A good property manager is like a nanny for your real estate. They watch over your house or building when you can’t or don’t want to, and they can do everything from dealing with tenant needs and requests to taking care of repairs to managing all daily operations at your property.

But in order to make sure everything is handled properly when you’re not there to do it yourself, you will need a solid property management agreement, ideally drawn up or reviewed by a real estate attorney.

What should your Property Agreement include?

When you hand over the responsibilities of managing your property to someone else, you want to make sure you or your real estate attorney has come up with a plan for all of the duties and tasks you expect your property manager to be accountable for. Your agreement should clearly state all of the expectations you have, including responsibility for services such as managing tenant maintenance requests, hiring inspectors, and collecting rent. You might even want to include in your agreement with your property manager that they handle any evictions necessary at your property.

You will also want to include a clear list of fees associated with the management of your property. Will you pay a flat fee for management services or will the fee come from a percentage of the rent collected at your building? How will you handle expenses for repair work done on your property? A solid agreement can outline all fees expected and how and when they should be paid.

How can a real estate lawyer help you?

A real estate lawyer can also help you understand what legal liability your property management company should assume in the event of injuries or crimes or something like a rodent infestation at the property. Your agreement should also ensure that the property manager carries an adequate amount of liability insurance.
Your property management agreement is also the place to spell out how involved or not involved you want to be with the management of your property. Do you like to find the tenants for your property but prefer someone else to collect their rent and be on call for their repairs? Or would you rather just sit back and collect a check and never set foot on your property? You’ll want all of these particulars spelled out in your contract.

A real estate lawyer can also advise you on the term of the contract. Do you need to revise and update your contract annually or can you create one property management agreement that will last for a few years? Do you have the ability to fire your property management company before the contract has ended?
Whatever responsibilities you empower your property management company to handle for you, you need to protect your investment with a solid property management agreement; a real estate attorney can help you put it together. The law offices of Nino Capobianco are experienced in drawing up property management agreements as well as performing other services to meet your business needs, such as trademarks, incorporation, and business litigation. Get in touch with us to see how we can help you with a wide range of real estate or business transactions.