Homes being rented in Home Owner Association community's with absentee landlords need a qualified property management company to oversee the property. Most complaints received by HOA board of directors revolve around fines received from weeds, illegal parking, trash containers left in view, and noise.

In many cases letters requesting fine waivers contain verbiage that the owners have a property management company and the owners know the property is being taken care of. How they know this is a mystery because they are in California or Texas and haven't seen the property. However, the owner has called the manager and they report that they have gone by and everything is fine.

The second type of letter is from the property manager themselves indicating they have seen the property and their is nothing wrong with it. Unfortunately the manager, "if" they have gone by at all did so weeks after the property was view and naturally the trash can had disappeared or the parked vehicle moved.

My point, be careful in selecting a property management company or manager when you rent your property. There are many companies that indicate they "specialize" in this type of activity but don't be fooled by the fancy ad or the number of clients they profess.

A qualified property manager will do something besides collect rent, so let me repeat that a qualified property manager will ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING BESIDES COLLECT RENT! Most collect rent, many times in the mail, and that is the extent of their property management. They rarely, if ever, view the property after they rent it. They rarely, if ever, make certain that the renters know the rules of the HOA and see that they are enforced.

A few tips for selecting and working with a property management company. Make certain that the PM company has a copy of the HOA's CCR's - the rules and regulations and that they give a copy AND explain them to the renters when they sign the lease agreement. Have them explain to the renters that is a fine is received that the renters will be responsible for payment of that fine - not the home owner. Insist on a written report with pictures of the property at a specified time, whether weekly or monthly or whatever you feel is appropriate for your circumstance. The technology is available so pictures of the property can be given easily and transmitted easily along with an update.

If the property management company or manager resists this request I suggest you get a new manager that will follow your instructions. It is your property and you are paying for the service and they won't offer this type of assistance I would question why. If the company is so busy they can't view your property why use them? The property you own is an investment it "should" be important to you and maintained to continue to get a return on your investment for years to come. If you don't know what your property management company is doing to oversee your investment don't be surprised when you come into town to see your investment with stained carpet, weeds and dead plants scattered around, windows broken and fences in disrepair.

Taking a proactive approach on the front end will help this from occurring when the renters move and having to put additional money in repair damage that could have been avoided.