In today’s market and with many agents quitting their office jobs, most have turned into property managers.
Most of this new managers without an office, work out of their homes, have no previous experience (Almost all say they do in their web sites) this practice can become a problem for you if your property rental manager disappears with funds collected from renters leaving you the owner clueless as to what kind of rental agreement the Agent entered on your name:
There maybe a few reasons why you want to think twice before you give your house keys to someone who just has a web site a cell phone and no office to be found by you or your renter.
Before hiring someone ask for recommendations: Call the firm they used to work for. Many worked only part time and were not serious about a Real Estate career and left after a few months and now are part of the endless list of Property Managers offering freelance services.
Once you find a rental manager and feel comfortable working with he/she, know before hand how your property will be marketed as: Vacation rental? Long term?
Vacation Rental: Your property manager should get a rental agreement signed by guest stating the number of people staying in your property. Arrival and departure date. Your manager should collect full rent plus security damage deposit before guest arrival. Rental Managers duty also includes; checking the property after guest departure, make sure the property condition and contents are same in condition and number, as before guest arrived; Manager has to make sure the property is cleaned immediately after departure. Obviously you have the potential guest of your property also wondering why they are sending money to Mexico so ask your manager how and where your money will be sent to and when will you be paid.
Long term rental: A Contrato Transactional `Settlement agreement` Should be in place, first and last month rent paid in advance. Detailed inventory of the property should be part of the agreement. There is more to property management but.. its up to your manager to figure that out and provide you and your renter with quality service.
Whether the housing market is stabilizing or not, it’s suggested that you trust your keys and property on the hands of a capable reliable Property Manager or Company who are legally established, have owners/clients recommendations and mostly, find the one who will represent you and your property with integrity.