“Ten percent?” she gasped “Of total rent? No one that JUST collects rents is worth that.”
“You’re right” I responded, “As a property manager, I do a lot more than just collect the rents. Let me explain.”
This right here is a small excerpt from a conversation that I have multiple times per week. As a property manager, a lot of people tend to balk at the price tag because they feel there really isn’t all that much to the job. The thing is though, a good property manager is a bargain, just like any other quality professional and here are a couple reasons why:
- Market knowledge. While this seems like a no-brainer that someone operating in the current rental market would have their ear to the ground and have a read on the current housing trends, unfortunately, that isn’t the case, and that misunderstanding of the current market hits home right on the balance sheet. For example, if a home is currently $100 under market in terms of rent, based on the current cap rates that is a valuation swing of $24,000, which is a huge deal. Combine this with a lack of regularly scheduled rent increases and you see a major loss over the course of several years.
- Getting the right people for the right property. When it comes down to it, getting a property rented is extremely easy. Central Oregon has a 1-2% vacancy rate and the housing stock isn’t keeping pace with demand. This means that there are a lot of tenants looking, this also means that there are also a lot of unsavory tenants looking around. Property managers act like an immune system for your property , due to the fact that we have hundreds of people that we screen each year we have heard all the stories, know all the signs, and can easily remove less than qualified applicants from the mix.
- The right forms. This might seems like a no brainer, but when it comes down to it, its not. Having reviewed dozens of lease contracts for owners who have transferred their services I have seen a lot of paperwork that is not directly compliant with Oregon Landlord – Tenant Law. Unfortunately, most people who fall into the “Do It Yourself” category tend to pull general lease documentation that “works” for all states off of the internet but in fact these documents hold little to no weight here in the Oregon judicial system and if they were ever challenged would be essentially useless.
- Asset Management. Being that Vernon Property Management does a minimum of two inspections a year, several drive by inspections and continually keep up with our vendors and tenants on the conditions of the homes, in most cases we will be more familiar with a home than an owner simply due to the time that we spend acquainting ourselves with the property and the tenants. This allows for us as managers to see things that are going to be an issue long before they become one, whether it is fading paint, broken screens, faulty appliances, or aging water heaters we as property managers are very integrated with the home keep and work to keep the value of the property high and the maintenance costs low.
In short, a property manager is worth a lot more than the 10% a month that we charge. In fact, when you keep in mind everything that we do to keep a property in tip top shape, we probably don’t charge enough. If you want to know the full scope of everything we do to keep a property at it’s best, give us a call at 541-322-0183.