10) Do you have the TIME to manage your rental property?
Is your TIME more valuable doing other things than PM activities, and if so, are you ok with replacing your time and effort with a fee to a management company? Do you have the time necessary to manage your rental property effectively? For example, are you ok with being on call during the day, nights, weekends, holidays, while on vacation, etc? Are you going to be available to see an eviction through from beginning to end if necessary? Are you able to complete property inspections effectively?
9) Do you have the necessary ACCOUNTING skills?
Do you have proper ACCOUNTING in place? Do you have the financial aptitude required?
8) Do you know how to AUDIT the performance of your rental?
Do you have a self-AUDITING process and do you have all your bases covered? How do you know if you do or not?
7) Do you have the right MAINTENANCE system in place?
Are you able to handle the MAINTENANCE needs at your property? Can you respond quickly to maintenance requests? Do you have an emergency maintenance system in place? What is your disaster (fire, flood, earthquake, etc.) plan? Are you able to keep maintenance pricing low?
6) Do you have the MARKETING skills to compete with all of the other landlords out there?
Do you have the various MARKETING skill sets required to get the best possible results with a new tenant? Can you properly price your rentals using market comparable? Do you know how to take good photo and video tours? Do you know where and how to advertise for tenants? Do you have ways to attract and retain high quality tenants?
5) How good is your SCREENING?
Do you have a thorough application, leasing, and SCREENING process? Do you have the tools, resources, know-how, and time needed to properly screen tenants to avoid serious issues?
4) Are you truly able to MITIGATE YOUR RISK?
Do you have the right attorney and are they immediately available to you when needed? Do you have the right lease and addendums to offer you the highest levels of protection? Are you able to stay up to date and informed on best practices, federal and local laws, regulations, etc.? Are you able to be consistent and avoid Fair Housing claims? Are your tenants and vendors insured….and how do you know if they still are today?
3) Are your TENANTS happy?
Are you truly managing the tenants and property, or just the property? Your happy tenants stay, bring other happy tenants, improve your Yelp/Google+ stock with positive reviews, etc. And, your tenants’ happiness is most often a reflection of your management.
2) Do you find yourself INVOLVED more than you thought you would be or want to be?
If your answer is “Yes”, then I simply ask “Why?” It doesn’t need to be this way, and with the right partner you end up winning by leaps and bounds!
1) What is your OUTLOOK ON LIFE?
Your OUTLOOK ON LIFE impacts and colors your outlook on business (your rental property). Do you feel that outlook is aligned with your property management? I have listed this as my #1 question that you have to ask yourself because it is so critically important and I rarely hear anyone else in my industry talking about it. Mindset about your rental property is the most crucial link to allow a symbiotic relationship with your management partners. A Rental Property owner is also a small business owner. The property itself is the small business. If both the Property Manager and the rental property owner have the same mindset going in to the business relationship, it creates the space and potential for a truly prosperous relationship.