What Does a Property Management Company Do?

Announcer: Welcome back to the FlipNerd.com REI Classroom, where experts from across the real estate investing industry teach you quick lessons to take your business to the next level. And now, let’s meet today’s expert host.

Steve: Hey, everyone, this is Steve Rosenberg. I’m the co-founder of Empire Industries Property Management Company, located in Houston, Texas, and today, I am the host of your REI Classroom. Today, we’re going to talk about, what exactly does a property management company do?

Announcer: This REI Classroom real estate lesson is sponsored by theinvestormachine.com, FlipNerd’s private investor coaching program and your blueprint to investing success.

Steve: As an investor myself, getting into the business, I never really knew or understood the value of a property management company until I actually needed one, and I realized that their worth comes in tenfold once you actually need one.
So some of the things that we do as a property management company is, first and foremost, we run your property like a business. And this should be true for any management company, but if they are a company that adds value, they’re going to be running your property like a business, and more importantly, they’re going to run your business like a business, because the reality is many landlords out there do not realize that their property is a business. It has income, it has expenses, it has profit, it has loss, and it has a lot of legal obligations with a tenant living in that property. So, unfortunately, a lot of owners use it as a hobby, and that’s why the landlord is the highest sued in real estate.
So people ask us, “Well, what is it you actually do aside from running it like a business?” And I tell people, “Most importantly, we keep you out of lawsuits and litigation. So, if we do those two things correctly, we’re doing our job and we are going to make your business run profitably and smoothly.”
And some of the things that we do is, we collect the rent, we take all maintenance calls, we take care of placing the tenant, we take care of creating the lease and enforcing the lease, we take care of dealing with emergencies. Most importantly, when it comes to an emergency, we deal with understanding is this something that is a tenant responsibility or an owner responsibility, because one of the biggest questions owners have when they talk to us is, “Who’s responsible for that?”
Well, it’s not arbitrary. There’s actually a law, and in Texas it’s called the Texas Property Code, which states who is actually responsible for something, and are you, the owner, making something unsafe or uninhabitable, because what happens is, a lot of owners say, “Well, I’m not paying for that. They should pay for it,” but what they don’t realize is, they’re actually breaking the law because they’re making the house unsafe or uninhabitable for the tenant living in that property. Because whether you know it or not, like it or not, the tenant that’s living in that property has a lot of rights, and they’ve probably got more rights than both of us combined. And that is something that you need to know when you’re dealing with a tenant, and you need to make sure you understand.
The other things we do when it comes to taking care of your property is, let’s say there’s a turnover. We take care of making sure the property’s vacated, we make sure there’s a security deposit disposition taken care of. We itemize and have the correct amount that is given back to the tenant for the security deposit, because security deposit dispositions are the highest sued thing in real estate. So owners will go in and say, “Yeah, I’m just going to charge you $1,500 because I get paid $50 an hour, and it was that much of my time.” That doesn’t work. You actually have to have statistical data, and what we do is, we make sure that the tenant is responsible and that they know what the accountability is for them.
So these are some things that a property manager company does, and I would say, most importantly is a property management company is leveraged. You are leveraging a company so that you can have the freedom to do what you want to do. So we provide a product. Our product is the solution to your problem, and most investors have a problem, which is why they call a property management company. They have some sort of problem or challenge, and our solution is the product that they get. So you’re leveraging a property management company so that you can go live your life, buy more investment properties, have your career, do whatever you want to do, but you are doing what you do, and we do what we do.
If you’d like to know more information, you can obviously look us up online. We love doing these FlipNerd commentaries. Please give us a call, or you can look us up at empireindustriesllc.com. Thank you very much.

Announcer: Are you looking to change your life through real estate investing? If you’re interested in either getting started or taking your business to the next level, please check out FlipNerd’s private program at theinvestormachine.com. This is the most robust real estate investor coaching, networking, and Mastermind on the planet, and designed for your success.
If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves, ready to take personal responsibility for your own success, and ready to dive into a world-class instructional coaching program that provides you step-by-step instruction to help you achieve financial freedom, then you should apply today. Spaces are limited and candidates are only considered after an application and interview process. Our 12-month investor program is unparalleled. Think you might be a fit? Learn more today at theinvestormachine.com.
Please note, the views and opinions expressed by the individuals in this program do not necessarily reflect those of FlipNerd.com or any of its partners, advertisers or affiliates. Please consult professionals before making any investment or tax decisions, as real estate investing can by risky.
Are you a member yet of flipnerd.com, the hottest real estate investing social community online? If not, you can join for free in less than 30 seconds and get access to hundreds of off-market deals, vendors in your market to help you in your business, and you could start networking with thousands of other investors just like you. Get your free account now at flipnerd.com.
Please check out the FlipNerd family of real estate investing shows where you can access hundreds of expert interviews, quick tips, and lessons from leaders across the real estate investing industry. They’re available at flipnerd.com/shows, or simply search for “FlipNerd” in the iTunes store.