Why Should You Use A Property Manager?

Why should you use a property manager? A property manager has knowledge and expertise in real estate law that an owner may not and therefore is skilled in managing tenant issues on behalf of the owner.

While it may be tempting to forgo paying commissions and manage your rental property yourself, retaining the services of a professional property management company may help you save time and money in the long run. While you may have to pay a percentage of gross monthly rent to a property manager, this fee often pays for itself in terms of the increased profits that manylandlords and investors experience when hiring one. Property management companies have unlimited resources and a vast amount of experience in the real estate field, and know how to maximize rental rates while keeping costs and tenant turnover to a minimum.

They constantly analyze the markets to make sure that you are not under pricing your rentals, ensuring maximum profit. "...By having an agent like a property manager manage the property, a side benefit is that owner has a connection with a realtor who is active on a day to day basis in the market, and that realtor can be a resource as far as ongoing property value of that property," explains Gary Knippa, a property management company owner with over 30 years of experience in the real estate business. Knippa goes on to say that "another benefit to the owner with using a property manager is that property managers can typically get repairs done for less money and than an owner might if they just call somebody in the yellow pages." If you are worried that your property manager may hit you with excessive repair costs in order to charge you more money, Knippa says not to worry. He explains, "Most property managers do not make money of repairs."

Another benefit to having a property manager is the freedom of not having to be on call 24/7 as a result of tending to problems that will occasionally come up with tenants and contractors. Since the property management company handles such matters as collecting rents, resolving tenant disputes, negotiating with contractors and vendors and responding to maintenance issues, the landlord no longer has to deal with the endless phone calls, requests, complaints, etc. involved with managing a property. 

Property managers also protect landlords and investors from liability and lawsuits. Knippa explains, "A property manager is used when a person may not have the expertise to deal with the tenant or deal with the property. There are laws and statutes that need to be kept up from how notices are given to the different locks. For example when a new tenant moves in, the locks have to be re-keyed. A lot of owners do not know that you have to have a keyless deadbolt on the front door or that any windowless exterior door needs to have a peephole or the requirement for smoke detectors and that sort of thing. A professional property manager will keep up with that and thereby reduce the liability to the owner because the property is up to code and up to standards per the law. The property manager will have some expertise on dealing with tenants and knowing what a tenant can and can't do with the property. And that knowledge can help give a clear understanding of what the expectations are. When there's a property manager between the owner and tenant, things tend to move so much smoother."

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