1. Are you licensed in Colorado to manage property?

Managing property requires a very specialized skill set and very few people have these skills

without additional training and practical experience. For these reasons the Colorado

Department of Regulatory Agencies requires that all individuals practicing property

management not only have a Colorado Real Estate license but also take additional classes

teaching the fundamentals of property management.

2. How long has your company been in the property management business?

Properly managing a property requires more than just fundamental training, it requires a considerable amount of practical experience. You wouldn’t trust your life to a surgeon doing their first surgery so why trust your livelihood to a property manager taking on their first property to manage?

This question is a double edged sword … too few properties

may mean too little experience and too many may mean the

property manager may not have time to devote to your

property. Certainly quantity doesn’t trump quality but too

few employees and too many properties is an unsettling

proposition. Property managers must not only take care of

the administrative tasks of managing a property but must also

make on-site visits to inspect the property, review vendor’s

work and build relationships with current tenants. There is

no set rule of thumb as a portfolio of 10 retail shopping

centers may be less labor intensive than a portfolio of 5

apartment communities.

3. How many properties do you have under management? How many employees do you have working your company’s property management portfolio?

4. Do you own rental properties yourself?

It’s always nice to know the property manager you are working with has skin in the game. It means they believe in property ownership as a way to build wealth and they know from an owner’s perspective what it takes to successfully manage a property. It also means that you should expect a manager to treat your properties with the same care that he treats his own.

5. How many employees do you have working your company’s property management portfolio?

Certainly quantity doesn’t trump quality

but too few employees and too many

properties is an unsettling proposition.

Property managers must not only take

care of the administrative tasks of

managing a property but must also make

on-site visit to inspect the property,

review vendor’s work and build

relationships with current tenants.

6. How often do company representatives visit

properties?

We hear it said over and over again, regardless of the context, that nothing beats

having boots on the ground. You can’t give a hair cut through the mail and you

certainly can’t properly manage a property sitting in an office.

7. How are property maintenance issues handled? After hours?

The second largest expense a property owner has — after the mortgage — is property maintenance. It is important to

know how vendors are selected and what their relationship is to the property management company. Also, what is the

procedure for after hour emergencies? Property management is a 24/7 business and maintenance services must be

available to meet needs any time of the day.

8. What accounting and reporting procedures does your company have in place?

As the owner of a property, you need to be able

to understand your financials — otherwise it can

be difficult to gauge the status of your

investment and whether the property is being

properly managed. Ask to see a sample of the

accounting reports your property manager will

be compiling for you before you sign on and

make sure they are simple, straightforward, and

provide you all the key data you need.

9. What are the fees and other cost associated with property management?

As the saying goes, “You get what you pay for,”

and property management is no different. Ask

yourself why a property management firm’s fee is

higher/lower than others in the industry. Truly, it

comes down to manpower devoted to your

property. If a firm’s fee is too high, perhaps you

are paying for services you don’t need (or think

you don’t need) and if they are too low you

definitely won’t be getting the level of service

your property will demand.

10. Does your firm have a property management agreement?

Unfortunately the days when people could

do business together based upon a

handshake are over. Owning a property is

like owning a business and your affairs

should be handled in a businesslike manner.

Request and review the property

management agreement as this contract is

the basis of your relationship with the

property management company.