By: Art Ikel
date published: Oct 10, 2007
email  Art This article is free to re-use and publish if left in it's origional form with all content and links in tact.

50% commission
No Evictions for 5 years
No flooded basements
No large pets
Rents paid on time
Owners with enough money to make repairs
No major property repairs
No Late RENTS

Reality bites!

Wake up!!

Being a property manager is not a relaxing job. If you don't mind a challenge every now and then, like almost everyday, then you could be a good manager.
Taking care of other peoples property can be a headache. Especially if the property is not in a great part of town or it is in bad condition.
Renters are looking for a real bargain and a easy going landlord. Everyone will take advantage of the situation if given the chance. Low rent properties are a prime target for gypsy renters. People that stay until the pressure gets to much to sidestep.
Some gypsy renters will pay first and last months rent, move in, then stay until the utilities get turned off and still make the manager take them to court.

Hey! Free rent is FREE rent!

Managers have a tough job. They want to make money for their owners and at the same time help renters by providing a well kept place to stay. All the time they are trying to make money for themselves.
You can have several different types of managers.
A Passive manager is easy going and lets the renters do mostly what they want as long as they pay the rent MOST of the time. In this case the renters usually take advantage and don't take care of the property. These renters will destroy walls, appliances, and floors. They have a tendency to not complain and when they move out, the property is trashed! This is good for the manager because the property stays rented and commissions keep coming in. The owner looses when the renter moves out. Prep and repairs may total one or two months rent and take 2 to 3 weeks to complete.
It is very difficult to monitor a renter. Most managers feel that it is an invasion of privacy to pop in and inspect the condition of the property. Even if they do, what are they gonna say. If they evict the tenant by way of court, this takes time and money. Because of tenant rights laws, this can take up to 6 weeks or more plus all the hassles. Meanwhile the tenant is upset and won't pay rent and trashes the property more or moves out in the middle of the night. If the manager leaves them alone, the renter may pay the rent and the manager has money to give the owner plus the management commission. Everybody wins!
A more aggressive manager would do a background check. Even this doesn't always help. The last landlord or manager may be afraid to disclose information because of privacy issues or just because they are glad to just get rid of the renter. Even employers don't give out much information anymore. About all you can count on from them is that the renter works there or did work there. This is very little information to go on. Unfortunately this puts the manager in a position where an opinion of the person(s) wishing to rent has to be made. Using past experience and assessing the current situation as to take a chance or not puts the manager under pressure. Keeping cash flow on the property is high priority but keeping the property in livable condition is also a consideration.
Experienced managers can make a judgment call. If the prospective renters seem polite, well educated, dress well and have a job that requires some knowledge of sorts, they are a good candidate. The probabilities of no hassles and a good lease experience are higher than someone with no car and bags groceries at a local supermarket and has two kids.
As a general rule, managers try to provide a service as best they can. Most are honest and work to keep the property owners and the renters happy. They are a special type of person that no-one seems to give credit to. If you are a manager or owner/manager, MORE POWER TO YOU! You deserve everything you get....