As an owner working with a property manager, be it an individual under your employ or an outsourced company, they are the face of your real estate venture to tenants. While hiring a property manager or company is highly recommended, it should be explicitly noted whom the property manager works for. Doing this is to the benefit of the tenant, the manager and your investment. By clearly discerning the manager’s responsibilities, capabilities, and limitations you will give prospective and current tenants a guideline for expectations and make they’re experience as a resident of your property a good one.
Property management is not for the faint of heart. Not every landlord or property owner is cut out for the complaints and unpredictable hours that are a part of the job description. Accordingly, once hired, property managers’ aim is to keep a property leased and the renters happy. However, though the managers are the face of the company in relation to the tenant, keeping tenants happy is a means to the end of satisfying the owners.
There are ways to remind the tenants that, while “the customer is always right,” the customer in this particular equation is the property owner.
- Hire an experienced property manager. They should keep your [landlord] wishes paramount. They should be able to echo the mission and direction of the company, think well in the absence of constant contact with the landlord, and be well-versed in the handling of your particular property type [apartment, duplex, single-family home, etc.) and the common issues that arise.
- Language of your lease agreement. After you’ve hired the perfect property manager for your property, hire someone knowledgeable with contracts to draw up your lease agreement. While the manager works with tenants, firsthand, their focus should be on the day to day running of the property. As such, they are not the optimal resource for making sure your lease covers you in all instances, seen an unforeseen. A proper agreement, meant to protect you and your tenants, will lay out what the manager does on your behalf and is not permitted to do. The language of the agreement will be such that it removes most instances of confusion on the part of the tenant of whom the property manager works for.
- Minimize risk. There is usually something that falls through the cracks. Murphy’s Law, right? You hire a responsible, reputable property manager, have an experienced legal authority draw up your leasing agreement now…insure yourself against the tenant that looks for loopholes and/or tries to capitalize on them. Insurance is the last step in the landlord-property manager-tenant relationship.
Always, always, always protect your investment! You’re not taking anything away from your tenants by ensuring that they know the way things work. When you follow the advice of the experts, everyone involved will win from the situation and experience. Don’t sacrifice the success of your real estate venture by assuming that keeping the tenants happy, at all costs, is the best recourse. Living in a well-run property, where every effort is made to communicate how every relationship works and the roles of each party, will ultimately create a happy living experience for the tenant and a successful business venture for you!
