Note: This guide primarily addresses single and multi-family management companies.

A good property management firm can easily become one of your greatest assets, second only to the properties that they steward on your behalf.

As Robert C. Kyle states in his book Property Management:

A property manager’s role is far more complex than simply showing space, signing leases, and collecting rents.  In reality, the property manager attempts to generate the greatest possible net income for the owners of an investment property over the economic life of that property.  Thus, the property manager has three goals:

• Achieve the objectives of the property owners.
• Generate income for the owners.
• Preserve and/or increase the value of the investment property.

This company will make critical decisions on your behalf, and in the same way choosing wisely will yield great benefits, making a selection without doing your homework first could lead to unnecessary pain and misfortune. The key is knowing how to properly ‘vet’ the companies in your area.

The Purpose of This Guide

This guide is designed to empower property owners with the knowledge and tools necessary to confidently evaluate each property management company they interview, and select a manager that can competently meet their needs.

This information will serve a broad cross-section of real estate investors, who all have slightly different needs. Newcomers, veterans, and those favoring the hands-on or hands-off approach to dealing with their management firm will differ in which sections will benefit them the most. The initial articles introduce what property managers do, as well as when and why to consider hiring one, while the later content is geared toward what to look for when hiring one.

The first article in this series is "Should You Hire a Property Manager?".

Originally posted on managemyproperty.com under, "Hiring a Property Management Company"