Choosing the best possible property management company here in Central Florida is a tricky business. All of the companies available want you to work with them, but they may not want to deliver excellent service! At Verandah Properties, we know that excellent service is worth the time it takes. Here are some of the best ways to select from the options available to you when it comes to expert property management.
1. Get Referrals
If you are getting into the landlord business, it may be a good idea to get to know other landlords in your area and see whom they choose for their property management needs. Referrals are a great source of information!
A referrer will mention the strengths and weaknesses of their current property manager and will let you know why they work with them. You may need a different selection of services or a more hands-on approach than an experienced property manager needs. However, the information they can provide you with a referral will always come in handy.
2. Pick a Property Manager With Local Knowledge
There are property management companies that work all over the country, covering vast swaths of the area and possibly only knowing the broad strokes about the Central Florida real estate market. However, choosing a property management firm that focuses on Central Florida can be a real benefit for you! They have a better chance of understanding how the market is turning:
- Are more people buying homes, or are more people looking to rent?
- What kind of vacancy rates are landlords experiencing?
- How quickly should a new property receive a lot of applications?
By working with someone who can comprehensively answer these questions, you set yourself up for success in the tenant-finding phase of the property management process.
3. Choose a Property Manager That Meets Your Needs
The people you talk to currently working with property managers can give you insight into how interactions between landlords, property management companies, and tenants tend to go. Some companies focus on taking the burden off of you, letting you be hands-off with tenants. Other companies reach out to you frequently, ensuring that you support their course of action going forward with the tenants.
Since each style may appeal to different people, it's essential to find a company that matches your attitude. When talking to various property management companies, ask them about the kinds of issues in which they'd get you involved—versus the problems they would solve on their own without you. These are answers they should have at the ready since this is a massive part of the work they do. Make sure that you select a company that will balance your desire for assistance with your desire to be kept in the loop about your properties. No two landlords feel the same way about this process.
4. Seek Property Managers That Find Tenants
This one may seem obvious, but one of the most significant value additions from a property management company can be in getting tenants into your Central Florida property. After all, the time you spend searching, the money you spend advertising, and vacancy before you find a tenant all eat into your bottom line.
- Property managers should have go-to plans for how they will advertise your property effectively without overspending on ads that won't yield results.
- They should be able to tell you about their legally-appropriate but thorough screening process to locate any red flags about their past rental history.
- They should also be able to point to a very low vacancy rate in the doors they have under management. Every week that they keep great tenants in residence is money in the bank!
During a conversation with the property managers, make sure you ask them to describe their tenant acquisition process. You can tell a lot by how specific or vague they can be: if they mention having specific apartment listing sites that work for them, or if they can cite specific vacancy numbers, they are giving you good signs. If they say that they advertise, without mentioning anything about how—or that they screen, but without mentioning what they screen for—make sure you continue to question until you know they are going to go after great tenants for you.
Verandah Properties Is Here to Exceed Expectations!
Verandah Properties can give you all this advice for a simple reason: we know that we will exceed your expectations for how a property manager can treat you well—and help you make money. Sit down with us to discuss your goals for your property, your level of hands-off versus inclusion in the process, and our excellent path to get you long-term tenants.
We know that, once you get to know us, you'll see just how an expert property manager can revolutionize your business as a landlord. That's why we offer our considerable resources to you upfront! Take advantage of our free Make-Ready Checklist to prepare for your first tenants, and get to know the Verandah Properties difference.