If you’ve been waiting for the perfect time to rent out your home, there is no better time than the present. With rental rates on the rise across the country, you have the opportunity to make a significant profit when you rent out your property, especially if you live in a suburban area.
While this venture can be profitable, it can also be a lot of work. Between finding and managing tenants, collecting rent, providing necessary maintenance and repairs, and handling tenant requests, being a landlord can feel like a full-time job.
However, if you work with a good property management company, renting out your home can be a good source of truly passive income.
Finding the perfect property management company to manage your properties can prove challenging, but it will be well worth the cost and effort when you are able to sit back, relax, and collect a monthly income.
If you want to find a property management company in your area that will make renting out your property a breeze, here are a few strategies to keep in mind:
Search Google Maps
When you’re looking for a property management company, one of the best ways to start is with a good old-fashioned Google search.
Search phrases like “top property management companies in [insert city name]” or “best property management companies in [insert city name]” in Google Maps to get a list of reputable companies in your area.
When you’re looking for a property management company, you need to find one that is close to your property.
As a rule of thumb, you should rule out any property management company that doesn’t have an office within a 10-mile radius of your property. This is for two key reasons:
For one, a major responsibility of your property management company will be to respond to tenant requests, check up on your homes regularly, and handle any maintenance issues that may arise. If the property management company is far away from your properties, they may not be able to visit regularly or complete maintenance requests in a timely manner. You will also want them to have an established relationship with service providers in the area so that they have people who are reliable and trustworthy to complete any necessary repairs.
Furthermore, if your property management company is going to set your rental rates, you will want them to be a part of the local community. Your property management company should know the going rental rates for properties in the area, so you don’t want to work with a company that doesn’t have an office nearby.
Once you have looked at the Google Map search results, you should be able to come up with a list of property management companies that are in close proximity to your properties.
Check Google Reviews and Ratings
While this list will be a good starting point, the most beneficial part of a Google search will be the Google Reviews and Google Ratings. These metrics are important because they can help you narrow down your search in a few ways:
Showing credibility
The more reviews a property management company has, the more credible the business will be. A company that only has a small handful of reviews is likely not well-established in your area. Look for companies that have several reviews so that you know there are many people in the area that trust them to manage their properties.
Google Reviews will contribute to the company’s overall Google Rating. While it may be difficult to find a property management company with a 5/5 rating, you will want to work with one that has a rating of at least a 4.7 or above.
Demonstrating customer service
Even a less than stellar review can help you learn about the values of a property management company. If a company has a couple of negative reviews, but they haven’t responded to the reviews with an attempt to rectify the situation, run!
Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and you will be hard-pressed to find a property management company with a perfect 5-star rating on Google. But there is a major difference between a company that tries to improve and make things right with a client after making a mistake and one that ignores their negative reviews. Look for companies that show good customer service by responding to reviews, both positive and negative.
Providing insight into the company’s practices
Reading Google Reviews will help you see the experiences other people have had with a particular property management company. When the reviews are positive, you will know that you are likely to have a positive experience with this company, too.
Look for reviews that mention good customer service, strong communication, reliable service, expertise, and other keywords that demonstrate that the company will serve you and your prospective tenants well.
Once you have explored the reviews and ratings for the companies that were in your search results, you can create a shortlist of companies to consider.
Browse company websites
Now that you have a list of a few property management companies that are in the right location and have great reviews, you have narrowed your search down enough to spend time browsing each company’s website.
When you are on each website, there are a few things you need to look for:
- Additional reviews: See if there are any reviews or testimonials on their website that you can consider in addition to their Google Reviews.
- Guarantees: Read over the guarantees the property management company provides. Do they guarantee that you will still get paid if a tenant doesn’t pay a month or two of rent? Do they guarantee that they will find high-quality tenants?
- Marketing strategies: Look for information about how they market their properties. Will they simply take a photo or two and call it a day, or will they go the extra mile to make sure your home is attractive to prospective renters?
- Days on market: What are the average days on the market for this property management company? Every day your home is not rented out is a day that you are missing out on rent.
- Prices: You don’t want to lose money on your property. Are their prices within your budget? Are you going to encounter hidden costs and fees? Do you have to pay additional fees in order to receive all of their services?
- Mission and vision: It’s critical to know the focus of any property management company you’re considering. If they don’t primarily focus on rentals, you will want to steer clear of that company. If they don’t have a heart for customer service and providing the best possible rental experience for both you and your prospective tenants, you should consider looking elsewhere.
As you browse through websites with these factors and mind, you will be able to see which of the property management companies on your list will be the best fit for your specific needs.
Reach out to the company
At this point, you probably only have two or three property management companies left on your list. Now is the perfect time to contact these companies so you can ask any questions that will help you decide which company to choose.
When you get in touch with a property manager, ask the following questions:
- How well do you know the local market?
- How do you market properties?
- What is your process for finding and screening tenants?
- What is your process or system for collecting rent, managing invoices, and receiving maintenance requests from tenants?
- What is your company’s vacancy rate?
- What is your knowledge of local and federal laws and regulations regarding property rentals?
- What does your lease agreement look like?
- Do you have a large client base?
- How do you handle potential evictions?
- How large is your staff?
- How many units are you currently managing?
When you’ve received answers to these questions, you should be able to make the right choice and start reaping the benefits of working with a great property management company in your area.
Working with RentSimple
If you live in the northern Virginia area, we’d like to make the case for working with us here at RentSimple.
We have several offices in northern Virginia, and we have the expertise, reputation, and resources to help you find success when renting out your property. With a perfect 5.0 rating on Google at the time of this article’s posting, positive reviews from our clients, and a reputation for high-quality service, we believe we are the best property management company in the area.
In addition to a variety of locations and great Google Reviews, we also provide great services for landlords who work with us:
- We offer several guarantees including a Good Pet Promise, an Eviction Free Guarantee, a Rent Guarantee, and a Happiness Pledge.
- Our average days on market time is more than 2 weeks faster than the industry average in our area.
- We create professional video tours to help market properties on over 50+ listing sites.
- We prioritize providing an excellent rental experience for both landlords and tenants, so we screen properties and prospective tenants carefully.
See how RentSimple can help you start selling your rental property today when you contact us!
