Deciding to trust someone else to manage your property is not an easy choice to make but when you've decided to take that leap you want to make sure you find the right company for the job.

One of the most important considerations to look for in a property management company is to make sure they know your local market. Renting apartments to Dartmouth students in Hanover takes a different perspective than finding tenants for a three-bedroom house in Nashua or a condo in downtown Manchester for a Boston commuter.

Make sure you check out the services that the management company offers as well. Full service companies can set you up so all you have to do is bank your investment income every month or provide an a la carte option where you can take on the jobs you want to do and let them handle the rest. Smaller companies may just provide a few services like property maintenance or tenant placement. The key is to figure out how much you want to do and find a company that meets your needs.

Also, look for a company that has experience managing the type of property you own. Property management companies will often specialize in a certain type of property like single-family homes, multi-family homes or commercial buildings so be sure to look over their current portfolio. If your property is an apartment building in Derry then you might want to give the company that mainly manages waterfront homes in Portsmouth a pass.

A quick list of other factors to consider are:

Knowledge of federal, state and especially local rental regulations

Experience screening prospective tenants

Familiar with the best local places to advertise vacancies

Ability to handle emergencies quickly and effectively

We have a lot of experience with property management companies all around the country. We know it's hard to find just the right company that will meet your needs and the needs of the tenants you are looking for, so we'd like to recommend a few in New Hampshire that we've worked with and think are top notch:

Single Family Home

Real

Cardinal Point

Total Solutions

Arthur Thomas

Multi-Family

Total Solutions

Real

Cardinal Point

Elm Grove Companies

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