Entrust the management of your property to a professional or do it yourself? This is no less important concern that is constantly faced by those who own real estate and would like to rent it out. Indeed, it is worth mentioning that rental management plays a crucial role in the success of your investment. Unpaid rents, spat with the tenant, degradation of the property to be repaired… So many situations that private landlords fear. Faced with this dilemma, you have the possibility to take care of the property management yourself or entrust your house to a real estate agency. Discover in this article some advantages and risks when you entrust the management of your property to a professional or when you have to do it yourself.
Rental management, an easy task
Managing the rental of a property involves a number of daily tasks. Whether it is the mandated professional or the lessor himself,it is your responsibility to ensure that rents and rental charges are collected regularly, that receipts to tenants with each rent payment are sent, that the accommodation in case of damage is repaired, that the formalities at the end of the contract are completed and that all clauses are respected.
The rental management mandate contract, an imperative between the lessor and the manager
Before entrusting the property management of his property to a professional, the lessor must sign with the latter a contract called “rental management mandate”. This act obliges the author of the property to pay the professional he has mandated for the management of his property. It is necessary to specify in the said document all the details relating to the rental management so as not to find oneself in ambiguous situations.The obligation of this mandated professional is to take care of all tasks related to rental management. However, its mission is to:
- represent the lessor at meetings concerning owners of real estate.
- Pay taxes and other charges related to the property while ensuring compliance with the deadlines set by law.
- take out insurance on the property
If it is true that the recruited professional will only be interested in matters related to the rental of the property, then who is responsible for finding tenants?
Who is looking for the tenant?
In principle, the management mandate only concerns the management of the rental. So, if you use the professional just for property management, he will only be limited to this task. Moreover, entrusting the management of your property to a professional is not synonymous with depriving yourself of looking for a tenant yourself.Thus, if the owner, finds a tenant through his own investigations, he will only have to call on the services of the property manager. After all, what’s the point of hiring a professional if there are no tenants.
Cependant, lorsque le propriétaire trouve cette tâche assez difficile, il peut se rapprocher d’une agence immobilière. A noter que recourir à une agence immobilière implique le paiement d’autres honoraires car le service est différent de celui de la gestion immobilière.
How to find a good property manager?
Choosing the manager of your property
At the outset, it should be noted that the professional who deals with property management must be registered as such and have a card that attests to his ability to practice the profession with the mention “Property Management”. So rest assured that you are collaborating with a real professional and not an impostor by asking for his card.
It is therefore advisable to choose a professional who is close to the property that you entrust to him the management. The fact that he can move quickly will be an asset in your favor.
As for the financial charges, the remuneration is set by each agency, according to the rent on the property and management work. However, other fees related to secondary services may be added. In any case, check that you are not paying for services that are not rendered to you.
In view of all the above, what type of property management should you opt for?
As you can imagine, the success of a real estate investment depends on the quality of the management that is made of it. This is the reason why you need to think carefully about the type of management adopted. The ideal would certainly be to be able to take care of the management of your property yourself in order to avoid being fooled by potential professionals in bad faith or to avoid paying for the service. But you don’t have to consider only the financial aspect to decide. Also think about the skills required to personally manage a property and the consequences that could result from poor management. Here are some things that will help you decide.
Personal management of the property
It is clear, many often prefer personal management to management by a real estate professional for several reasons. If you are one of them, here are some steps to follow before the rental starts.
Find the tenant
Find out enough about your competitors’ prices to set a competitive price for your rent. After the visits of potential tenants, move on to the choice of tenant. To this end, take precautions to ensure the solvency of your tenant. As a result, you can, for example, take out insurance against the risk of non-payment or request the collection of a security deposit covering at least one month’s rent. As soon as you choose the tenant, proceed to the signing of the rental agreement and the declaration of said tenant to the tax administration.
Manage on a daily basis
Remember, the day-to-day management of property rental involves dedicating a lot of time to accomplish all the related tasks in order to avoid any disputes.
Follow the legislation of the property
In order not to be faced with the law, it is important that you meet the legal obligations related to the rental of your property, and this within the deadlines.
Property management by a professional
As we have just pointed out above, the management of your property by a professional is motivated by saving time. It is the mandated manager who takes care of everything and you have as your only constraint his remuneration. In addition to this financial aspect, the professional you hire is required to ensure the proper management of your property. This choice of management has a lot of advantages, especially if you own several properties.
By entrusting the real estate management of your property to a professional, you reduce the risk of mismanagement, and have your time to go about your other business.
