NEVER SETTLE FOR LESS THAN THE BEST!
Here at Specialized, we believe no property owner should have to settle for substandard service. That’s why we gladly match any competitor’s price for equivalent services (see the complete Price Match Guarantee terms below). While it may seem every property manager makes similar promises, the protection of your investment depends on asking specific questions to determine how they plan on keeping those commitments. Make sure you protect yourself by always asking the questions below before you decide whom you will trust with your investment.
Needless to say, the Specialized answer to every question below is YES—because we believe you deserve nothing less!
7 CRITICAL QUESTIONS TO ASK
BEFORE HIRING A PROPERTY MANAGER
1. DO YOU OFFER A MONEY-BACK SATISFACTION GUARANTEE?
Don’t settle for less than a 100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee with a 60-day Money-Back commitment if you are not satisfied after all attempts to make it right. A truly professional firm will keep its clients through superior performance and strong relationships, not by tying your hands with red tape.
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS TO ASK TO ENSURE YOUR SATISFACTION
- Do you have a full team of experts in leasing, maintenance, accounting, compliance, and rental management?
- Will I have 24-hour access to all property activity, reports, and inspections?
- Is there a Hassle-Free Cancellation Guarantee if I need to end my services?
- Does your company have at least 35 years of experience in rental property management? (This complex industry demands expertise and time to encounter all the potential issues, don’t be anyone’s guinea pig).
2. DO YOU GUARANTEE THE TENANTS YOU PLACE?
Expect that any tenant placed by the manager will be guaranteed for ten months and that the manager will cover the cost of replacing any tenant who breaks their lease without complying with the terms of the lease.
Additional Questions to Ask to Ensure You are Protected in the Leasing Process
- Do you use the most advanced 3D video tours and 4k high definition photos to set apart and highlight the owners’ homes from others on the market?
- Do you provide prospective tenants a floor plan showing each room and the layout of the home?
- Do you provide owners with photos of all mechanical systems and appliances including serial numbers of the make, model and age?
- Will you provide a pre-leasing property assessment to ensure my property is ready to rent quickly at an appropriate market rent rate?
- Will I have a dedicated leasing expert ensuring my property is leased quickly who will provide me with weekly status updates?
- Will my property be advertised on 85+ rental listing sites?
- Do you pay a premium to outside Real Estate Agents to show your clients vacancy?
- Do you offer both in-person and electronic self showings for faster leasing?
- Do you conduct professional, applicant background checks on all adult tenants and guarantee the tenants you place for 10-months?
3. DO YOU GUARANTEE MY COSTS WILL NOT GO UP?
It is so frustrating to settle on an affordable fee, only to have it increased every lease renewal, or be blindsided by hidden fees. At Specialized, we believe our clients deserve better. That’s why we lock in the fee terms in your service agreement for a period of three years, so you can budget for the future without worrying about potential fee increases.
Additional Questions to Ask to Protect Your Pocketbook
- Will I be notified of any other fees not included in the monthly management fee before signing an agreement?
- Will my initial fee be honored for any additional properties I add, even if the firm’s new client fees go up?
- Do you offer discount pricing for professional home and yard maintenance services?
- Do you offer online, in-person, cash-pay rental options at over 20,000 retail locations to ensure on-time rent payments?
- Do you offer discounted property insurance services?
4. DO YOU GUARANTEE THAT I WILL BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH ALL LAWS, INDUSTRY REGULATIONS, AND FINANCIAL CODES?
Sadly, our industry is plagued by discount “managers” that violate trust accounting, fair housing, property code, and other landlord & tenant regulations or overlook the complex accounting compliance procedures required. Whether due to ignorance, neglect, or unethical business practices, it puts rental owners at serious financial and legal risk, as the penalty for a single violation can far outweigh the cost of professional management.
Additional Questions to Ask to Avoid Costly Mistakes
- Will my trust funds be audited monthly by an outside firm to ensure I am in compliance with the Real Estate Commission Laws?
- Are you a licensed real estate professional supervised by a broker?
- Do you have a history clear of violations with the state’s Real Estate regulatory agency? (Do an independent check to be sure.)
- Do you guarantee my records will be in order in case of an audit by the State Department of Real Estate and that my financials will comply with all CPA requirements?
- Will you provide a compliant lease or audit my current lease?
- Will you conduct the rental property registration and file with the County Assessor?
