Speaking Property Owner to Property Owner
Often, when speaking with prospective clients I ask if they have worked with a property manager before. This conversation took place just recently and the property owner replied, “Oh, Scott, you understand the rental management from the side of the property manager but also the side as a rental owner because you yourself are an investor. Is that what you’re saying?”
That’s precisely what Columbia Property Management offers.
We provide to our property owner clients not only talented property managers (PMs), but also I can make sure CPM cares for their rental property and financial needs with the perspective of an investor/owner mindset.
6 Key Metrics: What this means for you.
1. Rental Valuation: We think creatively about how to value your property for the rental market and we give you multiple strategies to choose from that can help find qualified residents who can best suit your revenue goals.
2. Rental Regulations: As a long-term rental property owner in DC myself, I face the same challenges you do in understanding the rental laws here. CPM can meaningfully and more precisely advise you on your needs because I have had to understand these for my own rental business.
3. DC Landlord Tenant Court: When troubles do happen, as they can from time to time, I have solid experience with navigating the administrative process, steps a landlord and landlord’s attorney should take and we have proven legal resources to protect you if and when the need arises.
4. Voucher Program/Section 8 Rentals: I have had voucher holders as my own tenants and CPM can help you navigate the murky waters to make the process less taxing on you. We do charge an extra fee to our owners to submit the initial lease packet because the time and effort working with the DC Housing Authority on these is excessive. See other recommendations regarding these renters in a prior blog I wrote on this topic [Pros and Cons of renting to Voucher Holders]
5. Expenses: We understand that expenses for property upkeep and maintenance can spiral out of control when management companies are careless and dispatch every minor report to maintenance. I understand this concern intimately. We train our staff to ask questions and to troubleshoot with the tenants in properties we manage to help avoid unnecessary maintenance and repair costs for our owners. We use authorization levels and a repair costs ceiling above which CPM is not permitted to proceed until we get a rental owner’s approval.
6. Vendors: Columbia Property Management has a suite of established relationships with vendors from handymen, cleaners, locksmiths etc. to HVAC professionals, plumbers and other trades. This assures we get priority treatment and better pricing. We don’t charge our owners more for maintenance coordination like many PM companies do because as a rental owner myself, I believe that is part of the core responsibility of my property manager. Our sister firm Koti Property Services helps with prompt processing of many handyman types of maintenance needs for your tenants, providing quality and economical services.
6 Key Metrics, but #1? Peace of Mind.
In closing, I don’t want you to underestimate the value you get when your property manager also owns rental properties and has for some time. The perspective this brings to a business owner or manager is very different than others who might be good account managers but don’t have personal experience with the circumstances rental owners face.
At Columbia Property Management, our staff is trained with an eye towards this and any complex matter will fall under my scrutiny, all to serve you better.
Find out more about what Columbia Property Management does for our rental owners: https://www.columbiapm.com/im-an-owner.
Scott Bloom, Owner and Senior Property Manager
Columbia Property Management
Scott Bloom founded Columbia Property Management (CPM) in 2012. CPM’s goal is to provide a powerful, personal level of service to our clients. We focus on smaller landlords, professionally managing their assets, so they can succeed by investing in rental real estate. Scott is an active member in multiple professional organizations including the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM).
