Top 8 Questions to Ask a Property Management Company Before Hiring Them

by Madison McCracken  2/23/2022

Top 8 Questions to Ask a Property Management Company Before Hiring Them

The number of tasks that landlords must handle on a daily basis can become quite overwhelming. For example, they have to worry about maintenance requests, collecting monthly rent, and screening new tenants. That said, to resolve some of the tasks, a lot of landlords decide to hire a trusted property management team. However, you wouldn’t want to hire just anybody. Before you choose a company to help run your rental business, you’ll want to learn the benefits of what they offer. So, keep reading as we go over some benefits and questions to ask a property management company before you hire them. 

Top 5 Benefits of Hiring Property Management

If you own a rental company and you’re not fully convinced that you need a property management team to help you, you’ll need to understand the benefits. Luckily for busy rental owners, property management has tons of benefits that can help streamline your business. Now, let’s go over some of the top benefits: 

  1. Reduced Property Vacancy
  2. Lower Maintenance Costs
  3. Less Landlord Stress
  4. High-Quality Tenants
  5. Less Landlord Liability

Reduced Property Vacancy

Keeping your rentals occupied with tenants is one of the most important factors for all landlords. With that, an excellent rental management team has the proper resources to keep your properties filled with quality tenants. Similarly, reliable property managers can help you prepare your units for new tenants, determine competitive rental rates, and market your property effectively. 

Top 8 Questions to Ask a Property Management Company Before Hiring Them

Lower Maintenance Costs

When you own a rental business, you must conduct regular maintenance and tend to tenant requests promptly. That said, finding good maintenance workers can be costly and time-consuming for landlords. When you hire a professional management company to help run your rental business, they can help you find maintenance workers and a network of quality contractors at a lower cost to you. 

Less Landlord Stress

Landlords experience quite a bit of stress when running a large rental business. As you can imagine, there are tons of aspects to consider and various tasks to handle on a daily basis. When you have a quality team of professionals helping you run your rental business, landlords don’t have to live near their rental properties or worry about emergency maintenance requests, property inspections, or collecting rent each month. 

High-Quality Tenants

As a landlord, you wouldn’t want just anyone living in your rental. Instead, you’ll want your tenants to be responsible, pay rent on time, report damages, and take care of your unit just as you would. When you hire a property management team to complete tenant screening, you can feel confident that the tenants occupying your property are trustworthy and respectful. 

Less Landlord Liability

Following Fair Housing Laws is mandatory for all rental business owners. So, having a management team that fully understands landlord-tenant laws and knows how to navigate any legal issues can save landlords time, stress, and money. At the same time, property managers can help facilitate rental registration, evictions, and any lease issues. 

Top 8 Questions to Ask a Property Management Company Before Hiring Them

8 Questions to Ask a Property Management Company

Before you hire a management team to help run your rental business, you’re going to want to ask them a number of questions to see if your expectations align with the services they offer. After all, if you’re hiring someone to work for you, you’ll want to know exactly what services you’re paying for. 

Similarly, you’ll want to get a full understanding of how the company runs and what you need to do to accomplish your business goals. That said, to get the most from your rental business, here are eight questions to ask a property management company before you hire them. 

  • What is Your Past Rental Experience?
  • How Many Services Do You Offer? 
  • What are Your Pricing and Fees? 
  • How Many Rentals Do You Manage? 
  • What Does Your Company Structure Look Like? 
  • How Do You Determine Rental Rates?
  • What is Your Tenant Screening Process?
  • How Do You Market Properties?

What is Your Past Rental Experience? 

Before you go through with a management company, you’ll want to know their past experience. If they’ve never managed multiple rental properties before, they may not be able to keep up with your rental business goals. Along with that, you’ll want to research their reputation and success with managing other rental properties to see if they are right for you and your needs. 

How Many Services Do You Offer?

Knowing the full list of services that a rental management company offers is crucial before hiring them. Most companies, like the experts at Professional Property Management in Northern Virginia, offers: 

  • Marketing and Leasing Services
  • Tenant and Owner Relations
  • Home Inspections
  • Maintenance Services
  • Legal Knowledge
  • Financial Management Services
  • And more!

Top 8 Questions to Ask a Property Management Company Before Hiring Them

What are Your Pricing and Fees?

Before you hire a management team, you’ll want to know how much they charge per month for their services. Some management companies, like Property Managers of Northern Virginia, offer competitive monthly rates that vary depending on how many properties you own. Make sure to reach out to your prospective rental managers to find out their monthly fees and prices for their services. 

How Many Rentals Do You Manage? 

As stated before, you’ll want to know how many rentals the company can manage. If they only manage a few rentals at a time, it could mean that they don’t have experience managing multiple properties. On the other hand, if they manage too many rentals, it could mean that they won’t give your units the attention they deserve. So, take the time to learn about their management processes and how many rentals they can manage at a time. 

What Does Your Company Structure Look Like? 

Knowing the structure of your management company is another crucial aspect for landlords to consider. For example, you’ll want to know if they work with active real estate investors, how many employees they have, and how they work as a team to accomplish client goals. 

Top 8 Questions to Ask a Property Management Company Before Hiring Them

How Do You Determine Rental Rates?

A good property management team will know about the current market and fully understand how to determine competitive rental rates. Along with that, they know how to factor in the unique aspects of your property. For example, if you have a pool or other desirable amenities, they can determine rental rates accordingly. Keeping your rental rates competitive is crucial in attracting new tenants and keeping quality tenants in your properties. 

What is Your Tenant Screening Process?

Every landlord wants to find quality tenants that are respectful, responsible and will pay rent on time each month. Unfortunately, over the years, it’s been proven difficult to find the perfect tenant. However, when you hire a rental management company to find tenants, they go through a rigorous screening process before allowing anyone to live in your property. During your search, look for a company that will screen tenants for: 

  • Credit History
  • Employment Verification
  • Current and Previous Landlord Experiences

How Do You Market Properties? 

Finally, learning a management company’s marketing techniques is another large consideration for landlords. After all, you’ll want to know if they are going to effectively market your property to attract quality tenants. To learn more about a company and its marketing strategies, look at their past work with other landlords and ask them about their success. 

Would You Benefit From Property Management? 

A lot of landlords would excel from comprehensive property management services. However, landlords should know the right questions to ask a property management company. If you think your rental business would benefit, look no further than Professional Property Management! 

When you hire our dedicated team of management professionals, you don’t have to stress about the daily tasks of owning multiple rental properties. So, if you need a property management company in Northern Virginia, contact our team of professionals today! 



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *