Property management is defined as operating a property as a business, including the collection of rent, maintaining the property, providing for taxes and insurance, provision of utilities to the property being managed, and arranging for new rentals and negotiating the rent. This can be done by a person as an owner or can be done by a property management company for a fee agreed to with the owner of the property.
The first thing you need to do before you start a property management business is to ensure that you are properly qualified for running such a business. Every state has different laws and regulations and you would need to get certified as a real estate agent from the authority concerned. This will require some amount of study and basic qualifications. This information is best obtained from the local authorities.
While you are in the process of obtaining this qualification, it would not be a bad idea if you could join one of the bigger property management firms in your area and get some real hands on experience of property management. While you are getting this training, see that you are able to get an insight into all the various aspects, so that you develop your skills.
Once you are nearer to completing the required qualification exams, decide on the area where you want to work. Do your own snooping around to see the properties that could be your potential customers. Decide on a name for your firm and the sort of advertising that you want to do. If you can put up your own website, it is a definite asset. This could help you to give information to potential clients without having to meet them in person.
Look around on the internet or inquire with local brokers to see if any existing businesses are up for sale and the prices that they are asking for. An existing business could help you to start work immediately as there would already be some properties for you to manage. Make a thorough study of the properties that are being managed and ensure that you are not burdened with troublesome clients or tenants that have gone into litigation.
If you do buy an existing business, put a staff in place to manage the existing properties, while you scout around for other properties that you can bring into your business. If you feel the market is wide enough, decide to get into a particular niche, whether in rental apartments or houses. Make a thorough study of the money being spent on maintenance and repairs and the agencies carrying out this work. Attention to detail can lead to savings and thus increase your profit.
If you own some rental property and decide that you would be doing the property management on your own, you could end up saving yourself quite a bit of money. This savings can always be diverted into purchasing more property and further expanding the scope for your property management business. This should not prevent you from offering to look after the property for other owners also, so that the resources in your property management business are fully utilized.
