Ready to make a change with your property management company? If so, North County Property Group can help with your transition!
If you’re experiencing rental property issues such as late rent collection, reduced profits, or higher operational costs, then it’s time to analyze the reasons behind it. It’s a cause for worry when you invest in attracting and keeping quality tenants, and yet you constantly deal with turnovers and rental vacancies.
If similar rental units in your neighborhood seem to be performing well, then it’s worth taking a deeper look at the San Diego property management company you hired. Consider North County Property Group if you’re ready to make a leap forward with your investment goals!
Responsibilities of a Good Property Management Company
We thought it might be helpful to provide a list of responsibilities in case you’re unclear about what to expect from them. As such, North County Property Group has outlined the tasks that good property management companies perform:
Setting the accurate rent rate. A good property management company will take stock of the current market trends and set an optimal rental price. They can also adjust the rent prices in accordance with the regulations and market demand.
Collect the full rent. They’re expected to receive your rent by the due date. They’re also tasked to collect additional late fees and send the notices when a tenant fails to pay on time.
Market the unoccupied rental. Property management companies are responsible for advertising the vacancy, handling the inquiries, conducting property showings, and qualifying tenants through a uniform screening process. All of this must be in accordance with the Fair Housing Act.
Perform periodic property inspections. Part of their duty is to handle move-in and move-out inspections as preventive measures. If there are repairs that need to be addressed, they must see that the damages are fixed in time and can take that opportunity to also cast a set of eyes on the property as a general condition assessment.
Provide customer service and administrative duties to tenants. Property managers are in charge of the lease signing, resolving tenant complaints, and responding to tenant maintenance requests.
Manage the rental home and coordinate repairs. They’re required to arrange the repair sessions with contractors. They’re also assigned to keep the rental space habitable as a way to retain long-term tenants while following the Habitability Codes.
Comply with landlord-tenant laws. A property management company must follow the local and state laws when managing your rental property. This means being knowledgeable about proper tenant screening, managing security deposits, the termination of the lease agreement, and rental maintenance.
Supervise financial record keeping. They must manage the rental while providing detailed accounting statements on a monthly basis to the homeowner. They must also be meticulous in maintaining important leasing documents, rent collection documents, repair expense reports, and tenant application archives.
Issue financial reports. A good property management company is expected to send monthly statements that detail the expenses and earnings of the real estate investment to the property owner. They must also perform year-end cash flow accounting to provide annual tax reports as well as IRS Form 1099-misc for reporting property owner rental income.
Despite these recognized duties, some property managers might not have good internal processes and as a result may still underperform. They might just collect the regular property management fees without attending to their given responsibilities.
If you feel like your expectations are not being met and you are being disappointed again and again, placing your property in the care of a responsible and capable property management company like North County Group is a wise choice. We have your best interests at heart and want to help you succeed!
The Ways a Bad Property Management Company Can Cause Difficulties for You
Sometimes it’s hard to accept an error of judgment, so a lot of rental property owners can delay replacing their property manager. Additionally, you need to do tons of research and choose another property manager which takes time.
Signs That Indicate Your Property Manager Needs Replacing
As a rental property investor, you hired the services of a property manager to reduce your stress and to keep your rental in excellent shape. You want to avoid both a decrease in property value and conflicts with your tenants.
The longer you postpone making a decision on replacing an ineffective property manager, the more risks you’re bound to face. Here are some ways that an irresponsible property manager can expose a landlord to serious legal conflicts by not following Federal and State landlord-tenant laws:
Failure to observe the Fair Housing Act and other state and local regulations
Keeping the information of lead paint and mold problems from the tenants
Delays in attending to property repairs that can lead to health and safety risks
Lack of notice to the renter when entering the rental property
Failure to refund the security deposit within the legal time frame
Here are signs to alert you that you chose a bad property manager so you can consider a new one like North County Property Group:
Inadequate communication. If there seems to be insufficient information and your property manager seems disinterested in touching base with you, then this can be a huge red flag. It’s part of the property manager’s duty to contact you and provide regular updates
Absence of property inspections. If you notice that the property manager does not perform inspection reports and move-in and move-out, then this can also be a warning sign. Part of effective tenant management and security deposit disposition is conducting required inspections to spot problems. You should be confident that assessment reports based on the property inspection are being properly performed or arranged by the property manager to be in compliance with California landlord-tenant law.
Ignoring tenant issues. If repairs are done late or communication is stagnant, tenants can be pushed to end their tenancy. Tenants who decide to directly contact you and bring their issues forward means it’s time to make a decision to replace your property manager
How NCPG Can Help You Change Property Management Companies
It’s not out of the ordinary that we take on new properties from other property management companies. In fact, we do this quite regularly, thanks to our outstanding reputation in San Diego County. Following a setback with their previous company, property owners trust us in helping their rental properties achieve success.
We know transitioning to a new property management company can be daunting. That’s why we’ll help you along the way for the smoothest experience possible! The steps for transitioning between your property management company to ours are as follows:
Reach out to NCPG to discuss the situation and make sure we are the right property management company for you
Provide your current property manager with a 30-day notice of termination of your agreement. This is important as it is not allowed in the State of California to have two “agency relationships” at one time
Once you have informed your current property manager, we will provide our PM Agreement for signature and begin the process:
We will reach out to your current property manager and work cooperatively and professionally for a seamless property transfer to NCPG
Tenants will be notified and set up in our system for ongoing rent collection and communication
Turnover and transfer of rental documents (lease agreement, renters insurance, rental applications, move-in report, etc), funds (security deposit, owner reserves, etc), and keys will be coordinated with the previous property manager
Good timing for such a transition is usually to notify the property manager 30 days before the next rent collection period. From a practical standpoint, 30 days is a good amount of time to expect the transition to be complete. This provides NCPG and your previous property management company with the ability to work together so the transition is a good experience for your tenants.
Bottom Line
If you’re looking for a professional property management team, get in touch with North County Property Group today! We are committed to delivering excellent property management services to our valued clients. All our responsibilities as your property manager are handled with care and dedication. We’d be pleased to speak to you about how we can help your real estate investments!
