The Roles and Responsibilities of a Property Manager

Now that you have bought your new property, it is time to find a property manager. This should be your next logical step, especially if you live far away from this new property of yours.

But before you trust someone with your new property, it is important to understand what exactly is a property manager and what are their roles and responsibilities.

Ready to learn these? Continue reading.

What Is a Property Manager?

A property manager is a property owner’s best friend. They specialize in making sure that the property is being run according to the vision and guidance of the owner. They are experts in handling daily operations, administration, and maintenance of property rentals on behalf of the owner. They can take care of everything from marketing the property for rentals to making sure that the rent is received on time.

Property Manager Vs. Landlord

A lot of people confuse property managers with landlords. Although both a property manager and landlord have similar duties, the main difference between the two is that a landlord owns the property and takes on the responsibility of managing it all by himself, whereas a property manager does not legally own the rental properties they manage, but instead acts as a legal management agent on behalf of the owner.

Property managers act in place of owners when renting out properties. The owner of a rental property contracts with a property management company to maintain their investment, so they don’t have to attend to daily tenant or other property-related issues.

What are the Roles and Responsibilities of a Property Manager?

Property managers are the key to making an individual’s property investment profitable and worthwhile. This is because they take on many of the burdensome aspects that come with managing investments, including cutting down risk for their clients while also increasing return rates by staying up-to-date on industry trends like construction costs or local market conditions in order to make sound decisions about whether it would be wise to sell a given property at any particular time. All this means less work and more profit from your real estate holdings!

Property managers are responsible for some key day-to-day activities such as marketing property for rentals, finding trustworthy tenants, collecting rent on time, ensuring that the property remains in its optimal condition, and much more. To be more specific, the roles and responsibilities of a property manager include:

Determine the perfect rent price

Many people don’t have the time to research and monitor market conditions in order to determine an ideal rent price. A property manager will take over your rental responsibilities, freeing you up for more important activities like spending quality time with family or exploring other interests.

The benefits of hiring property managers are endless. Property managers save you the trouble of setting your rental prices. They will constantly monitor market conditions and offer timely advice on raising or lowering rates as needed to make sure that their rentals meet demand in a competitive marketplace.

Rent prices are a difficult balancing act. If you set the rent too high, your property will remain vacant and potentially lose out on weeks’ worth of rental income. Setting it too low is also unideal because even though tenants may be able to afford this price point, many landlords might not see any profit from such an endeavor which can lead them into dire financial straits. A good property manager knows that setting the perfect balance between these two extremes requires both affordable rents for renters as well as profitable returns for their landlord-tenant partnership.

To do this, a qualified and experienced property manager will perform a thorough property appraisal. They’ll use market data to determine how much it is worth in comparison with other homes nearby that are similar in quality or features so that they can come up with an ideal rent amount for your property.

Prepare vacant units

Every real estate investor and property manager knows that having vacant units is bad for business, so the duty of a property manager is to prepare the vacant unit for a potential tenant. This includes cleaning, repairing, and maintaining the unit in top condition. Apart from this, a property manager will also provide creative ideas about how to make the vacant unit more rent-worthy and appealing to prospective tenants.

Advertise vacant properties

Property managers are expected to fill any vacant properties. This is why one of their main duties is to perform effective marketing strategies to attract prospective tenants.

Property managers have the expertise and experience to get the maximum number of people interested in your vacant property. They know all the tricks of the trade when it comes to filling vacancies with qualified renters. This means that you don’t have to worry about your property being empty for long periods of time.

Screen and approve tenants

Another responsibility of a property manager is to screen all prospective tenants and to approve the most reliable tenant. A reliable tenant is the one who pays their rent on time, doesn’t cause trouble, takes good care of the property, and plans to stay for a long term.

A good property manager will interview applicants thoroughly to ensure that they are qualified. They also know the laws related to renting and can filter out those who cannot be approved right off the bat. A great property manager has a rigorous screening process in place, so you don’t have any problems with your rental from day one.

The tenant application process often includes running credit checks, checking references, etc., which typically helps filters through unreliable tenants.

Draft and enforce a lease agreement

A property manager is also responsible for preparing a lease agreement that will protect your interests as an owner. A lease agreement should cover all terms such as security deposit, late fees and stipulations for violations, etc.

Handling tenant complaints

The property manager is the first line of defense when it comes to any issues that arise between tenants, and they are ultimately tasked with finding a solution. They will work hard to resolve any type of conflict. The benefit of hiring a property manager is that you no longer have to deal with tenant complaints. Your property manager will handle them on your behalf.

Collect the rent

Property managers are responsible for enforcing rent collection and collecting late fees. They go the extra mile by making sure your rental income isn’t delayed through an efficient system of following up with tenants to ensure they’re not causing unnecessary delays. 

Perform property maintenance and repairs

You know that owning an investment property is not as easy or carefree as it sounds. Part of the responsibility falls on you and your family to keep up with ongoing maintenance, so you can be sure that your property remains in top shape. However, if you hire a property manager, they will take your responsibility into their hands. They will make sure that your property remains healthy, operational, presentable, and, most importantly, habitable.

They will not only perform necessary repairs on your behalf, but they will also perform preventive maintenance tasks such as cleaning, repainting, and regular inspections.

Property managers also handle evictions

At the end of the day, even if a property manager has performed extensive tenant screening procedures, it’s possible that one or two bad apples may slip through. This is when they need to be prepared for what comes next- eviction.

Evictions are a part of the real estate industry, but most property owners don’t realize that they can be complicated and costly. If you have to evict someone from your building, it’s important to know what steps need to be taken.

A good property manager is responsible to legally remove difficult tenants. Since they are fully aware of the state laws, they are the best people for this job.

Once a tenant has decided to move out, the property manager is also responsible for inspecting the rental unit to ensure that all is in place and nothing has been damaged. If everything checks out, they process the move-out, which includes returning the security deposit.

Maintaining Financial Records

Records are critical for property owners to keep track of their property’s finances and growth. As the supervisor and administrator of daily activities, a property manager is also responsible for maintaining financial records. This includes all expenses, revenues, records of complaints, maintenance requests, etc. The property manager may also be tasked with filing taxes for the owner.

There you have it. These were some of the major roles and responsibilities of a property manager. However, you must remember that not all property managers perform all these responsibilities. This is why, when hiring a property manager, always make sure that they can handle the majority of these responsibilities, if not all. We hope that this list of major roles and responsibilities of a property manager provided you a better understanding of what to expect from your property manager.