How do you know what is happening with your property?
If you don’t physical live at your apartment, the answer is: you don’t. The farther you live, the less you know about what happens on a day-to-day basis.
Here’s the dirty little secret of property management…we don’t know either because we don’t live there either.
As a property manager, we aren’t supposed to tell you that. We’re expected to inform you that we know everything going on at the properties we care for, but that isn’t true. It can’t possibly be true. So how do we take care of things? How do we make sure your properties are being cared for and maintained?
I can speak for all property managers, but I can tell you what we do.
We have several mechanisms in place to stay on top of things.
- Magnets. All of the apartments we manage have magnets in them with our contact information, so the tenant can quickly and easily call if there is a problem. There is no concern over them losing the number or not being sure who or when to call.
- Stickers on the windows. We also put stickers on the windows facing out, so the neighbors can read them. The stickers have our contact information, so neighbors can call and report any unruly behavior or concerns they have about the property or the tenants.
- Video inspections. The video inspections are our most valuable tool. We conduct video inspections just before a new tenant moving in, so we have an accurate and highly vision record of the condition of the property. We then recommend our property owners to go with a 90-day video inspection. 90 days is enough time the new tenant to get unpacked and comfortable; start a regular routine. By 90 days, we will be able to tell if cleaning, maintenance, or hoarding may be a problem, and we can respond accordingly before things get out of control.
Short of moving in, there is no fool-proof way to know everything that happens in an apartment. However, by making ourselves available to both tenants and neighbors and by conducting video inspections so that we can stay on top of potential problems, we can know a lot of what is going on and stay focused on ensuring the rental units are well maintained.
Our experienced investment property management team can relieve you of the burden of managing your rental property while saving you some serious money! Call us today at (440) 220-7300 to see how we can help you!
