If you are a homeowner, you are a business person. Your home is an investment and to get the most out of it, you have to care for it. Regular maintenance, repair, and upkeep are essential–and all the more so when you have an investment property. You want to make sure your property is cared for and in good shape at the lowest possible price to ensure you get the maximum return on your investment. If you are looking to hire a property management company to do this for you, then make sure to choose a company that has your best interest in mind.
Watch out for bad carpet
Property management companies make money when maintenance work is ordered. You are charged an “oversight fee,” or something similarly named. It is generally a percentage added to the vendor’s invoice. This is the way you pay for having someone take care of finding, vetting, and hiring a vendor and following up to make sure the work is done. This is standard in the industry, outlined in your management agreement, and the fee you agree to pay to have someone else deal with the headaches that go with home ownership.
In and of itself, this oversight fee is fine; no problem. The problem arises when management companies do not keep their end of the bargain–hiring contractors that do not do quality work or installing poor quality parts that will break down more quickly and require service (and an oversight fee) again–creating a revolving door of income coming straight out of your pocket.
A common example of this in the property management business is to install “throw away carpet.” As you may have guessed, there is an extensive range of colors, fibers, and qualities of carpets available. When the time comes to have the carpet replaced in your property, if you or your property management company chooses low quality carpet, they may appear to be saving you money in the short term. However, this low quality carpet does not hold up to the additional wear and tear that comes with property turn over. If paired with inadequate cleaning and maintenance, the carpet will wear out even faster. In the end, you will end up replacing the carpet more frequently and paying more oversight fees–potentially thousands of dollars–to a property management company that did not have YOUR investment at heart.
The Prestige Difference
At Prestige Property Management we know where our priorities lie. We are business people, but more so we are people people. We know that the owners we serve are people. You. You have goals and ideas and that the income from your investment property is part of how you are making those dreams come true. You have a vested interest in your property and you take your money seriously. We do, too.
We do not install “throw away carpet,” literally or figuratively. We install carpet that is durable, stain resistant, and stands up to the assault of turn over. We require high standard carpet cleaning in our lease–no allowing the tenant to rent a Rug Doctor and do it themselves. We require professional vendors that do not use soaps or harsh chemicals that leave the carpets crunchy dirt magnets. As a result, the carpets in the units we manage last longer than the average 5 years. So you may pay more up front for higher quality carpet, but you save money on product, labor, and oversight fees by having to install carpet less frequently.
It’s not just carpet, either. We take care to create relationships with the vendors we choose. We only hire people that we trust to do a good job and to communicate with us honestly and professionally about what is required to keep your property in good shape. We care about your property and your money. That is our job. That is our priority. That is why we do business the way we do with respect and integrity.
We would love to show you the Prestige difference. You can be confident knowing your property is in good hands. Give us a call: 208-938-8009.
References
Normal Wear and Tear for Rental Properties: A Landlord’s Guide. Fits Small Business. Retrieved from https://fitsmallbusiness.com/normal-wear-tear-vs-damage-rental-properties/.
