80 Questions to Consider When Interviewing Your Next Property Manager

A very important part of being a landlord is the property management side. For some, the decision is to self-manage and for many others they wish to hire a professional property manager. Property managers are a HUGE and amazing asset. The thing to remember when finding a property manager is not everyone is created equally. That is something I found out the hard way (read about my experience here) and the ultimate reason that I decided to self-manage.

Over time, I have met some amazing property managers and even have a list of the people who I would use (a very tall order). A great property manager is your advocate, your eyes, and ultimately YOU in a difficult situation. You want someone you can trust not only with your asset or liability, but also with your money.

The key with hiring a property manager is to find someone who is will do the work for you so you don’t have to do it. If you are doing the work you might as well self-manage. Eventually, my husband and I are going to reach our cash flow dream and hit the seas to do our dream of sailing around the world. At that point, we plan on hiring a property manager to do all the heavy lifting so we can live our dream.

The key is to find someone that will allow us to do this, while still maintaining our tenant standards. The key is to know what your are looking for. I talk about it in my article about being served humble pie, if you go in with the wrong expectations, you can fail before you have even begun.

I made a list of 80 questions that I plan on making sure I have covered before I hire my next property manger. Obviously, asking all 80 questions would be a lot and could be a little nerving even to a professional, so I plan on getting a copy of the lease, management documents and anything else that is provided to the landlord or tenants. This way I can go into the meeting educated on the written material already provided. Some of these questions can also be answered through small chat too!

Author’s Note: Many of these questions can be solved by examining the lease/property management contract first. Personally, I would want a copy of the property management contract before my first interview so I could put together all my questions from that BEFORE I talk to the property management. This way, you are not asking questions that are answered in the contract AND you can follow up directly from the contract. Remember: it doesn’t matter what they say, it comes down to what is in writing, i.e. your contract.

80 Questions to Ask a Potential Property Manager

1. Will I have one specific property manager? Who will be my property manager?
You want to know who will be your specific property manager and know their name. I am all about accountability and you want to know and meet your property manager not just the marketing director or whoever is in charge of new business.

2. Who is the head of the office?
You want to know the broker in case something goes wrong. Brokers have PM’s who work under his or her license so ultimately it is the heading broker who runs the show.

3. How long have you been a property manager?
The length of time is important to know. That being said, a hungry newbie who wants to learn in my experience is often times better than the most advanced person because they care.

4. How many units do you manage?
For me this is a more food for thought than actually caring as large versus small have different pros and cons. There are benefits to a large office and also to a small office, the key is to know which one you are getting into and to make sure you are comfortable with the pros and cons.

5. What is the average length that clients stay with you?
You want a property manager who is in it for the long haul. While this might not be a truthful answer or able to be substantiated it is good food for thought.

6. Do you just manage or do you sell too?
Most places do both. That being said it is good to know to assess people’s motivations and goals. You want a company that still prioritizes property management even if it doesn’t make as much income as selling.

7. What do you offer that sets you apart from other companies?
You want them to sell themselves, to tell you what is different from other companies. Remember this is an interview for both parties. While I have never hired a property manager, I have personally noticed in life things don’t get better only worse once you sign the dotted line.

8. What do you expect from me as the owner?
What is their expectation about your involvement? Some people want to be very micromanaged and others do not. It is important to know the exact expectations that the property manager will have of you. 

9. How often do you communicate with the home owners?
This is very important, since communication is key. It is really important to know over what issues, the methods, and how quickly you will be notified.

10. Do you provide the owner’s information to the tenant?
Some people hire property managers so they do not have to give their information to tenants. So this is important.

11. Do you have a policy about landlords contacting the tenants?
Some management companies will not allow the landlords to contact the tenants in the house.

12. Do you have a requirement for your property management clients to use you? Do you charge if the tenant decides to buy the house?
Many property contracts require the landlord to pay fees if the tenant decides to buy or they sell. Make sure you check this clause closely.

13. How often do you reach out to the owners? Can you give me examples of how and when you would communicate various problems?
Communication is a very big concern and complaint. The last thing you want is to be learning everything on your monthly statement. The best way to have clear expectations is to understand when they will notify you and when they will not.

14. What is your turn around time on phone calls and emails from owners?
Some of the biggest complaints I see is people not hearing or receiving return phone calls quickly enough. This is why you want to know what to expect and how long it takes to hear back from your property manager.

15. What is your Monthly Charge?
Every management company calculates their fees differently. Some charge 10% and that includes everything. Others do 6% and charge extras everywhere so make sure you are looking at everything.

16. Who is the lease between?
In some place the owner is on the lease. In other places it is the management company on the lease.

17. Do you provide a copy of the lease to the owner and when?
One of the biggest issues I see is the owners not receiving a copy of the lease, so they are not able to verify when questions and issues arise with their property manager.

18. How long of lease do you do?
Some property managers only do a month-to-month lease, others do a one year, some do multiple. Personally, I do a month-to-month lease. Here is an article I wrote about month-to-month leases versus a one year lease.

