One of the most frequently asked questions by property owners is “WHAT IS YOUR MANAGEMENT FEE”? When a homeowner lists their rental with a property management company, maximizing their monthly return after management fees is obviously of paramount importance.
Many property management companies are quick to reduce their monthly management fee in order to entice the property owner to sign with them thus claiming to be the better deal.
In many cases, the unsuspecting owner enters into the agreement feeling they have signed a deal which will net them the most return. Unfortunately, in the vast majority of cases, this is not accurate
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The simple truth is that discounted management rates will almost always equate to higher costs over the long run. Listed below are just a few of the reasons why:
1. How thoroughly are prospective tenants screened? A bad tenant can easily cause damage to your property far in excess of security deposit leaving the owner responsible for the cost of repairs.
2. How strong is the lease that your property management company is using? Rental laws and regulations are extremely fluid and constantly changing. Is your property management company keeping abreast of these and not leaving you, the property owner with undue exposure? The court system is very lenient in dealing with tenants’ rights and property owners need to be protected.
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3. How often are visual inspections being performed on your property? One of the first signs that there may be issues with a tenant is the exterior maintenance being neglected.
4. How aggressively is your property being marketed when vacant? Cutting corners on marketing a vacant property by the property management company to save a few dollars equate to longer times to rent. In most cases just one extra week vacant a year costs the property owner substantially more than the 2% they “THOUGHT” they were saving.
5. Home repairs are unfortunately inevitable on all homes to include rental properties. Is your property management company using these as an opportunity to generate a profit for their company or ensuring that the contractors they use are properly license, insured and they have negotiated the best deal possible with no mark up to them?
5. Conducting an accurate market analysis of what your property can rent for is essential. Renting for less than what the market will bear buy just 50 dollars a month will more than offset the discounted leasing rate in most cases.
These are just a few of the many areas that a property management company can have a substantial impact on the true net dollars you will receive on your rental property.
A 10% management fee is the industry standards for property management companies that address the above in a professional manner.
All County Associates prides itself on bringing a level of professionalism in property management previously not found in the Northern Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando markets.
Please contact All County Associates at (727)853-6888 for a free rental market analysis of your property.
Proud to be your number one choice for property management in the Tampa Bay area, All County Associates services Trinity, New Port Richey, Holiday, Port Richey, Tarpon Springs, Spring Hill, Hudson, Elfers, Palm Harbor, East Lake, and the surrounding communities.
