Tenant Approval When Using PM

[J Scott]

I've always managed rental properties in-house, and recently hired a PM for the first time to fill a new rental.  I got notification today that they found a tenant, ran all the checks (eviction, credit, criminal background, etc), called the previous landlords and employer, etc.  And then they approved the tenant to move in next week.

When I heard that they had already approved the tenant, I was a little surprised.  While we didn't discuss it specifically, I had just assumed that the standard arrangement was that the owner makes the final approval.  Clearly not the standard with this company.

Ultimately, I talked to the owner of the company, and he said he's happy to do that, but that they typically don't unless the owner requests it (he said that because they manage 1600 units, it's cumbersome to get owner approval on every placement).  He mentioned their eviction rate was less than 1%, which is a good thing, but would still have preferred to make the final approval myself.

Just curious what the standard is here?  Does PM make the final tenant decision?  Or do you?  

[Eric Black]

Hi J

Yeah, I'd be surprised too if our PM called and said they had filled a vacancy without contacting us first. I don't know if there's a true standard but every PM we have used has always called us to give us an update and confirm our approval for the applicant.