Five questions to ask a prospective property management company

Looking for professional property management? Here are five key questions you should ask of any management company:

• How many units do you have under management? This will give you a sense of the type of business you are going to be working with.
• What fees do you charge in addition to monthly management? Many property management companies will entice clients with an extremely low monthly management fee, then nail them with assorted fees every month. Ensure you have a complete list of fees the property management company can charge, and double check that this is reflected in the Property Management Agreement (PMA).
• What screening do you perform on prospective tenants? At a minimum, a professional property management company should be running a credit, criminal, and eviction background check on every adult occupant before signing a lease. They should also be contacting previous landlords to ask about rental history.
• How is maintenance handled? Some property management companies have shady arrangements with contractors, potentially even receiving kickbacks. Suggest that you would prefer to use an A-rated Angie’s List contractor in your area and see how they react.
• Can you provide references? Any good vendor should be overflowing with endorsements from past/current clients, and a property management company is no different. Ask for names and numbers, and follow up.

What other advice would you give?