If you plan on owning many rental properties in Seattle, you may be looking for an affordable property management company. You would want a manager who has the right skills, experience, and competence to handle every aspect of rental property management. Moreover, he or she must act in the best interest of the owner. Even though there are many management firms in Seattle, you need to be diligent when shopping for one. After all, not everyone who claims to be a responsible rental property manager is truthful. The following are some helpful tips that you can use to identify quality and affordable property management in Seattle.
6 Areas to Consider When Looking for Property Management
Get referrals from various sources
An easy way of identifying a property management company is to ask other people for referrals. These could be existing landlords, realtors, members of Property Owners Associations, family members, friends and work colleagues. Just approach them and ask for referrals or contact information ofproperty managers that they have worked with. One advantage of asking people you know for leads is that they will rarely mislead you. If anything, their suggestions will be subjective since it will be based primarily on their personal experiences. However, you can use this as starting point in your search. If during your research, you come across names that keep recurring, then the said contractors are probably dependable and worth interviewing.
Let your fingers do the walking
Thanks to the internet, you can literally find the names of affordable property management firms in Seattle by simply
conducting an online search. All you need to do is type into a search engine and instantly you will be bombarded with their contacts and website links. From there, you can follow up the links to their respective websites or online listing platforms to learn more about the individual service providers. The beauty with online searches is that you can customize the research to your specific needs. Some of these search variables include property location, size, and type. Consequently, it becomes easy for you to determine whether a particular company is worth your time or not.
scertain their reputation
You wouldn’t want to hire a property management company that has a checkered reputation. Besides giving you a difficult time, such a manager is likely to mismanage your property and chase away high-quality tenants. After short listing the companies you may wish to hire, take the time to find out what other people think of them. You can conveniently get that information by going over the customer reviews and ratings on the Seattle property manager’s website, popular review sites, social media posts, as well as online listing platforms.
Examine their work
As mentioned above, not all who claim to be managers are good ones. You need to find out the quality of their services. You can do that by assessing the condition of the properties they manage as well as examining the vacancy advertising and tenant screening strategies. You should also ask for references of owners they currently work with.
Find out how they charge
If you want to find affordable property management, you must consider how the manager charges for his or her services. Ordinarily, most would cost anywhere between seven and ten percent of the total rental income. However, the focus should not just be to identify the one with the lowest quote.
Instead, make an ‘apples to apples’ comparison of the services the companies offer. It is worth noting that a lower quote does not necessarily mean affordable service. It might be an indication of the level of competency of the manager or quality of service that he or she renders. You must find out exactly what the company will do for that price and opt for someone who offers the best value for the dollar.
Scrutinize their property management agreement
Most, if not all, credible property managers have professionally crafted management agreements which clarify the terms, cost, and duration of the contract. Furthermore, the agreement points out the duties, responsibilities, and liabilities of each party. Since the agreement is a legally binding document, you need to take time to review it thoroughly. Make sure it matches your property management requirements. If you have any questions or concerns it is important to point them out, as these could be possible points of conflict in the future.
While it may take a little work to find an affordable property management company, it’s important you perform your due diligence to avoid headaches in the future. Investing in your property was a very careful and serious decision, no different to the consideration that should be given to the property management company you entrust with it.
Hopefully these tips help you with your decision and if you have any additional questions about property management we would be happy to help you.