Whether you simply don’t have the time, patience or skills to manage your own property, leaving your investment property nest egg in the hands of a complete stranger is rarely a decision made lightly. 

1. Get talking. 

Everyone knows someone that knows someone. Utilise your work, family and social circle to source recommendations and knowledge. This may lead you to specific property managers or help you build up a good picture of what to look for (and what to steer clear of!)

2. Get social.

While perusing potential property managers recent holiday snaps on Facebook may provide clues as to what type of person they are. Utilising professional networks such as LinkedIn will arm you with some background information on their industry experience and commitment to their current employer. Do you really want a property manager that jumps from company to company every year? Or one that has only been working in your area for a short amount of time? Perhaps not. 

3. Get narrow.

Once you’ve narrowed it down to a shortlist of potential candidates let the interviews begin! While first impressions count (right down to the experience you have when making the appointment in the first place), some key questions will help separate the professional ‘wheat’ from the doing-it-for-the-paycheque ‘chaff’.

But what to ask?

Your questions of any potential property manager should encompass frequency of inspections, reviewing of rent, through to staff to property ratios and more. Ideally you’ll have all the important questions answered at a face-to-face catch up, rather than receiving the ideal composed answer by email after your meeting. That’s a great way to gauge the kind of person they are, as well as how their operation runs.

It may feel a little like speed dating, but meeting a number of different property managers and writing a short summary of pros and cons immediately after your meeting will undoubtedly produce stand-out candidates. Ultimately trust your instincts when searching for the ideal property manager and know that this isn’t necessarily a lifelong (or ‘life as a landlord’ long) commitment if you don’t want it to be.