Property mgmt contracts

[Armando Ramirez]

The pluses and minuses have been mentioned before about property management companies. 

Starting out in MT with new condo, #1, and will commit at least one year to a property Mgr to get the lay of the land at least.  That being said. Is it useful to have a property mgmt contract reviewed by an attorney, similar to an employment contract?

Do people usually negotiate any terms of the contract?

Exciting times!

Thanks

[Drew Sygit]

In our opinion, the #1 mistake landlords make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.

It's often a case of not doing enough research, so they don't know what they don't know!

Landlords mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact same services and operate the exact same way, so price is the only differentiator.

So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services!

This also leads them to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it.

We have a 12 page management contract that we've added our real experiences to over the years, with the intent of protecting both us AND the landlord. Beyond the Monthly Management, Placement & Maintenance fees, all other fees in our contract are IF EVENT -> THEN fees.

We don’t know anyone in the area, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processes

We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services the cover and, more importantly, what some may leave out.

Yes, this will take time, but take the time to educate yourself and avoid potentially costly surprises!