Property managers are the most important partner that you can work with in real estate investing if you don’t plan on maintaining the property yourself. Even in those situations, hiring a trusted Austin property management company can provide a lot of benefits to your rental property business.
They can ensure that your rental property is always maintained so that tenants are happy. They can handle your property’s turnover so that it is presented in the best light to new prospective tenants. They can help you properly price your rental and get it leased quickly … and so much more.
If you work with a bad property management firm, though, it can quite literally be a nightmare. So, what do you do if you have a bad property manager in real estate investing? Here are four ways you could deal with the situation.
1. Be Professional
Real estate investing needs to be treated seriously, just like you would with any other business, if you want to be successful. Think of yourself as the CEO of your rental property business and your Austin property management company as your manager and public face of the company.
To this end, even when your manager is not serving and/or representing you well, you need to remain professional. No matter how angry or annoyed you might be at your bad property manager, it’s never a good idea to get wrapped up in emotions. Remember to stay calm and communicate in a professional way.
You can request that things be done in a certain way in a certain timeframe. You can communicate multiple ways such as email, text and phone call. You can refer back to your written property management contract. But, always remain professional in whatever you do.
2. Be Polite
To the same end, you want to make sure that you are always polite, even if you believe you have a bad property management company on your team. If you’re rude, it’s highly unlikely that you’re going to get anywhere.
People who don’t hold up their end of the bargain are usually not the most understanding people. As such, you don’t want to add fuel to the fire by not being nice to them. There are times when you can certainly demand that certain things be done, but even then, you shouldn’t do so in a rude or mean way.
As the saying goes, you get further with a carrot than you do with a stick. In other words, be kind and show them rewards for doing what you want them to do, rather than being mean and beating them down.
3. Make an Exit Offer
If it’s become obvious that the relationship between you and your bad property manager just isn’t going to work, it’s time to make an offer so that you can exit your contract peacefully. This can be a sticky situation, since you’ll be asking to get out of a signed contract, which will mean they will be losing business.
This is why it’s important, again, to be professional and polite. Be understanding that they’ll be losing business and how that might affect them, but also be stern and explain why the situation isn’t working for you. Also understand that you may need to offer monetary compensation for breaking your signed contract early.
However, this money that you might be forced to pay upfront to get out of the contract could end up being pennies compared to how expensive the liability would be if your bad property management firm violates a housing law or makes a major mistake.
It’s always best to try to end the contract on good terms, as your bad property manager could always talk negatively about you in the community and among other people in the industry — people who you may need to call upon at some point in time.
4. Shop by Quality and Not by Price
The best way to deal with a bad property manager is to not hire one in the first place. This may sound obvious, but it emphasizes one very important aspect of real estate investing: You should always shop by quality and not by price.
You will likely have plenty of Austin property management companies to choose from, and some will have a price that sounds too good to be true. In many instances, that’s unfortunately the case.
Property management firms are certainly a significant investment, but hiring the right one can be the difference between being consistently profitable with your rental property and having a disaster on your hands.
1836 Property Management is the top choice in property managers in the Austin area. We have years of experience in the industry and have helped hundreds of investors just like you create successful real estate investing businesses.
We are a full-service property management firm that takes pride in every rental property owner who we work with. So, contact 1836 Property Management today, and avoid the massive mistake of hiring a bad property manager.
By: Kayla Gonzales, 1836PM Marketing Manager
