Property Managers Do it Better? Hear it For Yourself!
When Daniel Curran’s primary residence in Richmond, Virginia became a rental six years ago a friend suggested he use a Real Estate broker who did property management on the side to manage his rental. Daniel soon realized that was a mistake when he didn’t get the money due to him on time – first it was a couple weeks late, then a month, then even up to 3 months late. He learned his real estate broker and part time property manager did not have the systems and processes in place to professionally manage his rental home.
Daniel started looking for a new property manager and had a long conversation with Linda Call at Real Property Management Richmond. “Linda told me what I should expect from a professional property manager – things I wasn’t getting from my realtor/property manager,” Daniel said. “Linda had her act together and knew what she was doing so I signed an agreement.”
Daniel has a few friends who have rentals who are Do-It-Yourself landlords or use a competitor. “Some people have horror stories but I’ve only had a positive experience – with tenants, my property and financially. Anyone I talk to who owns rentals, I always tell them that a really good property manager makes it so much easier… they know the market, they know what the rents are, and they can get 
the best possible tenants for the customer. You get the right tenants and they’re happy and your property is taken care of too. A good property manager knows how to do this inside and out.”
Living only 9 miles away, Daniel occasionally drives by and checks on his rental property. “But I don’t know painters, plumbers, and I’m not Mr. Home Improvement myself, so having a property manager who knows the right people and has experience is the way to go,” Daniel says. “Any time there’s a problem Real Property Management takes care of it.”
In March, Jenny Lowenstein took over for Linda. The transition has been smooth. Jenny even had new tenants before the current tenants moved out. “We walked through the house and came up with a plan to fix a few things before the new tenants moved in. She recommended a contractor who worked with a couple of people I wanted to use. They all worked together to fix the deck, repair hardwood floors, strip wallpaper, paint the interior and clean it thoroughly, and in two weeks it was ready for the new tenants.”
Daniel and his girlfriend are moving to Florida soon, and Daniel referred his girlfriend to Real Property Management Richmond to manage her home that will also become a rental. “I’m glad they’re my property manager. They follow up with emails and keep me informed. I have a lot of trust in Real Property Management Richmond which is important to me, especially now that I’ll no longer be close to my property.”
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I like this post!
Thanks for the sharing.
Some of the useful points are here:
You don’t have to hire someone to clean, paint, or make repairs.
You don’t have to advertise, take rental calls, and show the property.
You don’t have to screen applications and be apprehensive about who to pick.
You don’t have to execute a rental agreement, worry about adding addendums, fill out the move-in inspection report, and deposit money.
You don’t have tenants calling at all hours of the day and night.
You don’t have to confront tenants on tough issues like collecting rent or taking better care of the property.
The content that I normally see is nothing like what you have written. This is very well-thought out and well-planned. You are a unique thinker and bring up great individualized points. Please continue your work.
In my experience, it’s usually better to hire a professional than no one at all. A friend of mine owns a few apartment complexes and he tried to run them on his own for the first few years. He told me that it was quite hectic, thus moving him to hire a property manager. By doing so, it relieved some of the stress that went along with that. Plus it gave him more time to deal with other issues.
I can totally agree with Daniel’s experience with a property management company. I, too, am not the person to go to get things fixed. Typically, are the property managers the ones who do the work, or do they contract it out?
Hi Christina,
Every office is a little different but generally speaking, most of our offices have a maintenance person on staff or contract out the work. Thanks for commenting!
I like how you mentioned in you post how property managers makes owning a rental much easier. My parents own a rental property, and they recently decided to hire a property manager. The manager has done a great job taking care of my parent’s tenants. They’ve never been happier, actually! If there’s any property owners who are on the fence about hiring someone to manage their property, I would strongly suggest that you do so. It will make your tenants happy, and your life will be much less stressful! Thank you for posting!
Thank you Vicky 🙂
I think anyone who has managed property before knows how much easier a professional service could make it. Thanks for all of these great tips.
Thanks for sharing this article, Chanda, it can always be a bit of a risk to hire a property manager for your rental, so it’s good to have some advice on what makes a good one. A good manager should be able to take care of everything in a timely and efficient manner, as well as get the property rented out and the money to you wherever you now live. It also helps if a manager is well trained and able to effectively handle any concerns that the renting tenant might have.
Thanks Simon!
Finding the right property manager makes a world of difference. I have had property managers that made me want to get out of real estate all together so it’s important to find the company that will work the way you like to work. Thanks for the tips.
These are some great advantages when you consider about hiring a professionals I never thought of expecting such good services. Even they advertise units that not much cost to you but fee structure does matter at some point.