What do you want to see from a property management company

[Wastin Away]

Just curious. There are many owners as well as guests who are on this message board, what's your opinion? What do you expect to see in a property management company? I would love to hear from property owners as well as guests.

 

[Paula]

I think the most important things are:

1. Taking good care of guests -- greeting them nicely by phone and in person; helping them with problems if they have any while they are here.

2. The location of the agency shouldn't be too far from the cottage. It's easier for guests to be able to pick up the key and do the paperwork if it's close by.

3. Cleaning the cottages very well. If a guest sees anything dirty when they arrive, that's pretty yucky. I switched from one agency to another because the first agency's cleaning crew wasn't that thorough. I'm very pleased with the quality of the cleaning at our current agency.

4. Maintaining the cottages very well. A well maintained cottage tells guests that the owner and management company cares about the place and their guests. I've gotten to know the maintenance men well. They noticed problems (as do the housekeeping staff) when they are at the cottage working and fix it. Once I was at the cottage and they were at our cottage next door and were gluing our dining room table legs because the cleaning staff had noticed the table was getting a little wobbly. I thought that was very proactive of everyone and I didn't even have to notice it or follow-up with it myself.

5. Handling big problems if necessary (e.g., we had a problem in which guests had to move once and the agency handled the situation quickly and well -- things happen and you have to trust your agency to handle the exceptions as well as they handle the routine things).

6. Sending statements and checks out on time and with enough detail so I know what is going on (current guests, future guests, etc.). A well designed summary with the breakdown of income and expenses at tax time is important too.

7. Taking good care of employees. The less turn-around an agency has, the better qualified and experienced the staff will be to take care of guests and owners and non-routine situations.

8. Taking care of the cottages before and after hurricanes (bringing stuff that's outside in and putting it back out again and checking the cottage afterwards).

9. Have a good relationship with owners.

I've been happy with our agency.

 

[DBOldford]

Return phone calls within 24 hours.

Confirm that requested maintenance items have been completed.

Bring needs to owners' attention if they need to know or to provide something. Otherwise, handle it, handle it!

Try to have low turnover in your staffing, because every time someone new revolves into a job, some information and continuity is lost.

If a task is just not within the realm of possibility (like storm prep often is) for the management company, be honest with your owners. We understand that everyone is trying to do their own prep and that evacuations are mandatory. But don't tell us you can do the job and then fail us. By the way, housekeeping staff is not the way to go relative to storm prep.

Think of your owners as being as important to you as the renters are, because you don't have one without the other.

 

[TooFarTampa]

Donna and Paula, excellent posts as always.

First and foremost in the minds of both owners and renters is the cleaning crew. Renters are grossed out by any signs of somebody else. Owners have some control over almost everything except the cleaning crews, and it is just unbearable when there is oversight.

Good, efficient communication (even if it is infrequent) is key, particularly when it comes to recordkeeping and monthly statements -- that way, once again, the owner feels like he or she has some control or at least a sense of partnership.

Nothing is worse, though, than a company that can't problem-solve or isn't interested in doing so. Basic customer service is pretty simple but as an owner I really want my management company to resolve issues effectively when they come up, and be apologetic when they make mistakes. Mistakes are impossible to avoid; it's how one handles them that is a measure of success.

So far we are happy with our new management company in all of the above, though I can tell you we chose them because we were particularly sensitive about certain issues we had had in the past. In our case we were looking for a midsized company, but Paula's company is much larger and she is happy, so I don't think that's a big indication of how well things are going to work out.

 

[Paula]

Thanks, TooFarTampa. This message board is a great place to give and get advice about the area.

People can have the same management company and have different opinions. No management company will be perfect, and the trade-off is not only in choosing what they do well, but what shortcomings you can live with (nothing is perfect, especially in a work relationship you're going to have for many years). Cleaning, responsiveness to guests, maintenance, and solid recordkeeping are highest on my list.

The other things I would add for the owner to do (to build a good relationship with the rental management company) are:

1. Keep your own vacation place in great shape because that makes it easier for the management company to take care of your guests and avoid problems. The fewer complaints they have about properties, the more time they can spend doing other things that add value.

2. Keep in mind that owners, like the management companies, make mistakes and aren't perfect either, so you really have to count on each other to make sure guests are happy.

3. Always be respectful toward the staff, even when you are under stress and something isn't right. Give them what they need to fix the problem.

 

[DBOldford]

It takes a little time to discover what one can reasonably expect from a rental/management company and what is out of their realm or what their weak points are. Ours is excellent on the rentals and working with guests, not as good on management matters, but improving. Storm prep is completely beyond their ability to accomplish effectively. However, things are really wild at the beaches when a storm is coming in. One reason that Walton County's emergency evacuations work so well is that they issue very early warnings on the bridges and mandatory evacuations occur very early. So the only people who are down there are probably busy securing their own property.

Our problems seem to have been solved by the following.

(1) Hire a local able-bodied person to do storm prep and keep your expectations reasonable. This means the decision relative to plywood must be made earlier than you might prefer, then you just have to live with it (and be happy) that it wasn't needed. If you wait too late, give it up and hope for the best.

(2) Accept that the company has limited personnel and time to actually do management and handyman tasks at your home. Make an arrangement with the maintenance person to compensate them directly for doing things. Try to consolidate requests so that they can take care of more than one thing on one visit to the home, if there isn't an emergency.

(3) Establish a personal relationship and good communications with one person in rentals and one in management, and tell them how important their responsiveness is to you. More importantly, let their supervisor or the owner of the company know what a good job they are doing. Copy the employee on your letter or e-mail to their Supervisor. Otherwise, they might never know.

(4) Remember these people during the holidays or on a special day, like a big birthday, birth of a child or grandchild, etc. Everyone has their priorities and you want to be one of theirs.

(5) Remember how hard it is for these companies to hire and retain good people in that area. There are far more jobs than there are qualified people to fill them. Also, many of these good folks are commuting an hour more more each way. I cannot imagine navigating traffic congestion and road rage every day, only to arrive at a job consisting of complaints from people one doesn't know. They are under double stress, from both renters and owners.

 

[Beachlover2]

These are all good points - but the one that has upset me the most in the past is cleanliness!!!!!! Please have a good housekeeping staff.

Nothing worse than traveling for hours to arrive and find someone else crunched potato chips on the floor or shelf of the coffee table. Yuck!!!!

 

[Mermaid]

As an owner, I expect good communication with my management company. If I call or write making a request or giving directions about a matter, I expect follow-through. It doesn't take a lot of time to dash off an e-mail to keep me up-to-date. A little bit of open communication goes a long way. This does not mean I expect to be accomodated all the time; I understand you have things to attend to and I am one owner out of many. Nonetheless, keep me in the loop!!! It benefits us both.

 

[Wastin Away]

It's good to see that everyone has about the same idea of what they look for in a property management company, communication and housekeeping.

 

[Paula]

It's good to see that everyone has about the same idea of what they look for in a property management company, communication and housekeeping.

and very good care of guests (greeting them, taking care of problems) and accuracy in their reporting to owners (e.g., on statements).