Owner'S Initials Property Management Agreement: Fill & Download for Free

Any property owner that has decided to rent out his or her real estate object faces some challenge to find reliable tenants. This search can be a real pain in the neck. In a perfect world tenants always pay rent on time, keep the property in good condition, and follow the policies in the lease or rental agreement. In real life they can delay payments, violate rules, damage furniture and cause lots of problems.No wonder that many proprietors prefer to employ property managers. This allows them to avoid troubles of searching and choosing good tenants. Property management companies provide broad scope of services including work with tenants.Tenant related tasks of a PM company cover:• finding and screening applicants;• communicating and enforcing lease terms;• complaints handling;• dealing with problem tenants;• managing tenant funds.A competent property manager helps find and keep reliable tenants. A PM company is involved in everything from initially viewing the property to negotiating and signing the lease agreement. A reputable property manager can often be the main or the only reason to rent an object.Besides, a property manager helps avoid bad tenants. As a rule, most of the bad tenants will be scared away from the apartments or houses managed by PM companies. Unreliable tenants usually look for housing that is self-managed by the owners. They understand that they’d better not be interviewed by real estate managers. If the owner manages the real estate object on his own, the rent is usually lower, and there will be less attention to their financial situation. Bad tenants cannot be evicted without prior notice. So eviction can become a long and costly process. That’s why property managers will do their best to avoid potential bad tenants and related problems.

There is a good article in PMW which I have copied below. The 7 Strategies to gain real estate management clients.There are multiple avenues of obtaining new business. Some are online, and many are offline. All of these methods of new customer acquisition are actual methods that I have discussed at length with our customers. The customer has tracked the results and the spend, and the ROI is at least 3 times the spend. While there are many methods, I have identified what I think are the 7 most effective that apply to every market. Obviously, each market is different, and there are certain tricks that will work in certain markets. Here are 7 battle tested methods of acquiring new business. They are in no particular order, and all of these tactics have a high return on investment.1. Referrals:Every property manager has customers. Those customers have properties that you manage, and birds of a feather flock together. Odds are that your homeowners with investment properties and your real estate investors know other people like them. While you might assume that they know what you do and that they are actively referring new business to you, they are not. It is your responsibility to let your customers know that you are actively seeking new management accounts. Here are a few battle tested methods to let your customers know what you do and that you want new business.1. Email campaign. Compile a list of all of your owner’s email addresses and build an email campaign to them. This is not an all-out sales pitch, but will give you the opportunity to stay on your customer’s minds when they run into someone that needs your help. Do this monthly, and you can combine it with your monthly financial statements. Make sure that you ask for new business and tell them how to contact you. Offer them a month of free management or other consideration for each property they refer.Time Investment – LowFinancial Investment – Low2. Monthly Newsletter. Keep your customers informed of what is happening with your business. Tell them about market conditions of both the rental and sales markets in your area. Tell them about any legislation that might affect their investments. After you do all of that make sure that you tell them you need new customers and how their friends and colleagues can hire you. This is also great content for your blog which will be a part of your SEO strategy.Time Investment – MediumFinancial Investment – Low3. Host Events. Get your customers together for a party/class and tell them to invite a friend that might need your help. Customer connection is often overlooked, but an event that your customers can look forward to will help to keep you on their mind.Time Investment – HighFinancial Investment – Medium2. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)SEM for our purposes will mean any type of paid online advertising to include search engines. SEM is the practice of paying for people to visit your website, or landing page, or some type of online presence. By marketing to the correct customers, you can convert a percentage of them into paying business. Unfortunately, most property managers think this practice is as easy as paying for some traffic to your website, and hopefully some of them will magically turn into customers. Like anything else in life worth doing, it is much harder than that. SEM involves a measured approach to attracting customers to the correct area of your website and then converting them into business with the content and forms that you present on your site. Here is the exact 4 step approach that we have found to be most effective for property management companies:1. Set a monthly budget. Using the math from part 1 of this series determine the budget that you are willing to invest to acquire a customer. Commit to at least 3 months of this spend and track the effectiveness.2. Carefully craft your display ads. Display ads are the ads that appear in the paid search section of a search engine results page (SERP). Remember that you have a lot of competition in this space and you need to offer searchers a compelling reason to click on your ad, and not your competitors. You can also use this area to qualify your traffic. Maybe you only want new management accounts that rent for at least $1500/month. You can state that in your display ad and discourage those that have lesser properties from blowing your budget. Don’t take this area for granted and say something vanilla like “Atlanta Property Management.” There is no compelling reason to click on this ad versus all of the other ones.3. Build a Landing Page for each series of terms. Paying for traffic can either be a complete waste of money, or an effective growth tool for your business. A landing page with a CONTACT FORM is usually the difference between a wasteful PPC campaign and an effective one. Paid search campaigns with landing pages and lead forms can convert more than 10 times