How to Choose a Property Manager for Your Investment

A; Often Commercial Property Managers are not local with their business, meaning they are “managing” from a distance just as you might be “owning” from a distance. How is that effective management and oversight for you if your management company is not in same local area as your property? Hard to monitor and report back to an owner. A “boots on the ground” management approach is what is needed to properly oversight and to save money on management operations for the property over time with repairs, upfits, any tenant abuse, property overall conditions, and so on. At Grant-Murray Property Management we only manage properties in our local market, so our focus stays here.

A: Property Managers in North Carolina must be licensed real estate brokers if they manage property they do not own. The North Carolina Real Estate Commission audits the trust accounts and files of licensed brokers. If your Property Manager is not an active licensee, the manager is operating illegally and you are not receiving the benefit of North Carolina Real Estate Commission oversight. We possess the required real estate licenses from the business Owner level, down to the individual Property Managers.

A: Many real estate Brokers offer property management as a complement to their primary business, selling commercial properties. It is possible that such Brokers offer state-of-the-art service, but frankly we at Grant-Murray Property Management have found it impossible to be top-notch managers and top-notch sales Brokers at the same time. It takes every bit of our focus to keep abreast of the latest developments in real estate laws, electronic banking, Internet marketing, CAM reconciliations, and changes in the building codes. At Grant-Murray Property Management “commercial property management” is all we do.

A: Electronic signatures allow leases to be executed with tenants very quickly and with a minimum of effort. Use of electronic signatures supports the development of paperless office workflows. If your Property Manager is not using electronic signatures and paperless workflows, your client experience receiving documents and having contracts executed remotely is not as fast and efficient as modern technology allows. Grant-Murray Property Management is migrating completely to electronic signatures and paperless office processes.

A: Accepting electronic payment of rents attracts tenants with more technical business operations. It allows the Property Manager to process rents and get payment to owners quickly. Grant-Murray Property Management encourages all tenants to pay rent electronically.

A: Owner payment by direct deposit gets money in the owners’ accounts faster and with fewer errors than an older file & paper system. All Grant-Murray Property Management owner payments are made by direct deposit, unless a printed and mailed check is required by owner (we do have a few clients that still get checks, no problems).

A: Access to leases, management agreements, monthly and annual financial reports, paid invoice copies, inspection reports should be readily available for owner review without having to contact the Property Manager. Grant-Murray Property Management updates its online owner Portal continually to ensure our owner clients can view current data about their properties at anytime from anywhere in the world.

A: A manager with only a handful of properties may not have the experience or staff resources to run an efficient operation. On the other hand, very large Property Managers may not offer personalized attention for individual owners. Grant-Murray Property Management is small enough to offer personal attention and big enough to do the job right as we work as a Team allowing for constant communication flow with clients.

A: The ability to handle repairs swiftly, competently, and at a reasonable price is a crucial component of effective property management. When a tenant moves out and turn-key work is necessary to make the property ready for the next tenant, the owner can lose a lot of money if the work is not done right and completed quickly. Likewise, it is hard to calculate an owner’s financial loss if a high-quality tenant decides to move because of poor maintenance. Our inspections keep owners informed about repairs that are needed or that have been completed. When necessary, owners may fund repairs to their property by ACH funds to their account from anywhere in the world.

A: Property management is the highest liability area of real estate practice. Many things can go wrong. Adequately insured Property Managers carry error and omissions insurance, general liability insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, and commercial automobile insurance. Find out what coverage your Property Manager has for their business. Grant-Murray Property Management is covered by all these insurance policies. Note that insurance policies owned by real estate brokers who specialize in sales typically exclude property management activities. Riders that include management activities must be purchased at considerable additional premium.