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

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

So how do you start with all of this? Here are some things to help you get started and include on a handover checklist. This will help you add new clients and properties to your brokerage portfolio. You can add area factors and things that you know are important to your property type to this list:

1. Interview the previous property manager about the property and the 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 continue to manage 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 handover process, the precision you expect might not be there.
3. You will need copies of the lease agreements to verify the lease schedule. When you have many tenants in a property, you will have to verify many leases, in addition to other occupancy documentation. It requires personal participation. All leases must be read and checked. Potentially, each lease may be different and special. You will need to understand the differences and include them in your property management control system
4. Get copies of up-to-date rental bills. Rental invoices should be verified to see if the rentals are correct and should be compared to the property’s leases. Also be wary of rent changes and critical dates in those leases that will have an impact on the rent.
5. Check the delinquency and aging debtor reports for the status of rental shares and repossessions.
6. Get an up-to-date tenant contact list so you know who to speak to in the tenant mix and how to reach them.
7. Get an expense status report and an up-to-date expense report. That will give you an idea of ​​how expensive the property is 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 reviewing the information and making sure you understand the factors and pressures. You can then inspect the property with some confidence.