- Do you maintain and regularly back up all required legal documentation and records, including move-in/out and inspection reports, photos, and tenant notices?
- Do you provide monthly and year-end property accounting reporting, including 1099, Schedule E, etc?
- Do you provide property tax reduction analysis, tax filing, and assessment protests if needed?
- Do you conduct a thoroughly compliant lease deposit calculation, detailed itemization, and tenant disbursement at move-out?
5. DO YOU ENSURE MY PROPERTY IS PROTECTED?
A property manager must be skilled in vigilant, proactive care to safeguard the significant investment your rental home represents. You should expect strict policies and systems to protect your property’s value and ensure its long-term performance while always being mindful of your costs.
Additional Questions to Protect Your Property’s Value
- Do you provide in-depth move in, move out, and regularly scheduled property inspection reports (all with photos) to document the home’s condition?
- Do you provide 24/7 tenant emergency support and track response time?
- Do you have processes to ensure tenant satisfaction and retention to reduce turnover and encourage care of the property?
- Do you use a customized filter program to ensure ongoing tenant-provided maintenance such as monthly filter change programs and functioning detectors?
- Do you provide constant owner communication while coordinating, approving, and paying for maintenance?
- Do you ensure that I get the lowest bids for quality maintenance work?
- Do you guarantee your repairs?
- Do you pay service vendors directly for services I approve, so I don’t have to?
- Do you offer your owners full transparency by providing actual vendor invoices?
6. DOES YOUR TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM ENSURE MY ASSET’S PEAK PERFORMANCE?
In the current highly regulated, complex real estate investment market, technology is now the essential backbone of successful asset management—just as with any other investment portfolio. Ensure that your property is performing its best with up-to-date technological systems that provide real-time data to avoid unnecessary costs and support informed decisions.
Additional Questions to Ensure You are Protected
- Do you offer investment analysis technology with real-time business intelligence reporting?
- Does your company offer Artificial Intelligence information to your staff to anticipate problems before they occur, thus reducing the cost to owners and increasing the owners’ retention of tenants?
- Does your business intelligence software help me set a market-appropriate rent rate by not only the CMA but also market trends not found in the CMA to reduce vacancy days for faster leasing?
- Does your technology ensure that leases are renewed and inspections and routine maintenance are conducted proactively to protect my home?
7. WILL YOU PROTECT ME IF AN EVICTION IS NECESSARY?
When a property manager leases your home, you expect them to find the most qualified tenant that will pay the rent each month and not leave you in a bind. Yet even the most skilled manager faces the occasional eviction.
Additional Questions to Protect You In Case of an Eviction
- Do you cover the cost for any eviction of a tenant you place for the first 10 months of the management agreement?
- Do you offer low-cost, optional Eviction Protection Guarantee to cover eviction costs? (This program is just $14 a month per property here at Specialized.)
- Does your Eviction Protection Guarantee include the costs and effort of filing, court hearing, set out with constable, writ of possession, and any appeals?
You deserve nothing less than “YES” on all of the above.
If you get “NO” to any of the above questions, you—and your property—are not fully protected and the long-term return on your investment may be compromised. Beware of cut-rate providers that offer inadequate safeguards for your investment!
THE SPECIALIZED PRICE MATCH GUARANTEE
How It Works
- Simply present the competitor’s proposal to your Specialized representative before signing your management agreement.
- The Price Match Guarantee only applies to new contracts for a property we do not already manage, as price matching cannot be applied retroactively.
- Your Specialized representative will review the competitor’s offer and services, and your new management agreement will be modified to cover only identical services.
- Your services under the Price Match Guarantee may not cover the level of management services that we recommend, and your representative will explain the differences so you can make an informed choice.
- Agree upon the terms and sign the management agreement—knowing you’re in the hands of the company that sets the standard of performance for the rental industry!
Remember that all the features and guarantees above, which are included in the Specialized monthly management services, may not be included in a Price Match agreement unless they are expressly included in the competitive offer. As a result, your monthly services may be reduced below our recommended level in order for us to offer equivalent pricing for identical services. Whatever your situation, we are committed to working with you to get the risk-free, transparent, expert care you deserve and that will put your mind at ease.
You owe it to yourself to talk to your Specialized Representative about our Price Match Guarantee. Put the stress behind you today—one call is all it takes.
TRUSTED BY ATLANTA PROPERTY OWNERS
