A.D. Cantelmo Property Management
Our Business is Property Management in
Orange County Califorina
Follow
your gut
Today we are bombarded by
information about everything and as Property Manager, we have an obligation to
get as much information about potential Tenants as we can, so we can make an
informed decision when finding the right Tenant for a home. We read the credit
report and check for employment and also check on the rental history. Doing the
due diligence is vital, but the complete picture is made when you meet with the
applicant.
Meeting is Vital
Any Property Manger that has been in
the business for a period of time understands how important it is to get that
personal contact with people who are applying for a property. A mistake is made
when the contact is only made by underlings or new associates. People who are
new to the business and are only working for a paycheck do not have the
experience and do not understand the subtleties of potential problems. When a
Tenant signs a lease, the Property Manager has to not only deal with that
Tenant for a day, or week, but for the duration of the lease and the initial
personal contact you have with the applicant and the right questions you ask
will give you a perspective that all the reports that you read will not.
What are those questions?
The questions you ask go beyond the
application. The questions in the application give you, who the person is, but
not how they may behave and that is what you look for when having that personal
meeting. It is like interviewing someone for a job and the first question is
about vacation time. Before you sign that lease you need to know who you are
going to be dealing with over a long period of time.
My first question is:
What do you like about the house or
condo?
Why that is questioned important? It
tells me whether they are renting because they like the home, or if there is
another reason. If they go on about the good aspects about the house and how it
fits their lifestyle, I know that they like the house, but if they talk about
the location, or some other reason, then that gives me a heads up that the home
may not be the perfect fit. Now just because the home is not their #1 reason
for renting, is not a problem in itself. I have rented too many people, who do
not love the house, but it does give me a perspective on how they are going to
view the home and it may create some issues when it comes to complaints and repairs.
I have found that people who love the home itself are less likely to complain
about the little things, but people who are not crazy about the home, sometimes
feel that since they are living in something they are not happy with, they want
it to be perfect in order to make up for the dissatisfaction.
My next question:
What kind of commute do you have?
This question is important to me,
because it goes directly to longevity. I like long term Tenants and if someone
has a long commute, they may get frustrated and find the commute is making them
unhappy, but again, a long commute may not be a problem. If someone wants to be
in the home for the school district and their child has three years left in
that school, I know they have the potential to be long term Tenants. I just
rented to a teacher, who has a 40 mile commute, but he wants to be next to his
family and that leads to my next question:
Do you have any friends or family in
the area?
People are much more comfortable
when they have people they like around them and if they have friends or family nearby,
they will be much more likely to stay long term and happy Tenants are usually good
Tenants.
My Next question is:
Have you ever dealt with a Property
Manager before?
This is important, because many
people have dealt with Landlords who own the property and that can be a much
different relationship then they may have with a Property Manager. A Property
Manager has very little emotion when it comes to the property and a Landlord
does. A Property Manager has set rules they follow and a Landlord can makes it
up as they go. The relationship can be better or not depending on the Management Company and the Landlord, but I just want to know what their feeling
are and that way I can address any questions or concerns they have.
These questions I ask are in the
context of a conversation and none of them are disqualifiers in themselves, but
they give me a perspective of who I am dealing with and what their plans are. I
am looking for insight, not reasons to reject the applicants. What these
questions do when put together with the other information I have is put more
pieces to the puzzle together and it helps me make a more informed decision.
A.D. Cantelmo Property
Management Specializes in Property Management in Orange County
Ca.