Kansas City Property Management Companies, unlicensed or licensed?

Once again I have taken over the management of an apartment complex that the previous managers fouled up. Of course I recognize the name of that company. While unlicensed, not certified, accredited or even educated in property management they keep taking on more business.

In this era of residential real estate sales slumping, it is pretty common for me to see new property management companies springing up. Seems every agent who can hang a shingle is now calling themselves a property manager. With the rental market making a comeback and sales dying, agents are piling into the property management industry.

But Missouri requires that anyone managing real estate be a licensed agent, under the direction of a broker. While any agent can manage real estate not all real estate agents are property managers. Likewise not all property managers should be selling real estate.

Property management is a specialized field, getting into it requires knowledge of more than just the ability to find a renter. While all agents are trained in the laws pertaining to real estate, the landlord-tenant laws are very complex and differ greatly from sales.

While you may obtain education in selling homes, staging homes, marketing homes, and even commercial property; property management requires a whole different type of education. Organization like NARPM, IREM, and NAA offer classes in everything from residential property management, apartment management, commercial property management, and managing the property management company to analyzing income and expense reports and writing budgets.  

As licensed real estate brokers we are subject to the rules, ethics and guidelines established by our states governing authority. We are required to deposit your rents and security deposits into escrow accounts that are overseen by the MREC or Missouri Real Estate Commission. If we screw up we face license forfeiture, sanctions and fines. If your unlicensed property manager screws up..... who will you call? 

You'd be surprised how often I hear stories of property managers who disappeared and took the rents and deposits with them. Owners left scrambling to find someone to manage the property and often times bankrupted by the loss of revenue.

Don't take chances with an unlicensed property manager, or an agent who is offering management as a way to subsidize a slowing real estate market. Do some research, how long have they been a property manager, how many properties do they manage, and what kind of property management education or certifications do they have?