19. Do you charge extra for month-to-month lease?
I charge $300 more per month for my month-to-month lease. It is important to know what their policy is and who gets the fees.

20. Do you do a break-out clause?
I have a lot of tenants try to break their lease. For me, this clause has been a lifesaver. Here is my policy for my break lease clause.

21. Do you offer a reverse military clause?
As an empire builder who buys homes that her family will live in too it is important to me that we can always move back into our home. Therefore we will always have a reverse military clause in our lease. The last I heard if you did not have a clause you couldn’t use it. Some companies will not allow this in their policy so it is important to know your company’s policy.

22. Do you have a rental deductible?
I am a huge believer in tenants having skin in the game therefore not calling over senseless items and repairs that cost money and cause headaches. Especially since these repairs can eat you alive and do some serious damage to your bottom line.

23. Do you have lease language that requires the tenant to pay for any damage they cause that is not wear and tear?
I am a huge believer if you break it you buy it. So I charge my tenants for anything they break. I would ask my management company if they do the same thing.

24. Do you trouble shoot with your tenants when they call for repairs?
One of the things I have done to help reduce service calls is to troubleshoot with my tenants. I ask them if they tried the breaker, put a new light bulb in the socket, etc. So I would want to know if the property management will try to trouble shoot, or if it ends up being something silly if the tenants are required to pay the service call.

25. Do you do site unseen leases? If yes, do you have a special addendum?
I know some places won’t rent sight unseen which is a huge disadvantage in military areas. This has caused problems for me and others in the past so I have fixed this issue by having a provision in the lease.

26. Who pays for pest control?
As discussed here I don’t include pest control. So make sure to go over who is responsible.

27. Do they do as/is Appliances?
I put any appliances I don’t want to replace as “as is” in the lease.

28. How much notice do you require at the end?
I require my tenants to provide 60 days notice but other companies and areas have different rules.

29. Is the lease automatically renewable?
I personally don’t like automatically renewable leases as if you forget you could be in trouble. That being said I know some places do it. So make sure you follow up on this to see if you property management company offers this service.

30. What is your renewal policy?
You want to know if they renew everyone or if people with specific dings against them are not renewed.

31. Do you charge for renewals?
Some companies charge a renewal fee to the owners if the tenant stays.

32. Do you do a market evaluation every renewal?
I am a huge believer in raising the rent every time a renewal comes up. So I would want a market evaluation and recommendation to raise rates if needed.

33. How do you determine to raise the rent or keep it the same?
Will you raise rates on good tenants? Is there a reason you wouldn’t raise the rent even if the market called for it? This is important since some people do not believe in raising the rates.

34. What does the monthly fee include?
Make sure you know exactly what you are paying for. Some places are more full service than others. Every agency has different standards and goals. I know some agency who do professional photos and others charge for it. So get them to go through what it includes.

35. Do you have any additional charges or fees (pet, placement, maintenance, etc), IE what does my monthly charge not cover?
You want to look at a contract closely and ask specifically. Some places the monthly price is higher and that’s it. Other places the price is lower, but they nickel and dime you on ALL the fees.

36. Who keeps the fees that the tenants pay?
You want to know who keeps the late fees, pet fees, etc. This can cause a LOT of issues so review the answer to this question closely. If your tenant pays you late and the management company retains the fees and you were expecting to be compensated this can cause a lot of financial frustration.

37. How is the money dispersed?
Many property management firms only send checks. So this is a very important question.

38. When is the money dispersed?
Most people mortgages are due the 15th. So this is a very important thing to know, so you make sure you receive your checks in time to pay your mortgage.

39. What is your advertising strategy?
(places advertised, professional photos, etc)? Every company has a different marketing plan. Some companies take professional photos and others do not.

40. What rental price do you recommend?
You want to know what they think it will rent for and why. Some places will overprice the rent (higher monthly fee since its a percentage), others will underprice the rental (quicker to rent). The best way is to make sure it is priced right.

41. Do you recommend any work to be done to get top dollar?
You want to know if they have any recommendations to get the best rental price from the unit.

42. How long do you think it will take to rent out?
You want to know how long it will take to rent out. Vacancy is lost revenue. Often times it’s better to go cheaper than vacant.

43. How quickly do you schedule showing/return calls?
One of the things I found is important is to get people into the home as quickly as possible. For property managers that are not quick, this can be as much the issue as the price.

44. How quickly does it take you to approve and have a lease signed?
I have found that this is also very important because I have had many people find other units when I have not been quick enough to get them approved and qualified.

45. What is your schedule for payments when installing a tenant?
I personally do not accept a signed lease until I have all of the deposits. Then first month’s rent is due with keys. It is important to know the process so there are no surprises.

46. Do you have a termination clause if it is not rented after so many months?
A lot of questions I see is how to terminate an agreement after a house sits empty. So this is an important question to ask.

47. Do you have a trial period?
It is important to know if you are unhappy with the company if there is any way to get out early. If yes, what are the rules to retain the company if I am happy?

48. Do I pay any fees when the place is empty?
It is important to know if a company is going to charge you while your unit is empty. Some areas charge seasonal fees (opening/closing pools, winterizing homes) even if the home is not occupied.

