propertymanagement

Property managers are not all equal. If you are someone with a rental property who wants to make the most of your investment, you need to enlist the services of a good professional from the industry, to make the most of them. 

To find a good property manager, you can follow some proven tips. Let’s see what they are:

• Get some referrals – if you have a professional network, now is the time to use it. Try to get some referrals from several people. Some good sources can be other investors like yourself. Real estate agents and brokers often have the necessary connections and can point you towards property management companies. If you are working with various contractors, it is worth a shot asking them too. 
  
  
• Check for property management companies online – if you are still in the process of building a local real estate team, you can opt to work with online property managers. If you search for a residential property manager in your city, you will be able to quickly find several options. Don’t forget to check online websites for ratings and customer reviews, to find a decent company. 
  
  
• Follow an interview process – it is very important to meet with several property managers and conduct an interview. There are many questions you should ask. For example, you need to know how long they have been in business and how many properties they are currently managing. If it is a company, ask them about the number of staff they can dedicate and what areas of the city they operate in. Make sure to also learn more about how they determine rents and how often they conduct inspections. You can also ask them if they have any sort of awards or other forms of recognition from prestigious events, as that can prove they are a solid pick.
   
• Licenses and certifications – property managers need to have all of the required licenses and certifications. They should be ready to show proof of such, but in case they aren’t, don’t be afraid to ask. 
  
  
• Understanding the contract – like all binding agreements, a property management contract is an important document. There are certain terms and conditions that each side needs to be fully aware of. In particular, you should be more focused on the start and end date of the agreement, the fees they charge and reporting policy. Make sure you know what your restrictions are, in terms of tenants and property maintenance. If there is an early termination clause, make sure it allows you to end your relationship with the company quickly, as that can save you a ton of money and stress, in case you are not happy with the service. 
  
  
• Asking for references – this may be the final step in your search for a good property management company, but it is a very important one. Ask for references/samples of their work. And no matter what you are presented with, make sure to do a little further investigation on your own. For example, you can speak to some of their current clients, who have similar properties and find out more about how they are doing. You can also drive by some of the properties they are currently managing, to see if there are enough tenants. After all, many ‘for rent’ signs could be a sign of trouble. 
  
  

Following all of these tips is a sure way to guarantee you end up with a good property management company on your side. 

© MLM Property Management

For property managers, every year brings about new challenges and new potential pitfalls. Lost opportunities, financial losses and dampened relationships are just a few of the negative outcomes of these mistakes. 

However, the most important thing is to learn from these mistakes, so that the service gets better and better. Professional management is all about adjusting to the needs of the client and the challenges they face. To achieve success, you have to consider the most common mistakes and prevent them. Let’s see a few examples of them: 

• No effort to automate – one valuable asset of every property manager is their time. Thus, they need to take active steps to automate certain processes, like bookkeeping, owner disbursements, communication with tenants and accounting, to preserve their time. There are plenty of property management automation solutions out there that a manager can utilise to minimise face to face meetings and other time sinks. 

• Generating little communication with tenants – if the manager doesn’t keep in touch with the tenants, they will hardly care what the person needs of them. Poor communication is at the root of many staff-related conflicts and that is just not a thing a landlord wants to see. 

• Doing no tenant screening – a tenant needs to be suitable for their unit, otherwise, all sort of trouble may arise. A property manager needs to use all of the available tools to make some sort of screening – social media, asking questions and using specialised services even. With good tenants, there is no trouble in regards to lost rent, evictions and other such problems. 

• Not having any plan in place after hitting the 200-door mark – a good property manager sooner or later expands their business. The rentals they manage to increase and so they need a system for automation, processes and tools, to make their job easier. Not having a plan for when that happens is a huge mistake, which often causes property managers to lag behind. 

• Foregoing the collection of operations information – every property manager needs to know the condition of the building they manage, the units in it, as well as have a general awareness of any weak points. That is to allow them to react quickly, in case something malfunctions. Having the required operations information means they can prevent costly emergencies in the future. 

• Poor accounting practices – accounting takes up a major part of the work that a property manager does. They need to keep all books accurate by attributing the expenses and income to each specific account. It is safe to say they require some sort of accounting solution so that they can prepare reports and ensure no mistakes are made. 

• Zero marketing of the property management service – every customer of the property manager and landlord will check them online. Thus, they need to ensure there is a good website working for them and that it is representing their services well. A dedicated website for the company serves as a centre of all marketing campaigns and tool for presenting the services they offer. 

• Inactivity on social media – engaging with clients and landlords on social is surely a winning move by any property manager. People tend to believe a manager more when they see them online. So engaging them on social media not only creates a good experience for them but also shows intent, attitude and willingness to create more value for them. 

All of these mistakes are still present in 2020. Learn to identify them and avoid them, if you want to stand out as a property manager. 

© MLM Property Management

If you are not aware of what block management is, it has got to do with managing blocks of flats. Typically, properties on those blocks are owned by different leaseholders or share of the freehold. Another company/individual is tasked with overseeing all properties on the block. 

This is a responsible job, which is related to multiple tasks. There is a collection of service charges, arranging maintenance matters and taking care of communal areas. Managers have a number of legal responsibilities they need to look after. To deal with this kind of job, you need to have some knowledge of the laws that cover block management, so that you have a better idea of your obligations. Here is a quick rundown of the most important ones: 

• Knowing the lease terms in their entirety – in many cases, flats within the same block have differences in the lease terms. The block manager needs to be aware of what the responsibilities of each individual owner are. At the same time, they need to also know what each owner expects the manager to do, to be able to address their job in the most effective possible manner. 

• Enforcing lease terms – in the case of terms breach, the manager needs to be able to take care of the task. There are many cases, in which the owner sub-lets the property, even though they aren’t allowed to do so. Or perhaps they are making alterations that are not authorised. In any case, the block manager needs to be able to address the problem right away. 

• Building insurance – typically, the service charge every owner pays includes a contribution to insurance of the building of the whole block. The block manager needs to inform the insurance company how many flats are occupied, how many flats are rented out and the type of tenants that occupy the flats. That way, the insurance company can provide the right cover. 

• Fire safety – the block manager needs to arrange a risk assessment to be carried out, to ensure the right fire safety measures. This includes fire doors, fire extinguishers, and the proper kind of alarms. They need to arrange for a fire safety professional to visit and address the assessment. Once that is done, the manager should ensure the recommendations are in place. 

• Health and safety – there are many health and safety laws that the property needs to follow. One of the responsibilities of the block manager is to ensure that is the case at all times. 

• Regular inspections – the block manager needs to schedule and oversee regular inspections of the communal areas, both outside and inside the building. The reason for these checks is to maintain the condition of the property and also to ensure that people are not violating the lease terms. 

Keeping records – another responsibility of the block manager is to keep detailed records of the works, payments, inspections and all that of the property. 

• Some accounting work – a block manager is usually responsible for the collection of service charges and ground rent. They need to budget well, to ensure that there is enough money in the management account. They will allocate resources and manage the accounts of all shareholders on the block.

• Keeping informed on legal changes – the block manager needs to stay informed on all new legislation concerning laws that directly impact the block. 

These are all serious responsibilities of a professional block manager that they need to address. Knowing all that can help you appoint the right person for the job. 

© MLM Property Management