When Should You Consider Hiring a New Property Manager?

By Blogs | January 31, 2022

Has your investment property been underperforming?

Is your property manager consistently telling you that this is the way the market is?

Do you frequently have to chase them to enquire about the state of your rental?

While a great property manager can help maximize your ROI and protect your asset, poor property management can erode your profits and turn your investment experience into a genuine nightmare.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

If you’re unhappy about your current Honolulu property manager, it might be time to change.

Here are some tell-tale signs of poor property management that should make you consider switching.

Your Property Is Empty For Long Periods

It’s a fact.

Every single day your property is sitting on the rental market is costing you money. That’s why finding high-quality tenants fast should be the top priority of your property manager. And even when times are tough, like during the COVID-19 pandemic, they should use creative ways to still make things happen.

For instance, during the pandemic, one creative way to still organize viewings included offering virtual tours so that prospective renters could visualize themselves living in the property.

Your Rent Is Stagnating

One of the crucial roles of your Honolulu property manager is to help you maximize your ROI. This means that their goal should be to get you the best rental price possible. Therefore, they should keep an eye on local real estate trends and rental prices in your area and negotiate rent with your tenants if they see any changes.

However, if you notice that the rent tends to stay the same over time while you see prices of similar properties going up, your Honolulu property manager might not be the best fit for you.

They might want to keep the price low for several reasons, including:

  • Raising the rent might lead to a change of tenancy which means a lot more work for your Honolulu property manager.
  • If the property is empty for a while, owners will engage more with their property manager, which a bad property manager wouldn’t welcome.

Your Property Manager Changes Frequently

Some Honolulu property management agencies have a high turnover meaning that property managers often change.

If this is happening to you, it is bad news for two reasons:

  • This could hide deep issues with management, processes, or systems. 
  • A new property manager won’t be too familiar with your property, its features, and its history. Therefore, they won’t be able to maximize your rent or provide top-notch service for your tenants for a while. And even if they do, they might be replaced soon once again!

Lack Of Advice

It’s the job of your property manager to advise you on any repairs or upgrades you should do before advertising your place and organizing viewings. An experienced and professional Honolulu property manager will know exactly what kind of upgrades could help you maximize your investment, and they’ll be very proactive in letting you know what changes they believe will help you get the best rental price.

So, if you feel like your rental could do with a refresher and your current property manager leaves the ball in your court, it could be worth contacting a new Honolulu property management company.

Lack Of Routine Inspections

Routine inspections are important because they allow owners to ensure their asset is well looked after. If your property manager doesn’t organize any or only organizes them when you ask them to, that’s a big red flag. Also, you should be able to easily access the routine reports and photos through a dedicated portal.

A good Honolulu property manager will regularly arrange routine inspections to ensure the tenants are taking care of your property. They’ll make the report immediately available to you so that you can look at it whenever you need to. Besides, routine inspections are an excellent way to spot issues and avoid them escalating into more serious problems that could cost you a lot more money down the line.

So, if your current property manager isn’t proactive with routine inspections, it might be time to switch!

Not Screening Tenants Properly

A good Honolulu property manager will have a ton of experience screening tenants. They’ll know exactly what to look for and will be able to recognize red flags. What’s more, they will proceed to the right checks, including rental and credit history and reference checks.

You’ll find our article about the key steps to effectively screening potential tenants on our blog. We’d recommend that you read it and check with your property manager whether they follow these steps.

A sign of poor property management is if you’re constantly facing issues with your tenants. A bad Honolulu property manager won’t be screening tenants properly, increasing the odds of issues in the future.

Bad Communication

Poor communication can be a serious problem for property investors. An unresponsive Honolulu property manager that is slow to return your calls and doesn’t answer your queries might make your real estate experience more stressful than it needs to be.

Worse, if they don’t answer your tenants’ queries, they might be costing you money by leading them to move out. 

So, if your tenants are calling you because they can’t get hold of your property manager or if they feel like the property manager is not handling situations properly, it’s definitely time to start looking for a new property manager.

After all, happy tenants tend to stay longer in a property, reducing your vacancy rate and increasing your ROI and that’s exactly why you’re paying an experienced Honolulu property management agency.

We hope this article provided some insightful advice and will help you determine whether you need a new Honolulu property manager. And if you wonder where to find a reliable and professional property manager, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our team is committed to helping property investors like you maximize their investment while ensuring a stress-free experience for both tenants and owners.

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