Why You Should Hire a Property Manager to Rent Your House

People assume they don't need to hire a property manager because the property manager is just going to do something they can do themselves, and get paid for it. Many of these same people end up in court for failing to comply with housing regulations, or dealing with disgruntled tenants.

What do you know about fair housing laws? How about lead paint disclosures? Eviction Processes? If you are the average Joe Homeowner then the answer is probably very little. A property manager knows all about all of those things and many other small details to ensure that you are compliant with all federal and state laws as well as protecting you and the tenant with a well formed and legal leasing agreement.

What a Property Manager Does

A property manager will advertise your available rental. They will take phone calls and answer emails full of questions from potential renters.

The property manager will show your home to potential renters, process their rental applications by thoroughly performing background, criminal, and credit checks as well as checking all their references, employment and banking history.

Once a suitable tenant is found, the property manager will draw up a lease which covers landlord and tenant responsibilities, security deposit, rent terms, rules and regulations and a home inspection report.

The property manager will meet with the tenant to get the lease signed, collect the rent and deposit, do a thorough walk through of the property noting any existing damages on the inspections sheet which will then be signed by both parties.

The property manager will handle all the repairs and maintenance on the property as well as collecting rent, handling lease violations, and in the even of a default tenant will handle the eviction process and even go to court if need be.

When a tenant moves out the property manager will again do a thorough walk through noting damages, and deduct any applicable damages from the security deposit before returning the balance to the tenants. The property manager will also arrange for cleaning, repairs and any other tasks that need to be done in order to rent the house again.

Why You Should Hire A Property Manager

This means that a property manager takes care of everything and you have nothing to do but sit back and collect your rent money each month, and possibly approve large repair items. No need for you to worry about getting the call in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner because a garbage disposal is stopped up or have to leave a family function to arrange repair for a broken air conditioning unit. As a property manager I can assure you this does happen.

While a property manager's office hours may be 9 to 5, they are on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week to the tenants and homeowners they work for.

For a small percentage of the rental income on your property you can have all the burden of renting your property lifted off of your shoulders and placed upon the shoulders of a trained professional property manager, leaving you with plenty of free time to enjoy the remainder of the rental income.

Source: Author is a certified residential property manager.