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Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Property Manager

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Interview them before you hand them the keys

Most owners pick a property manager on the monthly fee. That is the easy part to compare. What costs you money is everything the fee does not show: how they treat your tenants, who does the repairs, what they keep, and how hard it is to leave.

Ask these 23 questions of every company you interview, Eclipse included. Each one says what a good answer sounds like. Start with the reviews: you can check them tonight, before you talk to anyone.

This sheet is general information, not legal advice. Eclipse is a property management company, not a law firm. For legal questions, talk to a Colorado real estate attorney.

Who are you interviewing?

Type each company's name, up to three. Then open each part below and mark every answer Good, Weak or Red flag.

Part 1Reviews3 questions

Start here. Reviews are where problems show up first, and you can check them before you ever pick up the phone.

1What is their Google rating, and how many reviews is it based on?

A good answer: 4.5 stars or higher, on at least 30 reviews. Fewer than 30 reviews is too few to trust: two or three reviews can swing the rating a long way. Under 4.0 stars is a red flag.

Company 1

Company 2

Company 3

Type each company's numbers and the mark below fills itself in. You can change it.

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

We are currently rated 4.8 stars on 192 Google reviews in Grand Junction and 4.7 stars on 181 Google reviews in Alamosa. The typical Grand Junction property manager is rated 2.9.

2Sort their Google reviews by Newest and read the five most recent. Are they mostly positive or mostly negative?

A good answer: Four or five of the five are positive. That tells you the company is doing well right now, not just years ago. Mostly negative recent reviews mean things are getting worse, whatever the overall rating says.

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Read ours the same way. Sort by Newest and judge us on the last five.

3What do their tenants say? Read the one-, two- and three-star reviews from the last two years.

A good answer: Few tenant complaints. A lot of unhappy tenant reviews is a red flag, especially about deposits, ignored repairs, rudeness or nobody calling back. Tenants who like their manager stay longer, pay on time and report repairs early, while they are still cheap to fix. Unhappy tenants mean more turnover, more vacancy and more disputes, and the owner pays for all of it.

Check their reviews step by step with Part 4 of our Rental Law Checklist

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

We treat tenants as customers, and we can thank a good tenant with a gift of up to $50 at move-in or renewal. When tenants love where they rent, and who they rent from, they take better care of your home.

Part 2The people5 questions

Ask these in the interview.

4Who is the licensed property manager who will make the decisions on my rental, and does that person own rental property?

A good answer: A named, licensed manager who owns rentals. A manager who has never owned a rental can only relate to the tenant's side. One who owns rentals knows what a vacancy, a repair bill or a late payment feels like from your side. The front desk does not need to own rentals; the person in charge of your rental should.

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Chuck Kelley manages our Grand Junction rentals and Kim Hickey manages our Alamosa rentals. Both own rental property.

5Does the owner of the company own rental property?

A good answer: Yes. Ask this separately from the question above. The owner of a company often owns rentals while the managers who actually run your property do not, and that is a different company to work with.

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Yes. Chuck Kelley owns Eclipse and owns rental property.

6Is the company licensed in Colorado, and who is the employing broker responsible for it?

A good answer: A licensed Colorado real estate brokerage with a named employing broker. Then look both up yourself on the Colorado Division of Real Estate's license lookup: the license should be active, and you want no disciplinary action from the Real Estate Commission.

Leasing and managing rentals for pay is licensed activity in Colorado. § 12-10-201(6)(a), C.R.S.

Look up any Colorado broker or brokerage (Division of Real Estate)

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Chuck Kelley is the employing broker. Eclipse has managed rentals in Grand Junction and Alamosa since 2017. Look us up too.

7Is the company a member of NARPM, the National Association of Residential Property Managers, and does anyone there hold a NARPM designation?

A good answer: Yes to both. NARPM is the national association for managers of single-family and small rentals. Members agree to its code of ethics, and a designation takes years of experience and coursework to earn. It is a sign of a manager who treats this as a profession.

