Hiring a property management company could save your life, or at least your sanity. For some people, they are just too fed up and tired of being landlords. Others never even thought of being an active landlord and always planned on having their properties managed for them.

Property management companies can help you reclaim your personal time by taking over the active responsibilities of being a landlord. A couple examples of property management services are: showing the property, tenant screening and selection, rent collection, and maintenance. All you have to do is sit back and they send you the rent. But, isn’t that why you got into rental real estate to begin with? To earn that glorious passive income everyone dreams about, to make money without having to work for it?

Fortunately there are people and firms to relieve you of all those landlord duties…for a small fee of course. The typical property manager collects between 6% and 10% of the gross rents as payment for taking over your responsibilities. The higher the number, the more quality service you should demand and expect.

One great place to start looking for a property manager is the local yellow pages for your area. Another good way is to take a look around town while your driving. Many times you will see signs for property management companies in front of buildings, on apartment signs, and even in the classified ads section of your newspaper. You’ll often find a management firm doing the listings for their rental properties in the local newspaper. If you see the same management companies name appearing in the majority of the rental ads, they’re probably a good company to contact first.

If you’re a member of your local Real Estate Investment Association (REIA) you can always ask for recommendations on which management company to work with. Just remember, you should always interview each potential property manager or firm before deciding to let them manage your properties. Some important questions to ask are:

1. How long have they been in business?

2. What property types are their areas of expertise?

3. What is their management fee?

4. How will they communicate with you?

5. Do they have their own maintenance personnel, or do they contract a handyman?

6. What do they charge for maintenance and upkeep, such as repairs and landscaping?

7. How much in reserve funds do they require in case something comes up?

8. How do they handle evictions and vacancies?

9. What does it take to terminate the agreement if necessary?

10. Where do they advertise the properties?

11. How often will they be sending you profit and loss statements?

12. When will they be sending the check to you?

13. Can you get some references to check them out?

Depending on how comfortable you are with the answer to the above questions, you may have found yourself a new property manager. It’s best to interview more than one individual or firm to make sure you find the right fit.