Reading online reviews is definitely recommended when searching for a Charleston Property Management company.
At the same time, you must develop some discernment. The Charleston Property Management market has some great companies as well as many that are poorly run.
If you find you have contracted a property management organization that is not performing well, you’ll want to begin searching for a replacement service provider, but be careful! You’ll need to make some changes regarding your search to be sure you pick a great Charleston property manager.
In this article, I will outline what makes a Charleston property management company really desirable and what tends to be the downfall of many. Above all, the skills needed are managerial. Can they manage to understand what the property owner wants when hiring them? Can they manage the various processes needed to meet these objectives. Can they manage their own staff and finally, can they manage the tenants so they retain quality people paying rent.
Most property owners want to know they have ‘normal’ people living in the property and if all goes well, they get their rent each month. End of story.
Hearing from the property manager generally means a problem or a fee so the less you hear from them, the better. At the same time, really good managers keep you up to date on the good stuff, like after an inspection where no issues were discovered. Hallelujah! Or the occasional reminder that it is time to raise the rent. Woo hoo!
These are welcomed interactions. But hearing about problems that your gut tells you could have been avoided with better management or more proactivity is irritating. Ever sat at a traffic light behind a car that wasn’t doing what was supposed to do, fast enough. Light turned green and nothing. They’re probably on their phone. Isn’t your first thought…”Go! What the h**l!” and yet you’re powerless.
Nobody wants that feeling in their property management company but believe me, it happens. You pay a manager to do the stuff you don’t want to do. Some don’t or can’t do it either because they don’t really know how, the right way is too hard (shortcuts are easier) or they really don’t care that much.
That last one is always tough for me to understand. How can you not care about the job you’re supposed to be doing? The simple answer is they just don’t. Honestly I think that’s rare. Really where most of the Charleston property managers get into trouble is a lack of understanding in how to balance the needs of all the parties involved. The owners want their property maintained and the rent paid on time. The tenants want to live in a nice place and feel free to live as they please. The property managers want to earn a living while minimizing the disruptions to the two parties they answer to.
Here is where I think the system breaks down. Number one is having poor judgement in tenant approval. You get a sketchy person living in the place, you’re gonna have problems. Either they are not reliable on payment and you end up chasing down rent, or they don’t treat the home well and stuff breaks down. Number two is getting involved with a lousy residence meaning one that is not in rentable condition but is glossed over just enough to get it rented.
In ether of these cases, someone is not going to be happy and that increases the duties of the property manager. Yet even the most skilled people-person has difficulty when there are just too many issues that need handling. Good property management firms, Charleston, SC or anywhere for that matter need a certain volume to earn a profit and when one place is demanding a disproportionate amount of resources, the management team prefers to get rid of it. This is what may lead to a sense that you’re not getting great service.
Other firms are so focused on building their business that they begin to omit practices that they once did that made them exceptional. Inspections are a good example. Best case scenario, an inspection yields a ‘No Further Action’ grade. All is well. Or maybe some basic things need attending but they are not billable. Maybe better to just skip the next inspection since the tenants haven’t complained.
No, that’s a real bad idea. tenants are notorious for ignoring problems that they don’t have to pay for to be fixed.
You need to find a Charleston property management firm that, when you meet with the key individuals, you get a very strong feeling that they care and will continue to care.
The other big piece is understanding what the demographics of the owners and renters is. Click here to read more on that subject. Meanwhile, please visit https://jamesisland-propertymanagement.com/ if you want to meet a really great Charleston Property Management company. I can assure you, we care a lot!
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