What do you wish a property manager told you upfront?

[Melanie Shiflett]

This is a follow-up to my last two posts about payout timelines and setting expectations with new owners.                                                          I’m curious from both sides:

What do you wish a property manager explained clearly during onboarding?

For landlords who have used PMs before:

Was there anything you didn’t find out until after you signed?                                                                                                                                      What would’ve saved you frustration?                                                                                                                                                                                Were payout timelines clear?                                                                                                                                                                                                  Maintenance process?                                                                                                                                                                                                  Communication expectations?

For the property managers here:

• What do YOU make sure to explain upfront to avoid issues later?

• Are there things you’ve learned to clarify early because new owners often misunderstand them?

I’m trying to better understand what expectations matter most to people before they sign on, especially first-time or out-of-state landlords.

[Adam Bartomeo]

We have taken over many, many properties from other property management companies and the biggest complaint that we here is communication. This is nothing new. It is documented as the number one complaint from sellers and landlords.

As for onboarding, (the is a process/systems question) before any owner comes on board, they have at least one conversation with me - normally two or three - where we cover the PMA in detail (it is not structured, more of a Q and A). We then send them a sample PMA for them to read over and ask questions. We then send them their own PMA to read over. We then schedule a call with the operations manager to review the PMA and answer questions. By the end of this we have thoroughly covered any/all questions they may have about the PMA AND almost any hypothetical question they may have. The owners are now well versed and educated on our PMA, systems, and processes.