better than driving traffic to one’s home page. 10 times, build one or don’t bother with PPC. Here is an example of the best converting landing page we have “Richmond Property Management.”4. Using the information about lead response from part 2, you know to call the leads that you receive within 5 minutes and to set the appointment immediately.Time Investment – HighFinancial Investment – High3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)Due the complex nature of SEO, we will produce a dedicated series specifically for SEO after we complete this series.4. Realtor ReferralsIn today’s difficult real estate market, many realtors have inventory of homes that they cannot currently sell. Your fellow realtors can be a fantastic source of new business for your company as long as you are sensitive to a few concerns they might have. Realtors don’t want to send you business in the form of sales opportunities, and they will view you as competition for that client if your firm does sales in addition to property management. A property management firm can be most effective in attracting realtor business if you do not compete with them for sales. If you do, make sure that you have a rock solid non-compete to set their mind at ease in referring business to you when that client is ready to sell. A firm that does not engage in sales will be significantly more effective with this strategy:1. Create an engaging post card size leave behind for realtors to understand that you can help their clients during the rough market, and guarantee that they will get their customer back when they are ready to sell.2. Visit real estate offices in your area and drop off the post cards with the front desk and ask them to put it in each of the realtor’s boxes. Get a list of all of the realtors in the office and call back the ones that do a decent volume of sales and introduce yourself. Don’t bother with the low volume ones, they are probably disorganized and won’t be able to send you much business anyway. Offer to take the highest volume realtors to lunch and get to know them. Most realtors are lost when it comes to property management, and having you on deck will remove a big source of stress for them.3. Set up a referral program and compensate them for their referrals.Time Investment – HighFinancial Investment – Low5. Home Owners Associations (HOA’s)Many home owners associations have very strict rules regarding rentals in their communities, and are generally not thrilled with rentals at all. This is an opportunity for you to help set their minds at ease by offering a professional and strict rental plan that you develop and enforce with the HOA board's help.1. Identify the top communities where you would like to manage properties.2. Invite the board out to lunch or dinner to discuss your plan for handling rentals in their community.3. Present your plan and emphasize that you will do your job to make sure that tenants are in full compliance with their rules and regulations and that you will be a resource for them to deal with tenants. Offer special and consistent pricing for their owners that decide to rent their units using your services. This will make you the go to person for handling all of the rentals in their community. It will also concentrate your rentals in a more manageable radius.Time Investment – MediumFinancial Investment – Low6. Investor OrganizationsEvery community has an investor organization or group that meets to discuss their investments. Adopt an attitude that you will genuinely help these people with their problems even if they do not hire you to do so. Freely and openly give out information that will help them and after time they will start to hire you. Most property managers have a bad reputation with investors, and this is your chance to show them that you are different.1. Identify your value to the investors. Specifically, make them aware that through your volume and experience you generally get better advertising value, lower maintenance costs, higher rental rates, and lower time on market. All of these items, despite your fee, can save them money and more importantly time.2. Attend all of their events, and purchase a booth if they have a trade show.3. Offer to teach a class on any number of items that you are far more experienced in than most of the group members.4. Offer to introduce them to other members of your network that can help them maximize their investments.Time Investment – HighFinancial Investment - MediumIt is always difficult to help people do what you do for a living for free. There will always be those that use you a free resource, but if you do a good job, many of them will start to hire you.7. Other Property ManagersMany property managers do not service all types of properties in all areas of your market. If you service a certain type of property that your peers do not, let them know that you want the business. If you serve a part of town that they do not, make sure they know that you work that area.1. Offer a referral arrangement. Agree to send each other business that the other does not want to service. Alternatively, offer a referral fee for any business other managers might send your way and PAY IT IMMEDIATELY!2. Once you get some referral business, take extra care to insure that those clients are taken care of. Nothing will end your flow of business faster than an unsatisfied referral.3. Join NARPM (National Association of Residential Property Managers) and other property manager organizations. Join NARPM and attend the monthly luncheons and national and regional events. You will meet other property managers from around the country that can refer business to you on a regular basis.Time Investment – HighFinancial Investment – MediumGet the appointment. Make sure that you revert back to part 2 of this series with any growth plan that you choose. Answer your leads in five minutes. This is the key to converting a high percentage of business, and in measuring the effectiveness of your initiatives. Set the appointment, and after you do so, go to the meeting prepared. Don’t walk into an appointment empty handed, or just carrying your management agreement. Develop a presentation that you give to all prospective clients. This presentation needs to make it clear to them what you are going to do to earn your fee, and why they should hire you instead of doing it themselves. Have a professional, visual presentation that covers your advertising strategy, tenant screening process, financial reporting, eviction policy, and all other items that you cover for your fees. After doing so, ask them for the business and be prepared to go over your management agreement with them. Then ask them to sign it.Remember that each of these initiatives are separate endeavors that require a strategy and diligent execution and tracking. Each is a part of your overall growth plan, and you only need to execute those portions of the plan that help you reach your growth goal. If you can get your entire growth goal from referrals at a cost that is acceptable to you, then you don’t need to execute the rest. If you have a very aggressive growth goal, you might need to diligently execute all 7 items in addition to some local tactics that help you reach your growth numbers.- See more at: http://www.propertymanagerwebsites.com/blog/seven-growth-strategies-for-property-managers/#sthash.7flu8t9W.dpuf

