What to Ask a Property Manager

Sometimes vacation rental management companies are based in an area far outside the actual service area they advertise or they just don’t have the experience in the area’s market. In either case, the result is a property manager without a grasp for the local market your property is located.

How long a vacation rental property management company has been in service is a consideration, but this shouldn’t be your primary criteria. There are longstanding businesses out there operating on name recognition alone because they’re using antiquated tactics and haven’t kept up with current industry trends for vacation rental.

To counter the above problems, knowing what questions to ask for info on the seasons, popular types of properties in the area, any existing and possible local regulations affecting rentals, tips to succeed, and so forth to determine how well they really know the area and market. Fact check the answers to see if your property management agent is up to par or you need to move on to a different company.

Know your rental income goals before contacting an agent so that you can determine if their fees aren’t congruent with hitting your income markers. Most vacation rental property management companies will charge around 25% on the low end or 50% on the higher end of your rental income. That’s a wide range; so it’s very important to understand what you’ll be paying and what you’ll be getting in return services.

Consider your property management contract carefully before signing. Most contracts are per year, meaning you could be in a real pickle if your agent is under-performing two or three months into it and you’re locked in to still pay out for a year.

In relation to the contract, especially if it’s a long contract, be sure to ask if there are clauses to protect you from poor service. You’ll want an out clause, such as you being able to leave the company without penalty if the agent fails to make X amount of bookings or cleanings in X amount of time.

Most property management fees include a set number of services. Additional services come at an additional cost. A property management member having to go out after hours for a renter’s complaint, for example, is often not covered in the standard fee. At a minimum, you’ll want to know where marketing, maintenance, cleaning, walkthroughs, and call outs for guest problems will fall.

Property management add-on services can end up being very sneaky and costing you dearly. Management companies with the most comprehensive and inclusive plans are generally the best bang for the buck unless you know that you’ll only be needing basic services.

As you likely know, marketing is king. It’s the difference between a property booked up for seasons at a time and properties that sit collecting dust.

Look for a property management company that’s not solely marketing your property on those internal website. It doesn’t matter how well-know a property management website is or isn’t, it will never get the degree nor quality of traffic VRBO, Airbnb, and other major listing sites will achieve. The agent needs to at least cover one major listing site and have established their own site to rank high in search results.

Other questions to ask would include if they actively solicit renter reviews and star ratings from pleased guests, their re-marketing efforts, and what steps they take to entice new guests? If the answer starts with “uhm…,” it might be best to move along to the next provider.

It’s imperative that the property management team have a 24/7 online booking option. This should be a dealbreaker for any property owner. Otherwise, you’ll be missing out on bookings from those that move on to the next property when they can’t find an immediate way to book yours or don’t want to fill out and snail-mail sensitive paperwork. Also keep in mind that the booking portal should be able to accept an array of payment options.

You’ll want to still keep a watchful eye over your property’s condition, preferably after each guest departure. This ensures that your property stays in mint condition for succeeding guests, and it ensures any damage is documented, financially addressed, and repaired appropriately. Ask the agent how often they do walk-throughs and what the policies are for both minor and significant damage and missing items.

Your goal is a property management walkthrough after each guest. And, guest deposits and damage protection programs should be in place to adequately cover common damages.

The last part of your vetting process will be communicating with real life clients having used the agency. Any manager hesitant or unable to provide client references should be a no-go. Ask the client’s about their connection to the company, experiences, and many of the same questions you’ve already asked above. Is what they say congruent with what the company has told you?