Tips on managing property managers for out of state investors?

[Richard Young]

Hi fellow BP mates,

I have a few single family homes that I use local property management companies to manage for me since they are not local to me.  I have kissed a lot of frogs to find the right property manager with the level of integrity and professional standards I expect.  Since these properties are far away from me (memphis and I live in California), I have been thinking about employing some 'auditing' practices to help me verify that they are making sure the property condition is being maintained.  For example, I have thought about putting a craigslist ad or fiverr.com posting to hire someone to go by and take pictures of the properties and email them to me. This would allow me to get an instant view of exterior condition of the property as well as the exterior maintenance to see if the property manager is regularly checking up.  Obviously this doesn't help with the interior.

I also thought about getting the phone #'s of all the next door neighbors, calling/introducing myself and telling them I am the owner of the property.  I would tell them that I care about the condition of the property and neighborhood and if they have any issues with tenants or upkeep of the property, to call me.  Since they are vested in the neighborhood, I would think they would be the best resources available.

Does anyone out there in a similar situation as mine have other tips or best practices that you use to keep your property managers honest?  My motto is to trust but verify!

Rich