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Eclipse is a NARPM member, and Chuck Kelley holds NARPM's Residential Management Professional (RMP) designation, earned in 2017.

8Who do I call when I have a question, and how fast will I get an answer?

A good answer: One named person, and a promised answer time you can hold them to.

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Every owner has a dedicated property manager. Most questions get an answer the same day, and we guarantee an answer within one to two business days.

Part 3Fees and the yearly cost3 questions

A low monthly fee will usually cost you more money. The opposite trap is one flat rate that claims to cover everything: either you pay for services you will never use, or the company keeps the rate low by doing less. Itemized pricing works like an airline's bag fee. The fare stays low because only the travelers who check a bag pay for one; an all-in price is a fare with everyone's bags built in, whether you bring one or not.

9Can I have every fee you charge, in writing, before I sign?

A good answer: One page that lists every fee: setup, leasing, renewal, the monthly minimum, repair markups and the cost to leave. "It depends" or fees that only show up in the contract are a red flag.

See Eclipse's full fee table

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Every Eclipse fee is on our pricing page, down to a section called No Hidden Fees.

10What will a year of management cost me, all in, at my rent?

A good answer: They work out a dollar figure for your rental, including the monthly minimum while it is vacant, a leasing fee and a renewal fee. If they will only quote a percentage, do the math yourself.

Compare the real cost with our Bad Property Manager calculator

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How Eclipse answers

Eclipse's 1 to 4 unit plan is 12% of rent collected with a $157 monthly minimum. Leasing is $497 and a renewal is $397.

11Which fees paid by my tenants do you keep, such as late fees and application fees?

A good answer: A plain answer, written in the management agreement. Keeping fees is common; keeping them without telling you is not allowed.

Taking undisclosed compensation is grounds for discipline of a Colorado broker. § 12-10-217(1)(t), C.R.S.
Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

The tenant fees Eclipse keeps are listed in our management agreement.

Part 4Repairs and maintenance5 questions

This is where most of the money goes, and where most of the complaints start.

12Do you do maintenance in-house, with your own employees or a maintenance company you own?

A good answer: No, they use independent vendors. When a manager also owns the maintenance company, the manager makes more money when repairs cost more. The issue is not just a markup: the person doing the work is paid to take longer, so a simple job slowly becomes a long one and your repair bills climb. If they do work in-house, ask how they keep that from happening to you.

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Eclipse does not do in-house maintenance. We tried it, with our own maintenance company, and closed it. We know that side of the business, and we will not do it again.

13Are your vendors licensed and insured, and do you check?

A good answer: Yes, and they check before a vendor ever goes into your rental. An uninsured worker hurt on your property can become your problem.

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Eclipse uses licensed, insured vendors.

14Do you add a markup to repair bills? How much?

A good answer: A stated percentage with a cap, written in the contract. "We get a discount from our vendors" with no number is not an answer.

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

7% of each vendor invoice, capped at $70 per work order. It covers the coordination and vendor oversight Colorado's repair deadlines now require.

15How much can you spend on a repair without asking me first?

A good answer: A set dollar limit in the contract, high enough that ordinary repairs get handled without a phone call, with true emergencies always handled first. This question separates owners who want to be landlords from owners who want to be investors. A low limit, a few hundred dollars, usually means a company that does not want to make decisions. Every repair becomes a call to you, so the problems stay on your plate instead of coming off it.

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

$2,000 per repair. Above that we call you first, except emergencies and habitability repairs like heat, hot water and water leaks.

16How do you meet Colorado's deadlines for fixing problems that make a rental unlivable?

A good answer: Every request logged and dated in maintenance tracking software that sends check-ins along the way and asks the tenant to review the finished work, and a team that follows up until the repair is done, so nothing waits on someone remembering to call. A problem that affects life, health or safety has to be started within 24 hours and is presumed late after 7 days. Most others have to be started within 72 hours. Miss them and the tenant can owe less rent, and the owner pays.

