3 Levels/Tiers of Property Management: What Level of Property Management Fits Your Investment Style?

Every landlord needs something different from their property management company depending on a variety of factors. These factors include things such as how many residential rental properties they own to their management and investing style. Having said that, property management companies need to be different things to each investor that they work with.

Some investors will want the property management company to handle everything from repairs to inspections to resident complaints, while others will only want the property management company to handle certain key aspects of their residential rental units.

This is why most property management companies have developed something of a tiered system to provide different levels of support to investors based on their investment styles and their needs.

The following is a brief glimpse at what those levels are and what each one will usually cover:

Tenant Finder:

This first level or tier of assistance simply helps the landlord find appropriate tenants to fill their residential rental properties. The property management company uses their backgrounds, connections, and background check systems to thoroughly screen tenants before they approve them to begin to the actual rental process. After the tenant's initial screening, they are turned over to the landlord who finally decides if they are going to allow them to rent one of their properties or not, giving the landlord some say in the tenants that they rent to as well.

Landlord-Involved Plans:

The second level or tier of assistance is a landlord-involved tier. The arrangement of this tier allows the landlord to be involved with the management of his properties and allows him to do certain tasks if he wishes. These tasks include items such as finding & approving tenants, collecting rent payments, personally following up with tenants who have late payments, and being the main contact when repairs are needed. At this level, the company is also required to provide information to the landlord (investor) directly including a monthly report of rents collected, expenses paid, and overall profit levels.

Complete Property Management:

The third and final tier of management and provides the landlord with a complete property management experience. In these situations, the company takes over all day-to-day operations that are related to the day-to-day operations of the properties. This means that the company will do everything from finding you appropriate tenants to ensuring that all tenants are screened and that the issues/problems/complaints/questions/etc. of existing tenants are promptly taken care of at all times.

This level or tier of management also allows companies to handle the financial aspect of the investments for the landlord as well. This will include keeping all payments up-to-date and current including mortgage payments on the properties, paying HOA fees, filing taxes, etc.. This is the level of property management most often used by established landlords who are more interested in focusing their time on making new investments and growing their business and profitability, while leaving the property management company to handle any periphery issues that may arise in the meantime.

Conclusions:

Property management companies can be different things to different landlords. There is no right or wrong way to utilize the services that a property management company offers. It's all about the size of your investment and the goals you have as an investor. Property management companies are here to help, so allow them to utilize the tools and services they offer to best meet your needs.