Do you own a rental home in a vacation hot spot? Do you want to rent out your home as a vacation rental? If you do, you should hire a property management company. But be warned, not all property management companies are created equal. Below is a list of five services that the property management company you hire should have. I am going to use a vacation home in Spain as an example but you can apply these same concepts to anywhere in the world your vacation home is located.
1. Excellent Customer Service
Your guests will remember you by the service they receive during their stay at your villa rental, apartment or vacation rental. The property rental service you choose should offer excellent customer service and be able to provide testimonials from satisfied property owners. Your guests should arrive to a clean villa, home or apartment.
You want to find a property management company that gives tenants a welcome packet that includes a map of your rental property and the surrounding area. Make sure that they handle collecting rent in a professional manner and that they handle maintenance requests quickly. The property management company should also handle your renters questions regarding turning on the utilities and phone in a friendly manner.
2. Cleaning Management
The property leasing company you hire should handle all the cleaning. If you have a Spain vacation home that you are renting out and you live in the United States, you need to know that the leasing company is scheduling cleaners to clean your home between guests stay. You also need to make sure that they are inspecting the work of the cleaners on a case by case basis. They should also be scheduling gardeners to make sure the yard is well taken care of. You need to know that the property leasing company you hire handles these things.
3. Key Holding, Inventory, and Detailed Necessities
If you live in the U.S. and your vacation home is in Spain, you want to make sure that the rental company you hire will take care of all the legal requirements in the area in which your vacation home or apartment is located. For example, they should take care of paying the property tax on time, paying the cleaning service and other vendors on time, providing you with monthly financial statements and accounting, take care of switching over the utilities, etc.
You need to make sure the company you hire will handle protecting the furniture and other items in your vacation home. They should do an inventory and keep a list and check to make sure that none of your belongings are being stolen each time a guest departs. You want a property rental service that provides these services so you do not have to worry about things being stolen out of your vacation rental.
4. Building Refurbishing and Major Repairs
Another feature to look for in a property rental service is whether or not they provide building refurbishing services and major repairs. The benefit of this is the provider will already have contacts to do the jobs needed. You won’t have to spend endless hours trying to find a dependable contractor or handyman.
5. Marketing Your Vacation Home or Apartment
Check to be sure the property rental service will promote your apartment for rent or Spain holiday rental. Promotions will increase your number of rentals and profits each year. A property rental service may handle your advertising in local, national and international venues. If they have a website, they may promote your holiday rentals at the site. If you own a vacation rental near golf courses, then make sure they will advertise your rental from the angle of “golf holidays.”
Keep these features in mind during your search for a property rental service. By choosing a service with great features, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your holiday rental or apartment for rent is in good hands!