Selecting A Property Management Company For Your Rental

Do you own a rental home in a vacation hot spot? Do you want to rent out your home as a vacation rental? If you do, you should hire a property management company. But be warned, not all property management companies are created equal. Below is a list of five services that the property management company you hire should have. I am going to use a vacation home in Spain as an example but you can apply these same concepts to anywhere in the world your vacation home is located.

1. What Kind Of Customer Satisfaction Department Do They Have?

Your guests will remember you by the service they receive during their stay at your villa rental, apartment or vacation rental. The property rental service you choose should offer excellent customer service and be able to provide testimonials from satisfied property owners. Your guests should arrive to a clean villa, home or apartment.

You want to find a property management company that gives tenants a welcome packet that includes a map of your rental property and the surrounding area. Make sure that they handle collecting rent in a professional manner and that they handle maintenance requests quickly. The property management company should also handle your renters questions regarding turning on the utilities and phone in a friendly manner.

2. Cleaning Management

A property rental service should provide reliable cleaning management. You might live too far away to handle cleaning or manage a maid service. If you live in England or the U.S., but your vacation rental or apartment for rent is located in Fuengirola, Mijas, Puerto Banus, or Elviria of Spain, then you’ll need a property rental service that will handle cleaning with care. For holiday rentals and villa rentals, cleaning must be provided between each guests’ stay and sometimes during the week of a stay as well. For vacation homes and villas, the lawn must be maintained as well. Be sure this is included with your service.

3. Keys and Other Necessities

You may not be able to handle local errands for your vacation rental or apartment for rent. Therefore, the property rental service should be entrusted with these tasks. Some necessities to keep the rental property operating legally include key holding, insurance, property tax and levies, building permits or licensing, bank account management, phone and utility set up and billing, etc.

You need to make sure the company you hire will handle protecting the furniture and other items in your vacation home. They should do an inventory and keep a list and check to make sure that none of your belongings are being stolen each time a guest departs. You want a property rental service that provides these services so you do not have to worry about things being stolen out of your vacation rental.

4. Handling Repairs

Another feature to look for in a property rental service is whether or not they provide building refurbishing services and major repairs. The benefit of this is the provider will already have contacts to do the jobs needed. You won’t have to spend endless hours trying to find a dependable contractor or handyman.

5. Promoting Your Apartment or Spain Holiday Rental

Find out how the property management company plans on marketing your home. What in-print and Internet venues will they be using? You want professional marketers who have a game plan of exactly how they intend to find a renter or guest for your home. Do they have a website? If they are putting your home on their website, ask them how many visitors does their website get each month. Make sure that they are not going to charge you to market your home. They should only get paid when they find a renter for your home. There should be no flat fee each month. If they do not find a renter for your home, then they should not get paid either!

Keep these things in mind when looking to hire a property management company. By picking the right property management company, you will have an enjoyable and profitable owner experience.