§ 38-12-503, C.R.S. (SB24-094)
Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Every request is logged and dated in our maintenance software. Our team dispatches the vendor and follows up on every request, the software emails check-ins along the way, and tenants review each finished work order, so we hear about a repair that was not done right.

Part 5Emergencies1 question
17Who answers the phone at 2 a.m. on a Saturday when a pipe bursts?

A good answer: Every call answered, day or night, by a line that sorts a true emergency from a routine request, gets a vendor moving on the real ones, and brings in a person when it needs one. An AI answering line is fine, as long as a true emergency always reaches a person. Voicemail until Monday is a red flag. Call their number after hours before you sign and see what happens.

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Our 24/7 emergency line is answered by an AI assistant built for maintenance calls. It picks up every call, any hour, works through the problem with the tenant and gets a vendor moving. True emergencies are escalated to a person on our on-call team. Call 719.581.RENT any night and see.

Part 6Deposits and your money2 questions
18Where do you keep my tenant's security deposit, and how fast does it go back when they move out?

A good answer: In a trust account kept only for security deposits. It goes back within the deadline in the lease, 30 days unless the lease sets a longer time of up to 60 days, with an itemized list of anything kept.

Separate trust account: Commission Rule 5.5, 4 CCR 725-1. Return deadline: § 38-12-103(1), C.R.S. (HB25-1249). Keeping a deposit the wrong way can cost three times the amount kept.
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How Eclipse answers

Deposits are held in a separate trust account and returned within the time our lease sets, with a written accounting to you and the tenant.

19When will I get my money each month, and when do I see my statement?

A good answer: A set day each month, by direct deposit, and a statement you can read without calling them. A year-end statement and your 1099 in January.

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Rent is deposited to your bank account around the last business day of the month. Statements post to your owner portal on the 1st or 2nd business day, and year-end statements and 1099s come in January.

Part 7Leases, screening and fair housing3 questions
20Whose lease do you use, who drafted it, and when was it last updated for Colorado law?

A good answer: Their own lease, drafted by the company's attorney and updated at least once a year. Colorado has no state-approved lease for property managers: a broker's lease has to be drafted by an attorney for that brokerage, or provided by the owner. A copy of another company's lease, or a form off the internet, does not comply. Colorado has changed rental law almost every year lately.

Commission Rule 7.1.B, 4 CCR 725-1, and Commission Position Statement CP-15.

Check any lease with our Colorado Rental Law Checklist

Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Our lease is drafted by our attorney for Eclipse, and we update it and our rental application at least once a year.

21What are your written screening criteria, and do you apply them the same way to every applicant?

A good answer: Written criteria applied the same way to everyone. The income test cannot be more than two times the rent. Application fees cannot be more than the actual cost, and an applicant who brings a recent portable screening report cannot be charged one. Every denial gets a written reason.

§§ 38-12-903 and 38-12-904, C.R.S.; adverse action notices under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

Eclipse screens every applicant for criminal background, credit history, eviction history and income.

22How do you handle a tenant's request for an assistance animal?

A good answer: As a disability accommodation, not a pet. No pet rent, pet deposit or pet fee may be charged for an approved assistance animal. A manager who says "no exceptions" is putting you at risk.

Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B), and Colorado's fair housing law.
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How Eclipse answers

Tenants can use our screening service or simply hand us a letter from their provider, which we review ourselves.

Part 8If it does not work out1 question
23How do I end the contract if I am unhappy, and what does it cost me?

A good answer: A short, clear notice period and a closeout fee stated in dollars. Your tenants' deposits, leases and records move to the new manager on a set schedule.

The old manager has 60 days to transfer security deposits to a new one. Commission Rule 5.8, 4 CCR 725-1.
Company 1
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How Eclipse answers

End your Eclipse agreement anytime with 90 days' written notice. The closeout fee is the remaining management fee on the lease in place, $500 minimum.

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We wrote these questions because they are the ones we would want answered before trusting anyone with our own rentals. Ask them of us too. If we cannot answer one plainly, we are not the right company for you.

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