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Paul Lorenzetti
(717) 304-9524
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RE/MAX of Lebanon County
1518 Cumberland Street
Lebanon, PA 17042
(717) 270-8808
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Steven Levengood
(717) 821-3837
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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
Berks, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and Surrounding Counties
Definition of Real Estate property management - An act performed for compensation of any kind in the leasing, renting, subleasing, or other transfer of possession of real estate owned by another without transfer of the title to the real estate, except as specified, constitutes the practice of property management.
A Real Estate property management company is tasked with the responsibility of managing the multiple aspects which come along with the ownership of real estate. One important role is that of acting as liaison between the landlord and tenant. Duties of property management companies include accepting rent, responding to and addressing maintenance issues, advertising vacancies for landlords, and doing credit and background checks on tenants. In exchange for the service they provide, property management companies charge landlords a percentage of the gross rent collected each month (typically 3-10%), in addition to lease commissions.
If disclosed in the management agreement, repair costs may be marked up by a percentage by some property managers. Some property management companies also manage home owner associations (HOAs) and condo associations. In addition to managing income and expense related activity, property managers may also manage construction, development, repair and maintenance on a property. The role of the property manager in repair and maintenance is large part of a property manager's function.
The property manager shields the landlord/owner from their tenants. Many, many long time investors will tell you that the tenant should never know who the landlord is, where they live etc. Other small hands-on owners want the tenant to know who they are. Find a happy median depending on your involvement in the property - whether you are handy and do the repairs - or knock on the door for rent. There are times when you're the painter and the tenant has no clue you are the owner.
One of the many responsibilities of the property manager is to participate in and/or initiate litigation with tenants, contractors and insurance agencies. Litigation alone is at times considered an entirely separate function, set aside for trained attorneys. Although a person or persons will be responsible for this in their job description, there may or may not be an attorney working under a property manager. Special attention is given to Landlord/Tenant law and most commonly evictions, non-payment, harassment, reduction of pre-arranged services, and public nuisance are legal subjects that gain the most amount of attention from property managers. Therefore, it is a necessity that a property manager be current with new laws and practices in their given localities, cities and states.