This blog post builds on top of our previous post about the best questions to ask for hiring a property manager.

Finding a good property manager takes time, diligence, and savvy. It requires asking the right questions, being aware of a candidate’s reputation, and maybe even looking for telltale signs that can be indicative of what a working relationship with a candidate would look like.

Aside from using an interview as a comprehensive judgment of a prospective manager’s quality, there are a few other strategies to keep in mind. These strategies can be helpful in myriad ways, as they can help in funneling less-than-kosher candidates from consideration before a property owner spends time interviewing them. They can also be excellent gauges of a prospective property manager’s character, commitment to quality, and true professionalism.

Below is a short list of not-always-used strategies to consider and implement when someone is looking for a great property management professional. These are great for implementation on top of conventional recruiting and candidate-weighing strategies for property management roles.

Strategies for Gathering and Weighing Candidates as Property Managers

• Learn about the best property management firms in town from your local property owner association meetings and real estate gatherings. If you are having trouble finding a good pool of candidates, one of the best ways to quickly build up a list of prospects is to network at monthly or annual property owner association meetings and real estate networking events. Established property management professionals will have likely worked with many of the people at these events. They will have solid track records and credentials, and it is likely that these professionals keep in touch with their former clientele. Definitely be sure to tap into this invaluable resource.
• Once you have candidates, call them up without mentioning how you heard of their company. Ask for quotes on their property management and maintenance services. Generally speaking, a starting-point for having a property managed and maintenanced can range from 5-10 percent of gross rents. Many property management firms tack on additional charges, including fees for trips made out to the property and setup fees. Furthermore, a company’s cost structure can be complicated in how it divvies up hourly, monthly, and per-project charges- be sure to be mindful of that. For gauging pricing, you can call the property management companies in your candidate pool and ask them what their fee schedule is. For best gauging a candidate, it is best to present yourself in a manner where the candidate on the other side of the call feels compelled to convince you of their selling points. Take note of each company’s strong suits and downsides, and compare the data once you are finished speaking with each company by phone.
• Find out what the candidate’s average number of days to fill a vacant property is. This is one of the most useful measures of a property manager’s effectiveness. Before they sit down to an interview, in your preliminary communication be sure to ask the candidate how long it takes them to rent a vacant property. Doing so will reveal a number of things: it will show you if the candidate is organized and keeps good records, it will reveal if the candidate is a capable professional, and it will serve as a strong measure for whether the candidate is a good fit for your needs. Be sure to be aware of what the going average rate is for your local area. That will be an effective measure for gauging whether the candidate’s stats are on par with local market standards.
• Compile a short list of difficult situations. Before scheduling an interview, ask the candidate to complete it. Seeing how a candidate would react to a few difficult situations is a great way to gauge whether they will be a good fit. Include situations such as dealing with an unpleasant tenant, handling maintenance work request overload when your tenants are overrun with maintenance needs, making sure rent is collected on time from all tenants, and dealing with an unpleasant eviction as factors, among others. Doing so will give you decent insight into a candidate’s grasp of best property management practices and strategies. It will also provide a foundation upon which you can build when the interview rolls around.
• Ask the candidate for documentation of how they added value at a previous property they and/or their team managed. In order to find out more about a candidate’s track record, it is not a bad idea to ask for documentation of past property management jobs. The documentation can vary: it could be a detailed testimonial of what the management firm performed strongly; an in-depth survey of the firm’s performance, strengths, and weaknesses; or related literature. Surveys or any literature that captures what a property management company’s previous client thought of the company’s performance is best. However, any documentation will add further depth as to what that candidate can do for your property investment.