When people first think of hiring a property management company to manage their Long Beach home, condo, or multi-unit, usually the first thought when it comes to services are the following activities:
- Preparing the property for rent
- Finding great candidates
- Screening tenants
- Executing the rental agreement
- Monthly collection of rent
While we certainly wouldn’t disagree with any of the above mentioned services there is much more to property management than finding tenants and ensuring they pay their rent each month. We would argue that there are additional services that the owner should come to expect from their property management company to ensure it is a great long-term relationship.
As an owner of rental property in Long Beach we would invite you to consider requiring the following services from property management companies that you are evaluating to manage your property.
Annual Rental Analysis
When you interview potential property management companies one of the first reports to review should be their rental analysis report. This report should be specific to your property, even including unique features (if you shared it prior to the interview) to help you understand their approach to setting a rental price. Now, while many companies will do this initially, are they re-doing this report annually?
Rents annually in Long Beach can increase 5% or more in any given neighborhood and a key role of your property management company is to share with you if your property is competitive enough to earn that increase. As you interview potential property management companies don’t forget to ask if you get a detailed annual rental analysis to help you understand your Long Beach neighborhood and how your property competes in that neighborhood.
Online Portal Dedicated to Property Owners
Technology today provides unique data that is important to property owners. We believe that a property management company should extend the data that is collected on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to the property owners they serve to save owners time.
Whether you are using a computer or your phone we would suggest that an online portal provide at least the following:
- Access to Property Reporting
- At tax time you certainly don’t want to worry about finding all of the documentation related to your rental. With a proper online portal for property owners you should be able to access 1099’s, historical financials, and even unit inspection reports.
- Ability to easily send payments for unexpected repairs
- While no one wants the unexpected to repair, they do happen. Instead of trying to send a check or figure out the latest online payment service, your property management company should make it easy to pay right through their online portal.
Communication Options
Nearly every industry has evolved to embrace multiple forms of communication for efficiencies and improved service. Of course, with property management companies not considered leading technology, not every company has implemented the systems to make the lives easier for their property owners.
As you interview different property management companies for your rental in Long Beach, ask them if they communicate with their owners in the following methods:
Most should say “Yes”, but the real test is are they keeping track of these forms of communication for quick reference? At Beach Cities our innovative Owner Portal allows us to log even our text messages with our owners to make sure we all stay aligned on expectations.
When you want to find out more about how we can help you as a landlord in Long Beach we invite you to call us today at (562) 888-0247 or you can even fill out our
Owner Application
and we can develop a custom rental analysis for your property (or properties).
