Prevent Lease Option Flops With the Right Property Manager

Today’s economy and housing market are causing more homeowners to consider renting their properties instead of selling.  As a result, it is becoming more and more important to find quality, efficient property management services. In today’s environment, homeowners are no longer just interested in a company that performs great upkeep, collection and vendor management, but rather are relying on their property manager to quickly find reputable and responsible tenants. This is not always an easy task, particularly with higher end homes.

I believe homeowners are more concerned with reputable and stable tenants because they are now often looking to rent their homes long term or with a lease to purchase option rather than short term or vacation rentals. This type of situation is much riskier for the homeowner both on a financial and an emotional level than just selling the home would be. 

Homeowners or prospective tenants should consider the following factors when selecting their property management company:

1.   Licensing. Because only larger property management companies are required to be licensed in Colorado, many choose not to get licenses. Licensing ensures that the property management company has agreed to follow the regulations of the Commission and a tenant or property owner can hold them accountable. Without proper licensing, consumers can easily be subject to fraud and identity theft with no recourse.

2.Tenant Review. The property management company should take the time to pre-qualify all tenants by running a confidential background check including credit and prior criminal and rental history. This saves time up front for both parties and mitigates the financial risk for homeowners.

3.   Real Estate Experience. Experience matters in this housing market. An effective property manager must be able to efficiently navigate through all the confusion in order to best serve both the homeowners and tenants well.

4.Community Know How. It’s important that the company has established positive relationships within the real estate community. Many for-sale properties are turning into rentals and a solid network of brokers means a bigger inventory of homes as well as real time insight into various neighborhoods and the market as a whole.

Our Denver Based property management company, Denver Rent a Home has focused on streamlining the tenant placement process and taking the hassle out of the hands of the homeowners. We have recently launched an online tenant pre-approval service, where prospective tenants can fill out simple forms to get pre-qualified for any of the available listings. We also run all applicants though a thorough confidential background check and spend a lot of time up-front getting to know our clients and their properties.

For homeowners and tenants alike, the bottom line is be careful when choosing your property management company.If a company you are considering isn’t licensed, or doesn’t convey solid processes and experience, be wary. This may seem elementary, but licensing requirements can be confusing, and people often take short cuts because they are unaware of the risks this type of transaction can pose without proper representation by a quality manager. It is also a great idea to ask to speak to references who have used the property management company’s services for a similar transaction.

It should be the goal of a great property manager to fully appreciate their client’s needs and the property they are managing. They appreciate the fact that their customers are trusting them to place the right tenants in their home, and take the responsibility very seriously.

DenverRentAHome.com can help those in the Denver, Colorado and surrounding areas with over 75 years of combined expertise in the residential rental and property management fields.  As Colorado natives, they will be able to help you find the ideal lease option situation in any price range.  Homeowners can now post their properties online for FREE for two weeks, followed by a low monthly fee. And prospective tenants can now get pre-qualified online! Visit www.DenverRentAHome.com for more information or call 303.681.6767.