What You Need to Know About Property Management Fees

property management fees

A poorly run and badly kept building is no good to anyone. Which is why property owners hire property management companies. And that is why renters will have to pay property management fees.

But some property owners don’t see a management company as an asset, they see it as an expense. So they don’t really see where their property management fees go.

Let’s take a closer look to show you the real value you’re getting.

Property Management Fees Pay For: Occupancy

Your property management’s job isn’t to simply look after the building. They’re there to make sure it is as marketable and attractive as humanly possible for your would-be renters.

You may think of them in just the custodial sense. You’re paying someone to answer the call when a tenant’s toilet is running, or someone to make sure the grass out front is always kept neat.

It goes way beyond that. They do everything from screening your new applicants to evicting the bad ones, and everything in between.

Property Management Fees Pay For: Legal Protection

You may not have thought of this one. In many cases landlord/tenant laws are dicey and there is a lot of misinformation out there. Your management company’s job is also to be experts in these laws, so they can stay out of the courtroom.

Do you have the time or inclination to become an expert in:

  • Rent collection and payment arrangements
  • The eviction process
  • Move in and out inspections and best practices
  • Lease writing and enforcement
  • Security deposits and other fees

Probably not. So your property management fees can pay for themselves right there.

Property Management Fees Pay For: A Buffer Between You and Tenants

First and foremost, you get a professional bad guy and scapegoat. So much of running a building is like being a parent and constantly saying no to things. No, you can’t have another extension on your rent. No, you can’t smoke in your apartment.

You’re faceless to the tenants and don’t even exist. Most tenants will likely assume the property management company owns the building.

This is especially attractive to property owners that live far away (or another town) from their property.

Property Management Fees Pay For: Assurance Rent Gets Paid

Do you have time to chase people down and make them pay their rent? No, of course not. That is nobody’s favorite part of owning a building, but it’s a service included in your Property Management Fees.

Your property management team is in charge of setting and enforcing rent collection practices and ensuring you’re not being taken advantage of.

They will also handle the eviction process when rent goes uncollected. As we mentioned in a previous section, they’re experts in doing it 100% within the law.

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5 Reasons You Need a Property Management Agency

property management agency

A competent and efficient property management agency can make your investment a stress-free and worthwhile venture. A good management company will end up paying for themselves through their work and consistent tenant residencies.

If you have purchased properties for long-term rental purposes or short-term vacation rentals, a management agency can save you money and from a headache. If you want to avoid weekend maintenance calls and issues that consistently arise with real estate investment, then management is the right choice.

Having your business streamlined as you free up your own time will be well worth the cost. Once you find a great agency, you’ll never want to manage rentals on your own again. Here’s why you need property management:

1. Quality Tenant Screening

Evictions are alive and well in the United States of America, unfortunately. An experienced agency can browse through hundreds of applicants and find the ones that seem like a worthy fit for your property.

Agencies are pros at finding red flags in an application and can help prevent tenants capable of causing major issues down the road from occupying your property. Land a reliable tenant through thorough screening, background and credit checks.

It can be a long process to properly screen your desired tenant, let a property management agency do it for you. What’s more? You’ll avoid having to go through this process regularly because agents can get long-term tenants in your properties.

2. Less Tenant Turnover

Perhaps one of the greater appeals of a fantastic agency is that you won’t have to go through the screening process over and over again. A great agency knows how to keep the people renting your property happy. They know how to see a problem and fix it before it becomes an issue for your tenant.

Renters that are satisfied and happy in your property won’t have reason to move and look elsewhere for a place to live. Furthermore, happy tenants are more apt to accept the rent increases you’ll ask for every year.

3. You’ll Get Paid On Time Through a Property Management Agency

A property management agency usually takes their fees from the monthly rent of your tenant, so you’re sure to get your rent on the day it’s due. Consistent rent collection can save you from major grief caused by late payments or bounced checks.

An agency can also enforce policies if the payments aren’t received, which can be a tiresome process to do on your own. Leave it to the agency to deal with the steps in taking care of late rent.

