What are the Tasks of a Property Manager?
Hiring a property manager is inevitable if you are a property investor or owner. Generally, managers are supposed to take care of the operations and administration on behalf of the owner. However, the question begs, do you know their responsibilities well enough to tell if they are doing their job or not?
For many property owners, managers are just another name on the payroll. You can find some of the most professional managers at Leading Property Management but professionalism must be paired with a strong work ethic. Let’s have a look at the responsibilities that fall under the purview of a property manager in San Francisco.
Who is a Property Manager?
A property manager is a person who specializes in administering the operations of a rental property as directed by the owner or investor. Their job is to meet the needs of the owner (you), whether they’re concern about the improvement and livability of a property or enhancing financial goals.
Many individual property owners try to manage their properties on their own but it is both time-consuming and better to delegate so you can focus on the things that are important to you. A manager ensures that upstanding tenants move into your property, rent is paid punctually, budgets are adhered to and the property is kept in pristine condition.
How Property Management Works
A property manager’s duties fall under the administration of a rental property. A significant amount of experience and expertise is required in this job. Managers ought to be familiar with the real estate market and housing standards surrounding your rental property.
Besides meeting your goal for each property, managers should be familiar with national and state laws regarding the landlord-tenant relationship, legal methods for vetting tenants, termination of leases, evictions, security deposits, and laws about safety standards of rental properties.
Setting the Rent Price
The rent price should be set such that it is profitable to the owner and affordable for the tenants. This falls under the purview of your property manager and they are best suited for this task due to their wide experience and knowledge of current rental rates.
Property management companies arrive at your property’s rent by considering factors such as location, the property’s most prominent features, and local market information.
Readying Vacant Units
Any unit lying around unoccupied is money that is not your pocket. As such, these units need to be cleaned, repaired, and maintained so that they are ready for occupation at a moment’s notice. Your property manager should also be resourceful when it comes to new ways to spruce up your property to attract tenants.
Advertising Vacancies
If your property does nothing else, they should be able to market your property. Your property is an investment that should start recording returns as soon as possible and your manager ought to know precisely how and where to advertise. That will make it easier to fill your property with paying tenants without delay.
Vetting and Approving Tenants
Property management isn’t merely about getting tenants to occupy a property. Those tenants need to be able to meet the following conditions:
- Pay rent punctually
- Responsible
- Renting for a significant period
- Nonproblematic
- Take care of the property
This necessitates a vetting process which should be carried out by your property manager.
Your manager should also be well versed in rental laws to enable them to rule out unsuitable tenants without breaking the law or being discriminative.
Preparing and Implementing Lease Agreements
Lease agreements safeguard your interests and your property. As such, you need everything that matters to be included therein. Your property manager needs to be capable of drafting a lease agreement complete with terms regarding rent payment, security deposit, and the repercussions that come with failure to abide.
Handling Tenant Complaints
The manager is supposed to resolve any issues between tenants and address complaints concerning the property. They should ensure that the tenants are always comfortable.
Collecting and Modifying the Rent
The duty of rent collection falls upon your property manager as well. They ought to enforce the terms of your lease agreement and collect late-payment charges where they are due. Since the real estate market is prone to fluctuations and influence from external factors, your manager should also be responsible for raising or lowering the rent when necessary.
Conducting Repairs and Maintenance
The livability of your property alongside its cleanliness and overall functioning befalls your property manager. It is upon them to bring in maintenance staff and repair any damages on the property. They are also responsible for tasks like cleaning and repainting. Project managers are free to use their own personnel for these tasks or hire from the local community.
Supervising Employees
Property managers are responsible for supervising any staff on your property. Whether they are security personnel or cleaners, it is the managers’ duty to ensure that they are working seamlessly and as per their directions.
Taking Care of the Property
The project management company in charge of your property should ensure its security and maintenance. It should hire staff to perform routine clean-ups of the place and protect it from vandalism and squatters. Your manager should also supervise any ongoing projects on the property to ensure punctual completion.
Handling Move-outs and Evictions
One does not anticipate evictions in their property because of their inevitably messy nature but if it comes to it, your manager should handle it with the required professionalism, and full knowledge of shifting tenant-landlord eviction law in California. They can only do this if they know the law governing evictions in your state and how to go about it.
Your manager should inspect the unit of any tenant before they move out. Overlooking this step may see you taking money out of your pocket to make repairs and replacements after a
tenant has left which affects your cash flow.
Once they have established that everything is in perfect condition and accounted for, the manager can then proceed to process their departure. Tenants whose units were found to have any damages get a fragment of their security deposit.
Ensuring Compliance with the Law
California rental laws are changing quickly and owners must make sure they are setup and safe-guarded against law which do not favor landlords, so much as they benefit tenants. The project management company you hire ought to handle or refer you to proper counsel for all legal compliance needs regarding your property. Ensure that you employ the services of a reputable company that will accomplish this task professionally. You may find yourself paying large sums in fines if your property does not meet the regulations governing your locality, state, safety, housing, and health.
Filing Taxes
If you are too busy taking care of other matters, you can entrust your project manager with the task of filing taxes on your behalf. You can also ask the project management company to guide you through the process if you would rather file your own taxes.
Record Keeping
Records are a vital way of keeping track of finances and the growth of a property. The manager is mandated with the duty to keep precise, up-to-the-minute, and detailed records of your real estate property. These records should feature your property’s gross income alongside expenses, repairs, taxes, and other vital information.
Final Thoughts
Now you know exactly what your property manager should be doing for you. However, we must say that finding one who can comfortably carry out all the above responsibilities is no mean feat. You most definitely do not want to find yourself saddled with a manager who cannot perform half the duties they are tasked with. That is why you should consider Leading Property Management, a top-notch property management company in San Francisco. You can take care of other important matters because you are assured that your property is in capable hands.
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