A property manager is the legal representative of the landlord or property owner and is responsible for the day to day running and operation of the real property. Property managers are hired for all types of properties where there are tenants residing or doing business on the property and the owner is either not physically at the locale or does not want to be responsible for daily operation. Property managers are hired for single unit rental homes, multi-unit and apartment blocks as well as commercial office and retail developments.
The property manager is responsible for maintaining grounds and building including handling repair issues both in the common areas of the development as well as in many cases in the tenants private area. The latter varies from case to case as some commercial leases place the onus firmly on the tenant to maintain and repair their own area.
In addition to the practical daily upkeep and handling emergency situations some landlords also have their property managers handle the business and financial end of their rental business. This includes finding prospective tenants, taking rental applications, and investigating tenants for the purposes of deciding their suitability as tenants. Under a complete financial service the property manager will hire and pay trades that are brought in to do work as well as keep financial records. In this type of arrangement the property manager, while seldom doing the work personally, is responsible for the running of the project and takes the place of the landlord or property owner in all aspects. This means that the owners are responsible only for providing sufficient capital to run the development.
Different jurisdictions require different qualifications be attained before one may call oneself a property manager. Many provinces require that property managers be licensed real estate agents will other jurisdictions have more stringent requirements. PEI at present does not have a real legal definition and therefore there is no certification requirement. However propert managers are still usually from the ranks of the real estate profession or the building trades.
If you choose to engage an active real estate agent, they are often in a position to find the property for you as well as to take on the management duties, thereby providing an end to end service. On PEI there is a flourishing trade in rental summer homes and as these are often owned by absentee landlords, the weekly duties during the season of renting, cleaning between tenants and maintenance such as lawn care are managed for the owners.
There are firms that specialize in this work as well, and they will ensure the property is visited and kept heated and clear of snow in the winter in order to keep your home owners insurance valid as well as handling rentals, weekly cleaning between guests, collection and payment of monies etc.
The property manager is the liason between the ownership of the property and those using it (tenants or guests). They bare a great deal of responsibility as such for the smooth and profitable running of the property. Usually managers are paid for their service as a percentage of the rents earned, so it is in their best interest to see that the property remains rented and profitable.
Tags: apartment blocks, commercial leases, legal representative, private area, property managers, prospective tenants, rental applications, rental business, retail developments, stringent requirements