Interview Questions For Landlord Services
Property owners can save time and hassle by hiring landlord services to interact with tenants and manage properties efficiently. Here are some interview questions to ask to make sure you're hiring the right team for your rental property.
What Other Properties Have You Managed?
The landlord service you consider should already have provided you with a list of references and experience, including contact information of past tenants and employers who can give honest reviews of their work. It's worth asking the property landlord about these properties.
Learn their previous properties' size, occupancy, age, and location. Knowing the management team's history can help you ascertain whether your particular property is within the scope of their experience. Remember that while varied experiences give a wide range of skill sets, you're most interested in whether your particular situation falls within those skills.
Because every location is unique, look for a property management team with experience in the local area where your properties are. They will then be already familiar with code laws, service companies, and contractors in the area.
Which Local Service Companies Do You Recommend?
This may seem like an off-topic question to ask potential landlord services, but the answer will give you valuable insight into the company's experience and local knowledge. A responsive property landlord knows exactly who to call when there is a service or repair issue on one of their properties.
Similarly, when landlord services establish a working relationship with local service companies, that service is likely to be faster and better. Neither tenants nor property owners want a landlord who needs to spend time researching the best service company prior to responding to a call.
A landlord's ability to work well with other companies in the area also recommends them as trustworthy and reliable. Because landlords need to interact with so many service people in order to manage properties well, these qualities are essential.
How Do You Manage Special Situations?
While many landlord services can look good on paper, there are bound to be moments on the job where the rubber meets the road. Ask your potential landlord to describe a situation that did not go according to plan. How did they handle this challenge?
As you listen to their answer, think about the following and how these aspects of their response might affect the property you are asking them to manage:
- Response time
- Cost
- Attitude toward tenants, service technicians, or property owners
- Experience to bring to future situations
The answers to these questions should help property owners find a landlord who is responsible, experienced, and personable.