What Is Property Management? Oakland Property Management

What Is Property Management? Oakland Property Management

So what is property management? A Property management company handles all of the administrative duties of residential properties for a fee. Property managers are typically hired by property owners to act on their behalf, so that that the property owner can generate monthly income and property appreciation without time-consuming active management duties.

When you acquire a property, you might not want to handle all of the day-to day maintenance and administration duties. Renting out residential property can be a labor intensive and time-consuming process. Active managing landlords must handle everything from settling disputes with tenants to preventative maintenance to advertising to attract new prospective renters.
 

Landlording is not simply picking up a check every month and depositing it in the bank. Many property owners quickly learn that being a landlord is much more work than they bargained for, and they wisely turn to the help of a property management company.
 

The duties of a property manager often include setting, collecting, and increasing rent, as well as finding and screening tenants. Property managers also handle all lease situations, emergencies and tenant complaints, move outs, and evictions. That’s in addition to performing preventative maintenance and repairs on the property.
 

The Benefits of Hiring a Property Management Company

There are significant benefits to hiring a property management company. The most obvious benefit is time—instead of spending dozens of hours each week dealing with tenant complaints, searching for new tenants, and collecting rent, you can spend your time looking for new properties or business opportunities.
 

The other benefits are less obvious, but they make sense upon further inspection. For example, new landlords often take for granted how complicated and lengthy the tenant search process can be. If you cut corners while searching for tenants, you can end up with tenants who don’t pay on time, or who damage the property at an extensive cost to you. Here are several of the benefits of the thorough screening benefits done by property management companies:

• Find tenants who pay in full and on time

• Find tenants faster, shortening the vacancy cycle which keeps rent coming in each month

• Find tenants who rent for longer periods, which means you spend less on restoring the unit for a new tenant after a move-out

• Find tenants who are much less likely to damage the unit

• Find tenants who are less likely to cause disputes and cause problems for you

Property management companies can also help you navigate the complicated legal process when necessary. For example, Oakland property management companies are experienced with both state and local laws and can help you through safety conditions for the property, inspections, lease legalities, safety deposit laws, and more. Avoiding lawsuits can save you a significant amount of money over time, and more than pay for the cost of a property management company.

Other benefits of hiring a property manager include lower maintenance and repair costs (due to knowing a local network of experienced and insured contractors), more satisfied tenants, and greater peace of mind for property owners.
 

Hiring a Property Manager vs. Handling Landlord Duties Yourself

Of course, you could choose to handle the landlord duties yourself. This is a time-consuming process, but some property owners choose to deal with their current and prospective tenants themselves. Let’s go through some of the benefits and drawbacks of handling landlord duties yourself:
 

Pros of Handling Landlord Duties Yourself:

• Avoidance of property management fees

• Gained property management experience

• Full control over all issues
   

Cons of Handling Landlord Duties Yourself:

• Spending dozens of hours each week on active property management

• Spending more money on advertising and finding new tenants

• Spending time and money establishing infrastructures such as policies for managing your properties and documents such as leases, applications, and tenant screening procedures.

• Personally dealing with angry tenants

• Dealing with time sensitive property emergencies

• Maintaining relationships with contractors such as HVAC companies

• Maintaining knowledge of local and state property laws
   

Although actively managing your property yourself might save you money in the form of property management fees, you will likely pay significantly more in maintenance and repairs, legal fees, and advertising to find new tenants. Over time, these costs can dwarf the cost of a property manager.
 

The Many Roles of a Property Manager

The list of a Property manager’s roles and responsibilities is long and varied. Property managers ultimately answer to property owners, but they must deal with a number of different stakeholders during their work. Property managers must work to preserve and ultimately increase the value of the properties under their management.

Property managers also work with marketing firms to advertise to prospective tenants, and they must show prospective tenants properties and answer their questions. They must comply with all local, state, and federal laws throughout the entire process. When a prospective tenant begins renting, their point of contact is the property manager. The property manager must ensure a smooth experience while documenting all communications and handling repairs and maintenance.

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