Thoughts on Tampa Property Management
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Looking for a Tampa Property Management Company?
Here are 8 Insider Tips You Must Know Now
These tips often save my readers at least $600 a year on each rental property they own. You will be shocked at all the hidden fees and overcharging that happens in property management. It is in your best interest to be well informed.
1) How Much is Your Leasing Fee to Rent My Property?
About half of the Tampa property management companies request 100% of the first month’s rent for finding a tenant. I would advise paying no more than 1/2 of the first month’s rent. A property manager will normally list your rental in a Multiple Listing Service, Craig’s List, and place rental signs in the yard. They will answer numerous phone calls and do background checks on the applicants. All of this takes time and money, but it certainly doesn’t equate to a full month’s rent.
Be sure the leasing fee is only payable when the property manager leases your rental. Some companies try to charge you the leasing fee at the beginning whether they are successful or not. You’ll have to do something hunting but there are plenty of companies that just charge 50% of the first month’s rent.
2) Be Careful with Nationwide Real Estate Companies Offering Property Management
Because most of these offices are franchises, you will find they charge a laundry list of extra fees and commissions.
Their main focus is selling homes and not managing rental properties. Property management provides most of them an opportunity to get future listings and cover their overhead.
Stick with a local company that focuses on managing residential properties. You want a company that specializes only in property management. These companies are much more aggressive in keeping your properties full and expenses down because this is their primary source of earning income, not selling homes.
3) Are They Requesting an Advertising Fee?
They claim it is necessary to pay for all the advertising they do in newspapers and magazines. Let me point out something about that claim, newspaper and magazine ads are terrible sources of advertising! Craig’s List rules the classified advertising world now, with the exception of small, rural towns. We get 8 times as many prospects from our CraigsList ads than newspapers or magazines.
4) Do They Try and Charge you a penalty if tenant pays late?
This is a crazy fee since the tenant is simultaneously being charge a late fee by the Tampa property management company. Why should you pay a penalty for a client they choose in the first place? Their time and effort is paid for by the late fee paid by the tenant.
5) Make Sure You Check on Processing/Application Fees
The majority of Tampa property management companies try and charge you $300-$500 application fees. I do understand this fee. It takes about 5 minutes to put a rental property into typical property management software. This is an unnecessary fee with no real service rendered for it.
These companies will offer explanations that seem to make sense. However, you are not really applying for anything. The only processing involved is putting your property into the management software. The advertising and leasing efforts are covered by the leasing fee. The processing fee is a complete
6) Can You Fire Them Without Penalty?
You should examine the management contract very carefully for this one. Most property managers write these agreements so that you cannot fire them without paying $500-$1000 in penalties.
What is their explanation? They typically say, “we spent a lot of time and effort finding you a tenant and deserve to earn the management fee for the entire year.” Well, that is the very reason you are paying a leasing fee. If they are doing a poor job, you should have the right to fire them with a 30 day notice. If they do not agree with you on this point, you should hang up the phone and call another company.
I have encountered many examples of property managers holding their owners hostage and threatening law suits if they fire them before the management contract is up. Be wary…
7) Examine the Management Contract Carefully for Any Additional Fee
I have already mentioned some above but there are other ones. For instance, you might be charged if you want copies of maintenance receipts or for handling the signing of certain types of leases such as Section 8 or short-term.
The company might slap on a fee to send your money by check instead of direct deposit, or vice-a-versa. There could be charges for sending annual reports for your accountant. The list goes on and on.
8) Request to Speak with the Owner of the Company:
The owner is the only one who can negotiate these points. You will find some owners will be flexible and modify the rental agreement, but most of them will not change anything. Either way, at least you know exactly where you stand and get a good feel about the type of person who sets the tone in that company.
By the way, it is not a bad idea to find out if the owner actually invests in rental properties. After all, the owner should believe in his product enough to invest in it himself.
Listen closely to how you feel when the owner answers your questions. He should convey a feeling of professionalism and competence. Make sure you ask for references from other clients. If any reluctance is expressed about providing references, politely find another company.
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These 8 points are the most critical elements in evaluating a property management company in the Tampa Bay area.
You can contact us a couple of ways:
1)Call me at our office # 813-831-7368
2)Visit our website www.NoVacancyNow.com . at
I would be happy to answer any further questions you might have about hiring a property manager.
Best regards,
David Lowrey
President
Stress Free Property Management
4501 E Columbus Drive
Tampa, FL 33605
