Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes you’ll ever make is relying on fees when choosing an expert to work with, especially when picking a property manager.
Just like with a lot of things in life, the concept of cause and effect also applies to property management in that you basically get what you pay for. More often than not, the more you cut back on paying your workforce, the bigger loss you will have to deal with in the long run. The irony of it.
Whilst a very small management fee is indeed very appealing, many landlords soon find out that hiring cheap labour is not their best decision after all. A lot of property management companies these days use cheap rates to lure new investors. And then they surprise them with overpriced extra services so they end up paying more than they expected.
Business is business, and just like any other company, property management agencies that offer the lowest rates would have to compensate one way or another in order to gain profit.
How many properties are they handling? That’s one other thing you need to consider. The thing with agencies with cheap rates is that they often have way too many clients. Look at their property to property manager ratio. Do they still have enough time to properly service each individual property that they’re managing?
You also might want to look at how well their staff are trained. Companies whose profitability is hanging off the edge cannot spare extra budget for the costs of staff education and ongoing training to keep them updated with changes in the legislation and constantly changing market trends. At the end of the day, it is the property owners who will end up losing over mistakes an under-trained staff member makes.
The bottom line is, it would be too ambitious for anyone to expect good quality service in exchange for a bargain price. You need to ask yourself, “Am I willing to put my investment’s security on the line for a hundred dollars or so worth of savings?”
When it comes to hiring a professional to take care of your investment, instead of looking for companies with the cheapest rates, it would be best to find someone who is known to provide excellent service and deliver the most productive results. Here at Rental Results, we have a simple approach in property management and we ensure our Property Managers are attending regular training to keep up with the latest in the property rental industry.
