What would you hand off to a new PM?

Question

Not actively looking to hire a property manager, but got thinking about what I'd actually give them if I did. Realized most of what I "know" about my properties lives in my head, not in anything I could hand over. Rough sense of what's been replaced and when, nothing written down in a way someone else could pick up.

Feels like a bad position to be in even without a PM in the picture, if something happened to me tomorrow, nobody could step in and know what's aging where either.

For those who've made the switch to a PM, or thought about it, what did you actually prepare beforehand? Or did you find out the hard way what was missing after they took over?

Drew Sygit · Answer

THis topic opens up a discussion on the differences between:

Property Management

and

Asset Management.

For some reason, owners expect their PMC to also manage their asset for "free".

So, while a PMC may keep track of maintenance issues, they should NOT be expected to track CapEx issues:)

Jim Johnson · Answer

For a PM takeover, the lease and tenant info are only part of it. The stuff that really helps is the history behind each property: maintenance records, major replacements and their ages, warranties, vendor contacts, open issues, inspection notes, deposits, keys/access details and any recurring quirks the property has. We've taken over properties where that history was mostly in the owner's head, and you end up rebuilding the story as issues come up. Even if you never hire a PM, having enough documented that someone else could step in tomorrow is a pretty good test of how organized the operation really is.

Eduardo Cavasotti · Answer

I would build the handoff around 5 records, not an SOP: current rent roll, lease files, open maintenance, major system dates, and the last 12 months of owner statements and invoices.

The trap is giving the PM your memory instead of a starting balance. If the roof, water heater, and tenant promises are not written down, the first month becomes archaeology.

Garrett Brown · Answer

Agree with @Keith JablonowskiIt is sooooo much easier starting to document processes now than it is with 12 units and it's all in your head lolI would just start a brain dump into something like Notion and have it start building an SOP/Big Info database for you. Google sheet will work as well but Notion is my favorite tool currently for something like this. You may never even need a PM if you get something like RentRedi to solve most things too.

Keith Jablonowski · Answer

I think you answered your own question. Regardless of whether you plan on hiring a PM or not, you need to get that information out of your head and into some type of system, even if it's just an Excel spreadsheet.

What would you hand off to a new PM?

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