49. What is your termination policy?
While you might have no desire to self-manage or have a different company in mind you know things change. So you want to make sure you are covered and have a very clear out.

50. What is your late policy?
The key to keeping tenants on time with the rent is to have consequences. Therefore it is very important to enforce the late policy. You want to know their exact process.

51. What is your late fee amount?
I personally charge a 10% late fee, but based on the state and the company this can change. Since a late fee is one of the biggest incentives for the tenant to pay on time this is very important.

52. Who keeps the late fees?
Depending on the company many will keep the late fees themselves.

53. If fees are not collected from the tenant will you still charge the owner for them?
I have seen a few comments where owners were upset that they were charged for fees (late, etc) because the tenants didn’t pay it. This is crazy I know but it has happened.

54. How many “late” payments does it take to have a fee assessed?
I give my tenants one late payment, and then after that I ALWAYS assess the fee. You want to have their policy so you are not surprised when the first one is waived but can be upset with the 5th one has been.

55. How many eviction have you had last month?
I would want to know how many evictions as its great food for thought.

56. How do you handle eviction process?
You want to know when the company will start the eviction process. Do they do it in house or hire someone? What is there procedure and how they proceed.

57. Is the eviction part of the cost or is it additional cost?
When we were first looking they charged beyond their monthly fee at $20 an hour. This can really hurt when you are evicting for nonpayment of rent and therefore not receiving income.

58. What is your application and screening process?
I run a credit and background check.

59. What is your screening requirements?
Do they accept foreclosures, short sales, 400 credit scores, evictions, etc? Remember you are picking someone that you can trust and be hands off. This is why it is very important that you agree with who they are picking.

60. Do you run it by me before you approve them?
Some companies just place the tenant and others get final approval.

61. What do you charge for your application process?
Some companies charge a high amount to applicants, others charge the owners, etc.

62. What form do you use for the move in/move out inspection?
Personally, I would want to see the forms as this is a very important part. This is what you will use to prove the tenant did damage.

63. Do you take video or pictures? What is your criteria for what you put down on the forms?
The more detailed you are the easier it will be if you go to court, so this is very important.

64. How often do you do inspections during a tenant’s term?
Many property management companies do yearly or quarterly inspections.

65. How do you document the inspection and do you send it to the landlords?
If they are supposed to do inspections you want to make sure you receive a copy. You also want to make sure the inspections are documented.

66. How do they handle the security deposit (i.e. do they hold it or do you, the landlord)? You want to know where the security deposit will go and who holds on to it.

67. How do you charge for tenant’s damage during their lease term?
You do not want everything to wait until the security deposit is at the end of the term. You want it to be taken out as the damage is done because the security deposit is their skin in the game to not have an issue.

68. If there are damages upon move out who does the accounting (you or the owner)?
If the tenant does a ton of damage you want a property manager who is going to pursue the tenant for you. First, by taking it out of the deposit and then by sending them a bill for the rest.

69. If the tenant has damages that exceed the security deposit do you come up with the documents and pursue the tenant?
This is important because every company is different. So it is important to know who is responsible for what.

70. When do you return the security deposit? Do you get approval from the landlord first? There has been a lot of issues with property managers returning the money too soon and missing deductions for tenant damage. Personally I use almost the entire time provided by law so I can make sure there is nothing missing before I return the deposit. I do not return the deposit at the move out or even the first week.

71. Do you do a pre-inspection prior to the tenant move out?
I only do one in California as required by law but this is an important question.

72. What is your maintenance minimum/policy?
A lot of companies have a number, say $200, where any repair under that they will approve. It is important to take note of this as these can really eat your profit.

73. Do you charge for an additional fee for maintenance?
Some companies charge 2% or more on the repair cost. So this is very important to know.

74. Do you get multiple bids? If so at what amount?
I personally like multiple bids.

75. Is your maintenance in-house or a vendor?
This is good to know and more for food for thought.

76. How do you handle off hour emergencies? 
You want to know if they receive the calls or if it goes to an answering service.

77. What do you consider emergencies?
What is their definition of an emergency? (heater out, etc.)

78. Do you ask permission or just fix and bill?
This is very important as some emergency repairs can cost a small fortune. This is why it is so important to know what there policy is.

79. How much time between tenants do you leave?
I try to schedule things as quickly as possible so my down time and therefore vacancy is as close to zero as possible. The key to this is being on top of things. Some people schedule weeks in between tenants so this is an important question.

80. Do you show the house while the current tenant is in the home?
One of my ways to keep costs down is to show the house while the tenant is still in the unit.

So now that you have read all of these interview questions I want to remind you that, as always, take everything I say with a huge grain of salt. I am a self managing landlord and that’s it! While this list seems very long and complex, it is as much food for thought as a list of questions to ask the property manager.

Many of these things will be answered in the lease and property management document/contract. This is not supposed to be a complete list but more of a way to give you a starting point to begin your interview.

Did I miss anything? What questions do you ask? Is there something else I should add that you learned the hard way?

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