Hiring The Right Property Manager
Managing a rental home in Greenwich, CT requires a year-round effort. There are monthly, seasonal, and annual tasks to be completed. Not only do you want to receive a profitable rental income but also ensure that the property upkeep is take care of in an efficient and cost-effective way. Every area of the country and state has unique maintenance challenges. Fairfield County is no different. A property manager can make all the difference.
A professional property manager manages both the rental and maintenance aspects for your property. Each area benefits from the experience and knowledge of a property manager. Before looking into the various maintenance needs, let us start with the rental side of owing the property.
As you seek a property manager, keep in mind that duties, such as negotiating the rental of a property or is collecting rent, requires the property management company to have a real estate license. Greenwich Home Inspections and Property Management LLC holds the appropriate licenses and can offer the full range of services to their clientele.
Renting Property
Rental rates are determined by researching the range of rental rates in a specific local area. Everything from square footage, location, age of the property, amenities, and demand goes into the evaluation that results in a recommended rate. Too low and you are losing income. Too high and the property will sit vacant.
Proper placement of the advertisements is critical. You want your property listing to be seen by all interested in renting your home, condo, or apartment. Local listings, along with well known rental sites are the place to be.
Tenant screening, including background checks, should not be overlooked. It is not finding a renter; it is finding the right renter. It is much easier to pass on a marginal applicant that have collection and other issues once they reside in the property.
A property manager is responsible for collecting rent payments, in full, and on time. If an issue does arise, the professional manager has the experience to get the job done.
Of course, pricing, leasing, and collecting rent is only part of the job. The other part is overseeing tenant requests and maintaining a good working relationship with them
Property Maintenance
A good property manager has the resources to meet the needs of the owners and tenants. Having a cadre of professionals such as plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians, painters, handymen, gardeners, pool maintenance, roofers, and others is an absolute necessity. Image the effort you would have as an owner if you had to find each of these tradesmen on short notice.
HVAC: High heat in the summer and cold temperatures in the winter put a strain on your HVAC system all year long. The best way to avoid major repairs is by conducting yearly inspections and cleaning your HVAC system. Our team will schedule these inspections as part of our services.
Living Near the Coast: Everyone loves water, as long as the water is where it belongs. The closer you are to the coast, the higher the water tables are. Poor drainage can lead to basement, yard, and driveway flooding. Everything from roof shingles, siding, doors, windows, decks, and painted surfaces all experience higher than normal weal as a result of being subjected to the wind and rain that can come off of Long Island Sound.
Regular inspections and maintenance can make the difference between simple repairs vs. the more complex repairs that result from inattention.
Unexpected Repairs: They may not be the most expensive, but they are definitely the most time consuming. Malfunctioning appliances, a water leak, electrical issues, broken glass, and more, can come at all hours of the day or night. Taking the request and determining the urgency of the repair needed are best left to the property manager. In other words, no sense the owner losing sleep. Leave that to the property manager.
This is an overview of a few of the duties of a property management team. Summer is upon us and its time to address those maintenance needs of the season. Winter has a completely distinct set of maintenance challenges. We will cover those in a future blog.
Call us and schedule a meeting with one of our professional property managers.