Is it the Property Managers job to rent the unit fast?

Is it the Property Managers job to rent the unit fast?

Many landlords ask how long it will take to rent my property. We always reply that it depends on the market and we are unable to guarantee when we will find a tenant for the property.  We see other management companies using advertising terms like maximising your profits or revenue. Does this mean they place the first person who applies to ensure that your unit is not vacant? Or does it mean they find the best person to live in your unit? These are often not the same person.  

In BC licensed property managers are not allowed to make promises or guarantees about their services. The two questions we are always asked are when can my unit be rented and for how much?. We are unable to guarantee either of these questions. The market will only pay what the market will pay for the service provided. We also can’t force a potential tenant to rent a property, they have to want to live there. 

I have read and heard people saying our manager rented it really quickly. Does this mean they rented to a good candidate, for a good price or just rented it to the first person who applied? We could rent any property tomorrow, it is unlikely that the applicants will pay rent on time, that they will take care of the property or would be for a rent the client would like to rent for. 

We recently turned down an applicant. Our reference checks were turning up good responses to the inquiries we made. Then we completed credit checks on the three applicants. One of the applicants had an outstanding debt owing on their credit from two years ago and another had just filed for bankruptcy. Our advice to our client was to avoid them. The difference in rent from where they were to our place was close to a $1000 increase. Their credit showed that in the recent past they were having issues paying bills, which means there is a high probability this will be an issue at our clients location. 

We like to follow our lawyers’ advice which is: “The best way to remove bad tenants from your property is to not let them in”. If we had approved this applicant there appeared to be a high probability of missed rent payments and other issues at the property. In this case we could have provided a tenant for our clients, renting it “fast” or we can protect our clients from a negative experience. Once a tenant is in your rental property it is not an easy process to remove them even with legal justifications. We have seen landlords make poor decisions that cost them 20K or more to remove a tenant. A few vacant months to avoid 20K in unpaid rent or damage to your property along with the headache of removing the tenant is worth it. 

We believe our role as the property manager is to provide our clients with a positive experience for their rental property. Putting in tenants that are questionable and may not pay the rent will not be a positive experience for the landlord and or the property manager. 

Need help managing your investment properties. Cartref Properties can assist you, call today to discuss your needs. You can find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com