4. Tax Assistance

If you’ve owned property before, you know that taxes can be a beast to handle. Let property management do the work for you. They know which deductions you can claim, and will also organize all of the paperwork necessary for the IRS.

5. Lower Repair Costs

A good agency preserves your property. They know when to hire the right repairmen to perform whatever work is necessary before the problem gets costly to fix. They also have ins for discounts through services they use on a regular basis.

Take Care

Taking care of your property can be much easier if you have some help in doing so. With fewer tenant turnovers, higher quality tenants, and getting your rent on time, hiring an agency is something you’ll never regret.

When you’re ready to maintain your property or find a new one, click here for great agents!

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The Importance of Hiring a Professional Pool Service As a Property Manager

A property manager is a professional who is hired to handle the daily operations of a physical asset, typically real estate. Property managers are responsible for the upkeep of family homes and apartment complexes, collecting rent, handling leases, and making sure that they adhere to a maintenance schedule. Property managers are in charge of performing preventative maintenance to keep the property functioning in top condition throughout the year. These responsibilities also include a building’s pool.

In this sort of scenario, property managers are free to hire third-party contractors if they do not have the specialized skills to complete certain repairs. For new property managers who are maintaining their first pool, or for managers who aren’t familiar with the difficult maintenance schedule of a pool, a professional pool service may be of great benefit.

Benefits Of A Professional Pool Service

One of the main advantages of a professional Pool service is the ability to clean and maintain a pool on a timely basis. Cleaning is required during the spring months, right before the pool is opened to the residents of the apartment. During the cooler months, your pool most likely has been inundated with the leaves, garbage, and algae blooms. A professional cleaning service would be able to remove these items in just a couple of hours.

Water quality maintenance. Maintaining a pool is not just ensuring that the water is crystal clear and free of debris – it also needs the right parameters to hinder the formation of bacteria. Instead of continuously taking water samples from the swimming pool to a retailer, a cleaning service will be able to the testing on-site. The company will be able to add additional chemicals and recheck the water, as well as unload and store chemicals in a safe location away from residents.

Maintaining a swimming pool is surprisingly complex. When cleaning a large swimming pool connected to an apartment complex or family home, you will have to put lots of elbow grease into work that is largely uninspiring. Without professional products, you’ll spend a long time working on a swimming pool only to get dirty all over again by the following weekend. Professional pool cleaning services can prolong the life of your pool.

How Regular Pool Service Can Help Property Managers

The main benefit of hiring professional pool cleaning services is their ability to save time. Depending on the size of the pool, it can take several hours a month to thoroughly clean it, with additional hours to upkeep the water balancing chemicals. This is time that can be dedicated to other aspects of property management.

The Pool Service Experts Temecula Advantage

The people over at PoolServiceExpertsTemecula.com offer a weekly cleaning service that not only maintains the water quality of pools and ensures that there aren’t any debris that can impact its filters, but it is an online hub to educate homeowners and property managers to the different maintenance schedules of a private pool. The full-service involves cleaning, repairs, vacuuming, deodorizing pool walls and filters, and checking that the water is at the proper pH levels.

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5 Tips For Finding the Best Property Management Agency

best property management

The management company which you choose to look after your property can make or break you as an owner. But with so many options out there, it can seem impossible to make a selection.

Should you go with a company with a ton of other clients? Take a chance on someone new who can dedicate lots of time to you? How can you tell if an agency is trustworthy or not?

Worry not! All the answers you’re looking for are right here.

Read on for five tips for finding the best property management agency.

1. Review Policies

A trustworthy management company will be more than happy to share their policies with you. Look them over and make sure that they’re strong and sensible.

Do they have routine, preventative maintenance visits scheduled for their properties? What system do they have in place to collect rent which is past due? What happens in the case of a late-night emergency?

Ensure that each and every one of their policies align with your and your tenants’ needs.

2. Check up on Experience to Find the Best Property Manager

Just like a good real estate agent, a good property manager will make your life easier. What’s the name of the game? Experience.

Young, inexperienced property managers can cost you money. The best property management companies will have years of experience to back them, leading them to make the smartest and most frugal decisions on your behalf.

