12 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Property Manager

How many units do you manage? A firm managing 500 units with 2 PMs has very different bandwidth than one with 50 units and a 3-person team. Neither is automatically better — but you need to understand where your property fits in their priority stack.

How many property managers are on your staff? And what is the average number of units per PM? Anything over 80–100 units per PM is a warning sign that your calls will not be returned quickly.

What is your portfolio vacancy rate? A PM who cannot answer this question quickly does not track it. That is a problem.

Who are your preferred vendors and how are they vetted? A good PM has a bench of licensed, insured, responsive vendors. A bad PM calls whoever picks up. If they cannot name specific vendors and describe how they were qualified, be cautious.

Do you mark up repairs? Many PMs add a 10–20% markup to vendor invoices. This is not automatically wrong, but it should be disclosed and agreed to upfront. If they are evasive about this question, assume the answer is yes and it is not disclosed.

How are security deposits handled? They must be held in a separate trust account per California law. If they are not clear on this, stop the conversation.

When and how do owners get paid? Monthly ACH is standard. Some PMs hold funds longer than necessary. Know the cycle before you sign.

What are all the fees? Management fee, leasing fee, renewal fee, maintenance coordination fee, inspection fee. Get the full list. The management fee is usually the smallest part of what you actually pay.

How do you communicate with owners? Email only? Phone calls? A portal? Weekly updates or only when something goes wrong? You want a PM who pushes information to you proactively — not one you have to chase.

What does a monthly report include? Can I see a sample? This is the fastest filter. A PM who cannot produce a sample report either does not send them regularly or does not want you to see what they look like. Either is disqualifying.

What happens when something goes wrong? Not "we handle it" — what specifically happens? Who calls you? When? What is the escalation path for something urgent at 10pm on a Saturday?

Vague on vendor relationships. "We have a great network" with no specifics means they are calling Yelp when something breaks. That is not a network.

Cannot produce a sample monthly report. This one question eliminates more bad PMs than any other. If the report does not exist or they "need to put one together," walk.

Evasive about repair markups. Markups are fine when disclosed. Hidden markups are a conflict of interest that will cost you money every time something breaks. If they get uncomfortable with this question, you have your answer.