Every property management company will tell you they're responsive, experienced, and trustworthy. That's not useful information — it's marketing copy. The questions below are designed to get past that and reveal how a company actually operates day to day, because that's what determines whether your investment is protected or exposed.
Who holds the security deposit?
Why it matters: Florida's deposit rules (Section 83.49) carry strict deadlines and real financial penalties for missing them. If a management company holds deposits across dozens of properties, a single administrative slip can create liability that lands on you, the owner, not the company. Some owners prefer to keep deposits in their own direct control for exactly this reason.
What does the fee actually include?
Why it matters: A management percentage sounds simple, but tenant placement fees, renewal fees, maintenance markups, and inspection fees can add up well beyond the headline number. A company that won't hand over a complete written schedule when asked is telling you something.
Who reviews the lease?
Why it matters: A lease that hasn't been reviewed by counsel is a lease with unknown holes in it — and you won't find out where until you need to enforce it. Ask specifically whether legal review is standard practice or something that only happens after a problem occurs.
How are tenants actually screened?
Why it matters: "We run a background check" isn't an answer. Credit history, income verification, rental history, and criminal background screening are the baseline. If a company can't describe their underwriting process specifically, they may not have a consistent one.
What happens to your existing broker relationship?
Why it matters: Some property managers use management contracts as a door to poach listing relationships. If you want to keep your current broker, get this in writing before signing anything.
How is reporting handled across multiple properties?
Why it matters: Portfolio owners need a clear, comparable view across every property to actually manage their investment — not a pile of unrelated PDFs to reconcile manually every month.
How Total Rental answers these
Our answers, plainly
Deposits: We don't collect or hold them — the lease and deposit stay directly between you and the tenant.
Fees: We provide a complete written fee schedule before you sign anything.
Legal review: Every lease is drafted and reviewed by a law firm, and the same firm supports renewals and evictions if needed.
Screening: Every applicant goes through underwriting covering credit, income, rental history, and background screening.
Existing brokers: We manage properties listed by other brokers and respect those relationships — our role is management, not competing for your listing broker's client.
Portfolio reporting: Monthly statements per property, plus a consolidated annual statement, so multi-property owners get one clear picture.
None of this is complicated once it's laid out plainly — which is exactly the point. If a property manager can't or won't answer these questions specifically, that's worth paying attention to before you sign, not after something goes wrong.