There are many different property management companies out there. There is half a dozen just in my small town of Chico, CA. Not every property management company will offer the same services so you’re going to want to check and see what exactly will be the scope of services that will be included in your management contract.

I have compiled a top 10 list of management services Hignell Property Management offers every investor. These are things that could save you a lot of time and emotional brain damage as you invest in real estate. Even if a company you’re using doesn’t offer the exact same benefits this could be a good tool to use to compare and contrast management services. 

So now, here are the top 10 things we do to make your life easier: (drum roll please)

1.  Marketing

• Professional photography included in management fee.
• Our own internet listing website. We own HignellRentals.com (formerly LivingInChico.com) which gets thousands of hits per month. 
• Additional Internet Listing Service (ILS) marketing. We also market on Trulia.com, Zillow.com, hotpads.com, apartments.com (for apartments), craigslist.org and other ILS’s.  
• Managing over 2,000 units allows us to have a good understanding of what the rental market is like. We know what certain neighborhoods are renting for, and what your investment property could rent for. 

2.  Screening

• Full Credit check to see any delinquent payments for any bills
• Credit score minimum of 600 (or any minimum)
• Minimum verified income of 3x monthly rent. We check pay stubs or tax records.
• Full rental history check including phone interviews with previous landlords. 

3.  Move-in, Move-out process

• Take 30-120 photos of every detail in the home upon move-in
• Take another 30-120 photos of the home upon move-out.
• A comparable document between move-in and move-out photos that proves any damage that was caused by the resident. This will be taken out of the deposit, and because of photo proof, we eliminate arguments as to what was there when they moved in and what was caused by them. 
• If any damages exceed the deposit, we handle all collections. Collections are done by a professional collection company. 

4.  Full Accounting and financial management

• We collect rent by check or online payments through our web portal.
• We pay vendors
• We can pay mortgages, insurance, or any other bills.
• We can do a basic reserve study to fund a reserve account to take care of major items. (roof’s, siding, gutters, etc.)
• You’ll receive a monthly financial statement
• You’ll receive a yearly financial packet to give to your tax professional. It makes taxes very easy!

5.  Twenty-Four hour on-call emergency personnel         in Chico, Paradise or Oroville 

• NOT an answering service. These are human beings who will answer the phone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They are trained emergency maintenance personnel who will be able to triage maintenance emergencies and either dispatch services, wait until the next business day (if deemed not a real emergency) or help the resident to remedy the issue over the phone if possible. 

6.  Inspection of Property

• A monthly drive by of property – sometimes more often.
• Yearly internal inspection of property to check smoke alarms, HVAC filters, etc. Also, to assess the condition of the property on the inside. We inspect 100% of the property in every room. 

7.  Handle all communication with resident

• Letters about rent increases, eviction notices, noise violations, etc. are all handled by a property manager, so you never have to be the “bad guy.”
• We handle all customer service for the residences.

8.  Legal mitigation

• Every manager is highly trained in Fair Housing and other laws that govern property management, thus helping you avoid any potential legal issues or vexatious litigants. 

9.  Local rental market networking

• We manage over 2,000 units in the North State, (about 1500 in the Chico area). We get many phone calls from people looking for places to live. We walk these inquiries through the portfolio that we currently manage, so being in our portfolio could help your unit become rented faster. 

10. Seasoned Property Managers and Staff

• Our staff has decades of property management experience. If there’s a unique issue that arises, odds are someone has seen it before. This type of experience offers us wisdom to help offer wise courses of action concerning your property. 

That sums up our top ten list of things we do to make investor’s lives easier. Let us know how we can help you with your property management needs today!