When you think of what makes a top performing
property management company in Long Beach
what comes to mind? For those new to interviewing firms it can be difficult to determine what questions you can ask and what to expect.
We invite you to consider diving deeper into three key aspects: Days on Market, Client Retention, and Number of Units Under Management to help you find the best firm for your goals.
Days on Market
Each day that your property isn’t rented is a time where you aren’t making money. While no one can prevent tenants from leaving it is important to understand a property management company's process when a tenant does vacate a property.
Ask how long, on average, it takes to bring the property up to rental condition after a prior tenant has left. Inquire as to if they market a property prior to it being completed to minimize vacancy. And of course ask them to give you the actual days a property is marketed prior to them signing a new tenant.
Understanding how many days on market your property could be vacant when a tenant leaves gives you not only a good idea on how efficient they are as a property management company but also gives you an idea of reserves to set aside in case you need to make an unexpected mortgage payment.
Retention of Clients
In the business of property management clients can stay for years; however, there are two common events where clients can leave:
- They experience a challenge with the property management company
- They decided to sell their property
Since you are the one who gets to decide if you want to sell your property you don’t have to worry about that item. When you are interviewing a property management company they are trying to win your business. This can make it tough to find out what true challenges people have faced with them. All of this means you might have to dig deeper with questions such as:
- How many net positive clients are you adding each year to your business?
- How many years, on average, do clients remain with you?
- Why do you feel clients change property management companies?
- What process do you have for increasing rent? (clients tend to stay longer when a property management company helps them make more money over time)
In an optimal world you can have a long relationship with your property management which means keep asking questions to find if they would be able to retain you as a long term client.
Number of Units Under Management
Inevitably if you call property management companies in Long Beach you will discover a few of them with 1,000’s under management. Having 1,000’s under management can be a positive aspect (i.e. scale to solve problems, service, pool of renters, etc.) but it can also have a downside impact. It could mean less time to focus on your property or you are just a “number”, etc..
Finding out the number of units a firm manages is important however dig a little deeper to see what those numbers mean. Determine how their volume of units will impact what it would be like to work with them. Consider questions such as:
- How many units does each property manager have under their purview?
- How often does a property manager check-in with the property owner?
- How often are rent reviews performed?
Having 5,000+ units under management can be a good win for many property owners, just make sure it is a win for you.
Finding the right property management company in Long Beach comes down to understanding how the firm manages properties and determining if they have the right personality match to work with you. To find out if we are the right firm to handle your Long Beach rental call us today at (562) 888-0247 to ask some of the questions above and to hear how we can help. If you want to have a quick check to see how much your property could fetch in rent we invite you to fill out our Free Rental Analysis where we perform a comprehensive comparison to share your rental stacks up to the competition.
