Hiring A Property Management Company? Use These Tips To Help You Select The Right One

If you own more than one commercial property, it can be a challenge to manage them all by yourself. That's why it's a good idea to enlist the help of a property management company. However, in order to ensure you hire the right company to manage your properties, you need to use the following tips.

Know Who Will Be Managing Your Properties

Different property management companies use different methods to manage the properties they are responsible for. When you are making up your mind about which company to choose, make sure that you know the names of the people who will be directly responsible for your particular properties. If possible, meet them and talk about your needs and how they plan to work. That way, you can make your final decision in part based on the experience and qualifications of those individuals.

Find Out How Often Your Properties Will Be Visited

Because you may not be visiting your properties frequently, you need to know how often your property managers will do so. A great deal can be accomplished through phone calls and emails, but it is vital that a representative physically goes to your sites to ensure that things are going smoothly and talk to the tenants. Ask how often a particular company does site visits and find out how often you will be notified that this is done. You might receive periodic detailed reports or you might meet periodically with your property managers.

Find Out How Repairs Are To Be Handled

Eventually, something will need to be repaired at one of your properties. A ceiling light might need to be replaced or there might be deep cracks in one of your parking lots. That is why it is important that you have extra money set aside for these problems. When choosing a property management company, though, your concern is how much money the company can spend without your authorization and where repair money comes from. 

Talk to any companies you are considering to determine how they typically pay for repairs on commercial properties. Do they use money from the collected rents? Do you need to provide a set amount of money to the company for any needed repairs? Can you put a spending limit in place so that you are notified when repair costs exceed a certain amount? These are the kinds of questions you need to ask to ensure that repairs are taken care of in a timely manner and you don't lose a great deal of money without knowing until later.

Use the tips laid out above to find a reputable property management company (such as Bradley Scott, Inc.) for the commercial properties you own. When you have the right property manager, you can turn your attention to other business activities while being confident that your properties and tenants are in good hands.