Making sure your investment property is properly managed and protected is paramount to the investor. Appreciation and profitability go hand in hand towards ensuring that your investment enhances wealth creation and provides security for this generation and the next.

It is important to compare and contrast the most desirable qualities of property management. This is where choosing a reliable and reputable agent to manage your investment property pays dividends over the long term. 

The leading attributes of choosing the right agent

The number one attribute an experienced agent will provide is to find the right tenant/renter for your property.

According to Local Agent Finder, a real estate agent can help you find suitable renters to help you avoid periods of vacancy and income loss. 

Agents will be able to employ all the necessary marketing methods to ensure that your property is highly visible to potential tenants.

The agent can then show the home to prospective tenants/renters with open inspections that showcase the property in the best possible light.

Of equal importance is the agent’s ability to deal promptly and effectively with any property-related issues that may occur.

The best property managers are fully licensed, real estate agents. They are also aware of your state’s laws that relate to rental properties and can advise about your landlord/residential rental provider rights.

Facilitation of mediation

In fact, a good real estate agent does far more than just rent your home and collect your money for you. They also facilitate mediation in the event of late payments (providing a debt-collection service if necessary), organise emergency repairs, resolve maintenance issues and even handle the payment of various bills. 

Time and money savers

The property manager helps provide a complete management service. This avoids wasting time and money. The duties that a good property manager will perform include: the advertising/marketing of your investment property; sourcing and screening potential tenants/renters; managing your financial accounts; completing inspections whenever needed, and promptly organising and sourcing tradespeople for repairs and maintenance.

In addition, a property manager handles the tedium of paperwork, contracts and other necessary documentation required for renting out your investment property. 

All-important questions 

Find out if the agency of interest has a dedicated team of property managers. How many years of experience does the property manager offer?

In the event of mediation or potential court-based procedures, what is the agent’s success rate in legal situations?

How many properties does the agent manage? (i.e. are they too overburdened to give your property the one-on-one service it warrants?)

Will they be in attendance to highlight the property’s features during inspections? 

What is their weekly or daily availability for showing your property to potential tenants?

Perhaps, most importantly, what procedures are in place to assess a tenant’s financial security/background and previous rental history (i.e. reliability) as a tenant/renter? 

The thoroughness, credibility and proven record of the answers to these questions should be an investor’s guiding light in choosing the right agent to manage your investment property.