The Owner’s Handbook: Understanding the Realities of Property Management

Property managers can, unfortunately, face a lot of unneeded backlash when their work isn’t fully understood. This stems from a property owner’s visions of passive income and happy tenants and a reality that isn’t always that picture-perfect. We understand the frustrations you face – leaking faucets, late rent checks, and the occasional maintenance emergency – and we’re here to assure you, you’re not alone. This blog is a space for open communication and practical solutions, where we address your common concerns and show how your property managers are working tirelessly to make your investment a success. 

Searching for an experienced partner to manage your rental property? Palmetto State Properties is known for their ability to manage, market and maintain rental properties in the greater Charleston, SC area. Contact us today. 

Common Challenges We Face and How We Combat Them

Property management is known as a challenging field for a reason. There are many issues that can pop up, and emotions can run high due to it being an owner’s home and/or livelihood while moving and all that goes along with it (e.g., getting children registered for schools, scheduling movers, starting a new job, etc.) can be very stressful for the tenants. Despite all of this, our property managers are trained to remain calm and give you the best service possible. We know this is a demanding field, but we strive to show professionalism and commitment to problem-solving anything that comes our way. By using effective communication, we can combat almost any issue. 

We face many challenges, and below are how we address them:

Responsive Maintenance

Some maintenance is routine, scheduled in advance, with ample time to notify tenants of any impending disruptions. It’s the emergency repairs that are most challenging because emergencies, by definition, can arise at any time of the day or night without warning. They have an annoying tendency to occur at the most inopportune time. Additionally, repairing items caused by a tenant’s misuse or negligence (i.e., dropping an item down the drain that results in disposal needing repair/replacement) is an area of high tension. We hold our tenants accountable for damage they cause intentionally or by accident. If damage is due to normal wear and tear usage, then the owner will pay the cost, but if it’s due to the tenants’ misuse, then they are held responsible for payment. This can cause friction on all sides. While we do our best to make sure everyone is treated fairly and with respect, it is our responsibility to ensure the appropriate party is billed for the repair.

With our extensive referral network, we can handle just about any issue that presents itself. From roofers to plumbers, electricians, general contractors, and handymen, we are able to quickly assess and address needed and approved repairs. Through continuous monitoring of all channels tenants use to communicate with us about maintenance problems, we ensure that nobody is left wondering how long they’ll have to wait for an issue to be corrected. Furthermore, we do NOT markup vendor repair costs. We believe in transparent pricing, and we charge you only what it costs us for repairs and maintenance.

Eviction Procedures

Having to begin an eviction process is very stressful for a property owner and can introduce some friction. Eviction is a drastic remedy that is the end result of a multi-step legal process and not as easy as some might believe. As a landlord’s representative, property managers initiate communications with a tenant facing possible eviction and receive notifications from the court on the landlord’s behalf. In many cases, we are able to work with a tenant to resolve a matter before it reaches the point where legal action is required. Remember that during this process, we are doing our best to serve you and ensure your property and bottom line are taken care of. 

Responding Same Day

When property owners have concerns, they want answers right away; after all, this is their livelihood that they entrust to our incredible property management. We can’t always answer immediately, but that doesn’t mean concerns are being ignored. We juggle so much for the property that things aren’t always instant, from managing tenant relations and handling maintenance requests to overseeing financial records and legal compliance, and each day brings a unique set of challenges. While we strive to respond right away, there may be instances where a more urgent issue demands our immediate focus, therefore, we make the promise to respond within 24 hours instead. 

How Many Properties We Manage (You’ll be pleasantly surprised)

Something unique about Palmetto State Properties is our ratio of properties to property managers. Unlike our competitors, who typically have one manager for every 120-150 properties, we have two property managers for every 130 properties. This allows us to be more proactive vs. reactive and offer quicker resolution times, leading to happier tenants. 

How We Can Help You

All property managers share two primary goals: maintaining the value of each rental property under their management and maximizing the owner’s rental income cost flow. In pursuit of these goals, property managers oversee many aspects of the daily management of rental properties. The scope of our responsibility and authority as property managers depends on the terms of the contract we sign with each property owner. We offer two options – Full Service and Tenant Placement – as some owners want to outsource more aspects of managing their rental properties than others. 

Specific property management duties can be broadly categorized as managing the physical property, managing tenant relationships, and managing the cash flow within the property owner’s financial strategy. Not all property managers—individuals or companies—necessarily offer the full range of property management services that we do. Check out our property management’s daily duties in this blog here. 

Work With Palmetto State Properties Today

Whether you own one rental property or many, by yourself or with one or more partners or investors, we have the property management professionals, support staff, and network of maintenance and repair experts to meet just about any property management need you might have. 

Reach out to us today to discuss how we can help you.