a rental property is – to the same standard that we would.
Our philosophy is to FIRST learn how to take care of your own investments before you take care of someone else’s. This is just like in airplane safety, they tell you to first put on your own oxygen mask before helping others
#3 Eagerness for your Business
This one is simple. Property management companies should be competing for your business – meaning they are eager to help you and have you as a client.
If they aren’t eager for your business, what makes you think once they are managing your property(ies) they will be eager to keep your business and make sure you are a happy and satisfied customer.
If any kind of company – not just property management companies – is eager for your business, you can bet that they will really work to keep your business and keep you satisfied.
We hope this helps you in your vetting process! We will keep adding to this list so that we can help you find the best fit property management company for you.
If you have property in New Jersey that you would like us to manage, please don’t hesitate to contact us today to see how we can help you maximize your profit and minimize your risk as a landlord.
We can even provide a complimentary health check on your current or a potential future property to see what you could get for rent. Let us help you with this free analysis here.
