When a new property manager takes over the management of a client’s property, they must take full and professional control through a handover strategy and process. Every property will have its challenges and some are quite complex.

The transfer process will necessarily cover all the current problems of the property plus the occupancy history and financial performance. If the property is large and has many tenants, the process takes a long time. A checklist will help you stay on track and accurate.

So how do you get started with all of this? Here are a few things to help you get started and put them on a transfer checklist. This will help you attract new clients and properties to your brokerage portfolio. You can add to this list area factors and things you know are important for the type of property:

1. Interview with previous property manager about the property and tenants. If possible, make an audio recording of the process on your cell phone or MP3 recorder. The information from the interview will be invaluable as you move forward in managing the property in the future.
2. Get a copy of the lease schedule. While you shouldn’t consider it accurate (because you haven’t verified it yet), it will give you something to work with. Always remember that the lease schedule is only as good as the person who gave it to you. In a rollover process, you may not get the precision you expect.
3. You will need copies of the leases to compare with the lease schedule. When you have many tenants in a property, you will need to verify many leases, along with other occupancy documentation. It requires personal involvement. Each lease must be read and verified. Potentially each lease can be different and special. You will need to understand the differences and include them in your property management control system.
4. Get copies of current rent bills. Rent invoices should be checked to see if the rents are correct and compared to the leases for the property. Also be aware of rent changes and critical dates on those leases that will impact your rent.
5. Check the delinquency and seniority reports to find out the status of actions and rent recoveries.
6. Get an up-to-date tenant contact list so you know who to talk to in your tenant mix and how to reach them.
7. Get an outgoing status report and up-to-date expense report. That will give you an idea of ​​how expensive the property is to run compared to others of a similar type in the same area.

So now that you have all the basic information about the property, it’s a matter of going over the information and making sure you understand the factors and pressures. You can then inspect the property with some confidence.