As an investment property owner, do you know what the key responsibilities of a property manager are? At Position One Property, we have over 20 years’ experience and know what we are doing. Furthermore, we go above and beyond for our clients. But there are some basic property manager duties that ALL property managers should be doing. This article highlights some of their roles and primary obligations.
Key property manager responsibilities include:
Looking after your valuable asset
Owning and leasing a property can be a highly rewarding. But renting out your investment can be challenging. Even the nicest of tenants invariably have demands. Sometimes attending to these requests, queries, and maintenance can be frustrating, stressful, and time consuming. Having an experienced professional looking after these essential property manager duties contributes directly to the success of your asset.
Advertising and open inspections
This may seem obvious to some, but a good property manager will ensure that your vacant property is well advertised online. This is so important to maximise the number of potential tenants who see it. Open inspections are just as important. Some property managers may skip an inspection if they don’t have anyone booked to come along. However, at Position One, we will attend every single open inspection we have planned. That is why we have an exceptionally low vacancy rate and our properties are leased quickly.
Thoroughly screening tenants
As a property owner, you want to be confident that the tenants living in your house or unit are trustworthy. It is vital that your property manager screens potential tenants thoroughly before their rental application is approved. Employment, credit and criminal background checks should always be run carefully. It is important to ensure that the people who are being trusted with your property have demonstrated themselves to be responsible.
Management of maintenance requests
If you manage your own property, it can be a real nightmare to manage maintenance issues. In particular, it can be trying to organise urgent maintenance or repair requests from tenants. Good property managers are well equipped to deal with these requests. Established property managers will usually have plenty of great contacts they can call on. Furthermore, due to the relationship between property manager and trades services, there can be more benefit than just speedy attention. Trades services that work closely with property managers can often complete the required works for a very reasonable cost.
Routine inspections
Your property manager should always carry out routine inspections. This to ensure that the tenants are taking good care of your property. Also, any maintenance issues can be spotted and addressed quickly. A good property manager has an eye for small issues that have the potential to turn into big ones. As we all know, small issues, left unattended, can become bigger and more difficult and expensive to fix. Property owners should also be invited to go along with their property manager to routine inspections if they would like to.
Building rapport with tenants
A vacant property means advertising costs and lost rent money for a property owner. So, you want a property manager who knows how to look after tenants and keep them happy. Experienced property managers know how important it is to establish good relationships with tenants. Because good relations and communications have all sorts of benefits. Not least of all, minimising the stress and expense that can be caused when a good tenant vacates a property.
Knowing your property’s worth
A thorough and knowledgeable property manager will keep on top of your property’s worth. The property’s worth can be both in rental income and if you decide to sell. Periodic increases in the rent of your property should happen in line with the market. This is to ensure that you are getting the most out of your investment.
Understanding complex legislation
A professional property manager is always across the latest laws and legislation. Most importantly, they keep up to date with changes as they happen. With a growing trend towards litigation, the importance of this cannot be understated. So, a professional property manager will be able to keep a landlord updated on any potential legal issues. And just as importantly, address them as they arise. For example, not fixing a maintenance issue that could potentially provide personal injury to a tenant is just one example in a growing number of cases. A thorough property manager ultimately provides peace of mind for an investor.
Property Manager Duties Your Property Manager Should be Doing for You
A good property manager can be hard to find. And, it can be difficult to know what to do if you’re not happy with your current one. At Position One Property, we love what we do and we love the people we work with and for. So, we are committed to offering exceptional property manager services. Know that we are always working in the best interest of our clients. Always.