Here are five key ways to tell if an investment property manager is right for you, plus helpful questions to ask:1. Look for specialized experienceProperty management is a complex industry. You want an investment property manager who is on top of current federal, state, and local laws. And you want someone who has a proven record of effectively handling the many variables that come with tenants and homes.Look for a property management company with extensive experience caring for your particular type of investment. Companies that focus on commercial properties, for example, may not be equipped to properly manage residential properties.Last, avoid real estate agents who moonlight as property managers to earn extra money on the side. If they haven’t acquired specialized training, they won’t know how to tend to your investment properly and they’re less likely to be up to date on relevant laws and codes.Questions to ask:How long have you managed rental homes?How many rental homes do you currently manage?2. Verify professional licenses and certificationsIn some areas, you might find people managing properties with only a real estate license, and a few states don’t require a license of any type. Competent property managers and management companies should be able to back up their technical expertise with proper licensing and professional certifications. Check with your state’s real estate commission to see if a property manager’s real estate broker's license is current. Any professional affiliations and certifications are a plus.There are a number of trade organizations that offer certifications upon completion of rigorous training programs, exams, and portfolio and reference reviews:Members of The National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) generally focus on single-family homes and small residential properties.Managers who complete their initial training and vetting process receive the Residential Management Professional (RMP) designation.After taking additional classes, more experienced managers can attain the demanding Master Property Manager (MPM) designation.Companies that have demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism may also apply for the Preferred Residential Management Company designation (CRMC).Questions to ask:Do you have a broker’s license?What additional training and certifications have you received?What certifications does the company have?3. Check reviews and referencesIt almost goes without saying these days, but before you take time to meet with a property management company, read through its Yelp and Google reviews as well as the comments on its Facebook page. As always with these websites, keep in mind that some reviewers (say, an evicted tenant) may have an ax to grind that has no bearing on the quality of the company’s work. However, review sites can be a great first-line resource when comparing multiple companies.It’s also a good idea to check with more traditional sources, such as the Better Business Bureau and Chamber of Commerce, for any complaints or positive affirmation.References can be a helpful way to assess whether you’re going to have a positive relationship with the property mangagement company.When speaking to a potential investment property manager, ask for current client and tenant references, if available. Pick up the phone and talk to both groups about their experiences. Does the property manager promptly respond to owner inquiries? Are they proactive when it comes to maintenance issues and filling vacancies? Are their fees clear and transparent? Do checks arrive on time?On the tenant reference side: Is the house well maintained? Are their repair requests addressed quickly? Do they plan on signing a new lease? Happy tenants are more likely to remain in the property, which reduces vacancy days and keeps rent checks flowing into your account.4. Examine the property management agreementThe property management agreement outlines the business relationship between you and the property manager, and delineates the management team’s tasks and responsibilities. Given the seriousness of the contract, it’s incumbent upon you to read it carefully and make any necessary amendments before signing off. Confirm that it covers everything you want, and that there are no disagreeable clauses.Typically, the property management agreement covers:Services provided and fees: Typical services include resolving tenant needs and requests, maintenance of the home, marketing and filling vacancies, collecting rent, handling move-outs and evictions, and all other daily operational duties. To avoid any billing surprises down the road, all fees—as well as the process for approving any additional expenses—should be transparently outlined in the agreement. Make sure the contract stipulates how repairs are handled and expensed, including a set expense limit that you feel comfortable with.Owner responsibilities: In addition to laying out the manager’s responsibilities, the agreement may cover your responsibilities as well. Keep in mind: If there are any tasks you don’t want to perform, discuss these and assign them to your property manager.Contract duration and termination clauses: The agreement’s tenure should have a specific start and end date. Often, they’re signed on a one-year basis. It’s also important for the agreement to cover breach of contract rules as well as termination fees and timelines.5. Make sure they have the appropriate insuranceWhen we vet our Roofstock-preferred property managers, we confirm that they have appropriate general liability insurance, property casualty insurance, and errors and omissions (E&O) policies. Your property management agreement may also mandate that you have sufficient insurance, which is beneficial protection for you, too. Feel free to ask your property manager more about necessary insurance protection.*****Thoroughly evaluating potential property managers is important, which is why Roofstock performs extensive due diligence when vetting its preferred, best-in-class providers for property management. We examine historical portfolio performance, fee structure, length of time in business, and much more.