Any time that you invest in rental property, you need to be prepared to spend a certain amount of time taking care of that rental property, and acting as a property manager. Many landlords choose to hire someone to work for them as a property manager, and take care of many of the day to day tasks that arise, as well as fill vacancies and manage the completion of many of the required repairs. Knowing how to choose a terrific property manager will help you find someone that you can truly trust to get the job done right.

A primary role of your property manager will be filling vacancies in your units by finding tenants. They are also going to handle signing of any rental agreements, leases or addendums that you require from your renters. This means that you have to find someone that is responsible and will not let “just anyone” into your rental property.

Your property manager should be able to screen potential tenants and decide how reliable they will be. They should always check references. Checking credit scores and criminal backgrounds is not a bad idea, either. Be sure that you know what methods any property manager you are thinking of hiring will use to gather this critical information.

Make sure that your property manager will effectively collect the rent, on time each month. Inquire regarding what they will do when a tenant does not pay on time, and how they will go about getting that money. Discuss how issues like bad checks from tenants will be handled.

Discuss in detail your expectations regarding how often the property manager should be checking the property, and what sorts of things they will be routinely inspecting. Decide how they will document their inspecting, and how they will notify you regarding tenant problems, repairs and other issues. You need to know how this flow of information will occur, in order to keep everything about your property running smoothly.

Be sure you know the amounts that the property manager will charge you. Discuss how often rents are to be paid to you, what levels of commission or charges you will be required to pay to the property manager, extra fees associated with specific tasks, etc. Before hiring a property manager, compare prices and fees, as well as services offered and qualifications, so that you can make the best choice as you select someone to run your property for you.

One consideration is using an on-site manager, someone who is also a tenant. This person needs to be a highly trusted and respected person, not only by you but also by your other tenants if you want to prevent any major problems. Having someone that lives on the property is a bonus, because they have a vested interest in keeping the property nice.

Having a property manager can be an excellent investment. They can save you many hours of your precious time, fill vacancies quickly, and manage small day to day issues without even involving you, most of the time. Just be sure to select your manager carefully in order to avoid any additional hassles and headaches.