Property Managers: What We Do
What do you think about when you hear the words “property manager”? It is imperative to understand all the variables before you consider one. Property managers do everything!
What Do Property Managers Do?
That’s a good question. We are basically a really helpful parent; we screen tenants, we manage properties, do maintenance requests, collect rent, manage eviction and advertising.
Property managers have experience in commercial property and/or residential. They can even manage things like Airbnb’s (like us!). We provide a sense of security to the property owners who will be able to explore other investing opportunities.
Property managers also have reasonable rates for their services. It’s usually between 6 and 14 per cent of any profits they yield from various properties. Considering the services they provide, that’s a bargain!
We Manage Your Tenants:
A big part of what we do is managing tenants. There are various components; including: communication, maintenance, lease execution, renewal, inspections, and rent collection.
Communication is one of those key things that will help your investment thrive. It can be done in various forms but should always be clear. Whether you communicate with your tenants face-to-face, text message or email, it’s vital to be able to talk with your tenants about their needs and concerns.
We manage all evictions. Evictions are processes that need to be carried out specifically. A property manager is a person who can do exactly that.
Rent collection from tenants is very important. Companies like CanStar will have the proper techniques to ensure this is done efficiently, and with accurate records.
We Handle All The Paperwork:
There is a ton of paperwork that comes along with having a property. We deal with all of it! Property managers are qualified to get leases ready for new tenants, and executing them in fashion.
We handle all complaints and file these away for record keeping. Each complaint should be recorded — this means a written document detailing what the complaint is, when the call or email came in, who complained, and what their unit & civic address is.
Property managers can help properly file this and ensure they are taken care of. This also even extends to the eviction paperwork.
Whether it’s collecting rent or preparing invoices for contract work, it’s all handled by extremely qualified staff.
We Handle Repairs and Requests:
Property managers will have staff that they hire to do small maintenance requests by tenants. But, in reality, we handle everything. We have connections to various vendors in the community.
Hiring contractors helps us complete the work. Sometimes things are beyond our scope. For example, a unit experiencing plumbing issues should have a licensed plumber come on to the property to fix it.
The advantage to a property management company is also their knowledge of good quality tradespeople. These companies will use licensed employees to ensure quality and accuracy.
We handle all requests by tenants. Requests for maintenance, complaints, and everything in between!
Our Costs:
According to various property management sites and based on the rates CanStar charges, you can expect to pay a property manager between 6-14 per cent. These rates are reasonable considering the amount of work that a property manager puts in. If you have a property manager who has a rate of 10 per cent, what does that add up to?
If rent at a given property is $1,000 — then your property manager would receive $100 every month from that property to become its caretaker.
A property and its financial performance should be reviewed after the end of each scheduled contract at a minimum. Consider increasing that rate based on the previous years experience with cost, repairs, and vacancy. This may help you best assess whether a property is giving you a good rate of return.
