Let The Pros Handle Your Park City Property Management
Some people are cut out for Park City property management and some aren't. I've always felt that to be successful in this business you need to be a jack-of-all-trades. You need to know property maintenance and care, legal aspects to managing a property, be a good judge of character, have a handle on basic accounting, be a good salesman, and be able to make tough decisions and sometimes have a thick skin. Not everybody is built this way and not everyone has the resources available to make a Park City property management operation work. Let me tell you a story about a former client who tried to go it on their own with disastrous results.
The Beginning
As I mentioned this person, we'll call him Bill, was a former client. Bill lives out of state and we provided property management services to his property in Park City. We had done so for several years and felt like the relationship was a great one. We had always had really great tenants in Bill's property and it was a great example of how a long term rental in Park City should function. Bill would occasionally come out to Park City to visit and would even pick up a few items from Home Depot to spruce the property up. A new faucet here, some new light fixtures there, in general an owner who was interested in maintaining their property. On one of these trips Bill informed me that he would be taking over management of his property. He felt he could handle it from his home and wanted to save a little money by not using our services. We had a good conversation but Bill ultimately felt this was the best course of action for him. He took over management of the tenant we had placed in there and I wished him the best.
The Middle
As always happens the tenant we had placed in Bill's property decided to move. Bill took out and ad and was able to find another tenant. Bill also decided to do some more upgrades to the property because he felt it would help him sell it in a few years. The tenant Bill found in Park City property management was a nice person. She had a pet and as near as I can tell reasonable references. I don't know how much Bill looked into her background but the tenant moved in and things went fairly well. However after less than a year the tenant moved out unexpectedly and left the place a mess. No serious damage but she did not fulfill the terms of her lease and there was some clean up that needed to be done. Bill decided to do some more serious renovation, again thinking this would help the property sell in a few years, and went looking for a new tenant. Each time the place became vacant Bill had to take a few days off work, fly in from out of town, get the place ready and meet with prospective tenants. Between you and me this probably cost more than our management services would but this was Bill's decision.
The End
Bill eventually found a tenant, a gentleman who was going to school at nights, said he had a healthy trust fund to pay rent, and could even do some work around the condo that Bill wanted to have done. Again I have no idea how much effort Bill went to in checking this man's background. It wasn't long after this man moved in that I started receiving complaints from the neighbors about him letting his dog out for potty time and not cleaning up after the dog or walking him on a leash. Maintenance was called for problems with the dishwasher, disposal and kitchen sink. They found a property that was absolutely trashed, all kinds of gunk down the sink including a fork, and the tenant claiming that maintenance hadn't installed the dishwasher properly. Then the rent payments quit coming in.
Bill had to make several trips to Park City to initiate an eviction with the courts, is out thousands of dollars in rent, money for travel, and time. Bill's property, just recently renovated, has been trashed. Now all Bill wants to do is get this guy out and sell because he is so tired of the headaches. I had to shake my head and ask myself "What was Bill thinking?"
The Moral
Some people are cut out for Park City property management and some aren't. If you think it might not be the best fit for you then you should consider hiring some property management in Park City. If you are thinking of handling it on your own because you don't want to "waste money" paying for a professional management company then realize you could be saving a little money but end up paying thousands more down the line.
If you would like more information or tips, or further information about Park City property management in general click the link below for a free consultation. You will receive valuable information specific to your property that will help you make an informed decision. You will also receive a free, no-obligation quote on our property management services. At CC Realty we specialize in making investment property ownership a trouble free experience. Please contact us today for your free consultation.