3. Clients Can Give Clues

Keep your eyes out for a management company that has a lot of clients (but not too many). Here’s why.

If a property manager has very few clients, it could mean that they’re having difficulties holding onto them, that they’re lazy, or that they’re super new to the game. All of these things will only lead to trouble for you and your tenants.

On the other hand, if a management company is responsible for hundreds of properties, they will not have the appropriate amount of time to dedicate to yours. Your goal should be to find an agency which is somewhere in between.

4. Make Sure There’s a Tenant Screening Process

A bad tenant can cost you tons of money and feel like a neverending nightmare. How can your property manager prevent this?

By enforcing a firm screening process. Look for an agency that runs credit checks, background checks, and follows up on tenant’s references before any paperwork is signed.

5. Consider Reputation When Hunting for a Property Management Agency

With the help of the world wide web, it’s easier than ever to research companies’ credibility. Use the Better Business Bureau’s website to search the names of agencies you’re looking at to ensure that they are trustworthy.

And don’t be scared to ask for references! The best property management agencies won’t hesitate to hand them over.

That’s It!

If you follow the tips above, you’re guaranteed to find a worthy property manager who you can trust and work with for years. Just be sure to take your time when making your selection, and to do your research along the way.

And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help!

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What it takes to be a good Culver City property manager

When you’re ready to entrust the care and management of your income-generating properties in Culver City to a property manager, you want someone who knows what they’re doing. Take a look at what it takes to be a great property manager to understand why Culver City property management is the right choice.

We Care About Your Needs.

The key to being a good property manager is the ability to relate to people — clients, tenants, vendors, and maintenance people. Great communication skills, respect for all involved, and an ability to respond to people’s needs and issues with sensitivity and diplomacy are all vital when balancing the different needs of everyone involved with a Culver City property. At Caris Properties, we take the time to hear everyone’s perspectives and find solutions that work for all involved.

We Stay Up-to-Date on Relevant Laws and Ordinances.

In Culver City, we have to pay attention to the various laws not only of Culver City itself but also of Los Angeles County and the state of California. Legal requirements governing everything from how a property can be used to proper trash removal to how to maintain security deposits can change at any time. We go out of our way to protect your property by staying up-to-date on all relevant laws and requirements.

We Use Technology Proactively.

Putting tech to good use frees up a good property manager to pay attention to the real work of caring for properties and responding to owner and tenant needs. Our use of tech also means you can access your property’s financials and other information any time you need it, 24/7.

We Stay on Top of Maintenance and Inspections.

A good property manager has every pending inspection calendared and is prepared for it ahead of time. Not only that, good property managers pay attention to warranty expirations, maintenance schedules, and every other element of property maintenance. At Caris Properties, we believe in preventive maintenance, so that potential problems never arise.

We Handle Your Money Responsibly.

Any property manager is handling a lot of other people’s money, whether it’s security deposits or laundry machine change. A good property manager takes care of all these fidicuary responsibilities with the utmost in honesty and ethics. We know you are entrusting us with valuable property at every level of our working relationship, and we operate with good judgment and high integrity at every step of the way.

We Keep an Eye on the Neighborhood.

Many of the skills of a good property manager transfer from one city or state to another. But one element can’t be replaced: The knowledge of the local neighborhood. What’s happening in the rental market? What neighborhoods are being gentrified, and how is that affecting your property? How can you make your property stand out? If your property manager doesn’t know your neighborhood intimately, your interests aren’t being protected. At Caris Properties, we are devoted to Culver City. We know it and love it, and based on our knowledge, we’re always ready to provide new ideas for growing your investments.

We Bring In Top Professionals in Every Area.

The prosperity of any investment property depends largely on the expertise and professionalism of those caring for it. A good property manager always assembles the best possible team, whether it’s accountants and attorneys or landscapers, pool maintenance crews, and plumbers. We’re tied in to the best tradespeople in Culver City to make sure your properties get the attention they deserve.

If you’re looking for the kind of property management that makes a difference, give us a call at Caris Properties today.

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