Switching your Indianapolis property management company may seem like too much of a hassle, but the success of your rental investment portfolio may be worth that hassle.
When your property management partners are working with you and doing everything they said they would do, your life is a lot easier and your finances are a lot more stable. But when your property managers are failing, new problems will begin to piggyback onto existing problems.
Don’t wait too long. These are six signs that will tell you it’s time to move on from your current property management company.
Non-Responsive Communication or Lack of Availability
When it’s impossible to get in touch with your property manager, you might want to think about making a switch. You should expect your management team to return phone calls and respond to messages within 24 hours, unless they have told you to expect otherwise.
There’s likely not a need for your management company to over-communicate, but when you have a question or your tenant requests a repair and there’s no one to respond, things can get dire. Failure to communicate is unacceptable in an Indianapolis property management company.
You’re Not Getting Paid on Time
You’ll want to get your rent paid as soon as possible. Assuming your property manager makes it a priority to collect rent on time from your tenants, you should expect to see a deposit within days of their rental payment clearing. If your property manager is taking a month to pay you, there may be a breakdown in their accounting system. Or, they’re not doing a good job of enforcing their own rent collection policy, which is also a problem.
If payment days are different every month and wildly inconsistent, this could indicate internal problems with the management company. Unreliable rent payments are a good reason to switch companies.
You’re Stuck with Bad Tenants
Bad tenants can be disruptive. They can lead to late or missing rent payments, eviction, property damage, and general misery. If you’re finding that the quality of your tenants is deteriorating from lease period to lease period, you’ll want to look for Indianapolis property managers who do a better job screening applicants.
Inaccurate or Unclear Owner Statements
You should always expect repairs, but if the same repair starts showing up on your accounting statement every month, you should inquire. If you see unauthorized expenses that don’t seem to match the work that was needed on your property, you’ll definitely want to investigate. If the property management fees seem to go up without any notice, you’re not working with the best company.
Accounting statements should be clear, accurate, and detailed. If they’re not, you should absolutely find a different company to manage your investments.
Long Vacancy Times
If your property is on the Indianapolis rental market for more than two or three weeks without anyone asking to see it, there’s something going on. You should talk to your property manager about whether it’s priced correctly. If you’re not getting updates from your property manager with their suggestions when a home isn’t renting, that’s another problem.
Typically, long vacancy periods are due to one of three things:
- Bad pricing
- Property condition
- Ineffective marketing
A property manager that doesn’t address these things is not a property manager you should be working with.
Sinking Reputation
People are using online reviews to purchase goods and services more than ever. If you notice that your property management company is not measuring up, check their recent reviews. This will tell you if you’re not alone. If there are mounting complaints from both owners and tenants and they’re going unaddressed by the management company, it’s probably best to move on.
We take a lot of pride in the service we provide. When you’re ready to raise your standards for Indianapolis property management, please contact us at Red Door Property Management.
