What should be included in a property management contract?

A property management contract should include the following: the responsibilities of both parties, the management fee structure, the contract duration, liability clauses, the cancellation policy, and equal opportunity housing support.

Understanding Your Property Management Contract | FPM - Florida Property Management -推荐全球十大网赌正规平台

When you hire the services of a property management company, 你与他们签订有约束力的协议，以物业管理合约为证据. 作为他们的客户，你必须理解这份合同，知道它应该包括什么.

What Is a Property Management Contract?

当你和物业经理签订合同时，千万不能掉以轻心. The contract is much more than a formality.

It will act as a determiner of the services you will and will not receive. 这份合同将让你全面了解你的权利以及你与物业经理的关系.

Not reading the contract is similar to hiring a random property manager. The contract is meant to eradicate confusion and conflicts. 这样，从长远来看，你们就能建立牢固的关系.

Even when your property manager creates a promising first impression, you must pay close attention to the contract. You should review all the terms and conditions carefully.

Reading contracts is a tedious task, though. You must go through many pages and hundreds of lines. Luckily, property managers prepare organized contracts. Learn to understand the six parts of a property management contract below.

1. Responsibilities of Both Parties

This section focuses on the services you will receive from the property manager. In most cases, the property manager takes care of the following:

Marketing and screening tenants
Retaining high-quality tenants
Fixing and collecting rent from tenants
Inspecting and maintaining the rental property
Handling deposits, owner funds, and tenant requirements

在任何时候，物业管理公司都应该尽最大的努力来维护你的家. When you want them to perform extra duties, you should mention them in the property management agreement.

Many contracts are designed with services that exceed normal duties. 没有这些条款，你就不能指望物业经理执行超出正常的职责.

Just like the property manager, owners have duties and responsibilities. Common responsibilities of the owner are:

Transfer security deposits to the property manager
Set up and maintain a reserve fund
Make sure contracts are not signed with several property managers
永远不要限制物业管理人员如何以及何时进入物业
在未通知租户或获得物业经理批准的情况下，切勿擅自进入物业
Inform the property manager before making big decisions
未经物业经理同意，切勿将物业出租给他人
Manage home insurance and its premiums
Never jeopardize the property manager’s ability to perform his/her tasks

2. Fee Structure

A property management contract should include the company’s fee structure. 这部分应该包括公司的管理费以及他们打算收取的任何其他费用.

Some companies charge a lower initial fee, 引诱业主与他们签约，却发现有大量的隐性费用. 这就是为什么在签订管理合同之前检查它是很重要的.

合同应详细说明价格中包括哪些服务. 这样的话，它还应该说明公司会向你收取多少额外服务费用. 了解一家公司的全部费用结构将帮助你预测成本，并从任何意想不到的费用中节省你.

3. Contract Duration

Most agreements naturally terminate in 1 to 2 years. The actual duration depends on the landlord and the property manager. 在许多情况下，房东会与优质物业管理公司续约.

而一些物业管理公司允许房东决定租期, others will not settle for less than a year. 这使得业主很难摆脱合同，如果他们觉得公司在最初几个月内没有做好工作.

为了保护你自己，你必须确保合同中有终止条款. When considering property management companies, take their cancellation policies into account.

4. Liability

一般来说，如果没有关于样板项目和责任的章节，合同是不完整的. 当管理公司可能被追究责任时，你必须保持警惕.

大多数物业管理公司提供全面的负债和样板项目.

物业管理合同由一些无害条款组成，这些条款一般保护经理，除非他们有过失行为. This also applies to the actions of third parties.

So, for instance, if a property manager hires a plumber who causes damage to the property, the manager should not be held liable.

However, you must ensure your agreement includes a “reasonable care” clause. This clause will protect you as a property owner. In the case of the plumber, 如果物业经理采取了合理的注意，他们对损失不承担责任, i.e. 他们做了调查，并在没有一大堆投诉的情况下雇佣了一个水管工.

5. Contract Termination

Contract termination can happen at any time for various reasons. 物业经理和业主都可以决定终止合同.

如果没有一个恰当的退出计划，整个协议就会变得困难和复杂. As such, 重要的是，你要确保你的合同附带了一份取消或终止政策.

在签订物业管理合同前，请查阅以下资料:

Notice to Terminate. Make sure the notice period to end your contract is reasonable, typically 30 to 90 days. For your sake, 同样重要的是，确保物业管理公司在终止与你的合同之前至少提前30天通知你.
Fees. Most property management companies charge a fee for early contract termination. 金额从几百美元到合同剩余期限的费用不等.
Cause. For your protection, 确保你签订的合同不需要说明终止协议的理由. 同样重要的是，你必须添加一项条款，允许你取消合同而不承担任何后果，如果公司在固定期限内未能为你找到承租人.
Responsibilities. Finally, 重要的是，合同的取消政策包括一份双方必须在规定时间内完成的义务清单. For example, 公司必须在收到业主的终止管理通知后，通知租客变更管理.

6. Equal Opportunity Housing

物业管理公司必须遵守联邦、州和地方的法律. This protects both the company and yourself as a landlord. Thus, 你的物业管理合同应该明确说明公司支持平等机会住房. 公司应以书面形式遵守所有相关法律，包括 Fair Housing Act.

Review Your Contract Prior to Signing

物业管理合约列出各方的职责和责任，并保护你免于承担责任. 它还包括管理费和其他费用，以及双方如何处理提前终止. As such, 在你签署合同之前，花点时间坐下来理解合同是很重要的.

寻找一个好的物业管理公司往往是困难重重. Make the process easier using Florida Property Management’s online directory. 您也可以使用我们的通讯录寻找房地产中介和HOA管理公司.

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