The Real Estate sector in Kenya is attracting some heavy investment opportunities from a vast number of people and for those people investing in Real Estate, one question you are likely to face is whether or not to contract a Property Management Agency.
To be quite frank, you might wonder why you need to hire someone to do this work for you when you can use that money to invest in your next venture. However, looking closer at this issue you realize that a property manager comes with a wealth of advantages, namely:
- Better screening and quality of tenants
- Better collections and accounting
- Better service and responses provided to residents
- Less turnover (no matter how many people you know, their rolodex is probably just as good if not better)
- Better repairs and maintenance systems (with all licensed and insured workers! So a lot less liability on your part)
- Better handling of legal issues
Factors to Consider Before You Hire a Property Manager
- Comparative proximity to the property, or their willingness to travel to the property
- Number of units under management
- Time it’s taking you to turn over the unit (find another tenant when one vacates)
- Your record keeping abilities
- Response rates (are you open 24/7/365?)
- Maintenance and repair systems
- Handling tenants’ collections, evictions, etc.
- STRESS! Most people would find the job unnecessarily stressful especially when it’s not your career and you have other interests on the side.
- Freedom and more time to pursue your other interests
How to Find a Good Property Manager
- Fees, (most companies offer discounts for multiple units and recommendations),
- Accounting system and record keeping e.g. will you get monthly statements from them? Are they in charge of paying repairmen/contractors so you never have to stop to write a check?
- Policies on collecting and setting rents
- How they handle inspections and repairs, tenant marketing, screening and retention,
- Examining the company size, staff, systems, experience, reputation, etc.
- How organized and automated they are.
What You Can Do To Help a Property Manager Do Their Job Well?
- Listen
- Follow our advice or at least take it under advisement
- Be reasonable
- Take care of your properties, especially when asked to.
So, we’d love to know, do you have a property manager? If you don’t have one yet when do you think your goal is to get one? Remember, this is one of Dream Properties core functions, so contact us and we’ll get you sorted.
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