You know, I have worked for several property management companies in the past and along the way I have compared what they do and how they do it against my management experiences and there are three main differences:

 

1.  Property Management Companies (PMC's) either just dispatch one of their employees to complete a service request or call their vendor if it involves a technical fix and in both cases I have found that there sometimes was little or NO follow up.  In several instances I have seen where repairs by both the companies employees or the vendor were either done hastily or incorrectly.  What I mean is someone went to the property and did something and left, but no one in the company checked to make sure it was done correctly.  You, the client are paying for the service and have no proof that it was done correctly or done at all.  Doing it right the first time keeps business with my clients.

2. The (PMC's) may not send a supervisor or manager to the property to insure that the vendor or employee dispatched to the property is doing things correctly and there is no one present when the service repairs are done.  This is critical to insure that the needed servicing/repairs were done and done correctly.  You are paying for it, don't you want to KNOW these things were done and done correctly?   If the property manager has little or no knowledge of carpentry, plumbing, electrical or general construction, they won't be able to tell.

3. If you have a property manager that works exclusively for you and are not using a PMC, and they are always in the office, they are not doing their job.  I have seen my share of managers that play games on the computer, do the required paperwork and basically just kill time.  This is not what property management is about.  You need a manager that personally oversees EVERYTHING that happens on the property.  Carpentry, plumbing, and general construction knowledge are a BIG plus.

I have learned over the years that EVERYTHING that takes place on the property needs to be personally overseen by the property manager to insure things are done correctly.  If it is not, the manager is not doing his or her job.  YOU pay for a job that was not done right which could lead to the issue becoming a bigger problem in the future and costing you more.

I have rebuilt and repaired apartments and mobile homes myself for years and I personally supervise ALL repairs needed.