Published by Legacy Luxury Rentals | LegacyVillas.com | Download this Guide HERE
✨ Introduction: Why Professional Management Matters
All luxury vacation homeowners should have a management company—or someone—that can take the load off them. When we talk to new homeowners about the services we provide as a property management company, they often do not know what they are really looking for, nor are they aware of all the benefits a professional management company can offer to them.
This Guide discusses how to shop for that great property management company so that you can relax and enjoy your weekends, not worry about getting maintenance calls or whether rent has been collected, and just feel the confidence that your property is being taken care of.
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✅ 8 Key Benefits of Professional Property Management
1. Optimal Rental Income
A professional manager markets the home across the right channels, optimizes pricing based on demand, and handles all inquiries, bookings, and payment processing—resulting in higher, more consistent income with minimal owner involvement.
The key to maximizing your Return on Investment is thoroughly understanding and continually analyzing the market. Not only must you have a complete grasp of all the competitors, but also the historic, current and anticipated demand for your luxury rental. You’ll also need a handle on the micro and macro economic factors affecting your specific sub-market and property type. The real challenge is being sufficiently nimble and focused to quickly react when the market shifts, constantly adjusting your rates while assessing in real time how much interest and demand your specific property is receiving at any particular price…Too little demand, and the price might be too high. Too much demand, and the price might be set too low.
2. ️ Property Care & Oversight
From regular inspections and deep cleanings, to repairs and maintenance, your home is treated like a high-end estate—not just a rental—and is monitored and managed year-round regardless of where in the world you are or what you’re doing.
If disaster strikes—fire, flood, or otherwise—having a local team is invaluable. And having long-term relationships with trusted vendors ensures quality, reliability, and fair pricing.
3. Guest Screening & Lease Protection
Managers handle showings, process applications, verify credit, trustworthiness, and financial standing, and make lease decisions. They also set and enforce house rules, collect rent and handle security deposits, all why ensuring your property is protected from bad actors.
4. Concierge-Level Service
Imagine arriving to a fully stocked fridge, freshly made beds and a home that feels like a private resort. That’s the level of personal attention you get with white glove service. A full-service manager ensures you will enjoy your second home as a retreat—not a second job.
5. ️ Preventative Maintenance
This is essential to the health of a luxury home. HVAC systems in the desert need to have filters changed every quarter, and inspections before every summer, including blowing out coils, and cleaning drip pans and condensate lines. An overlooked A/C unit can result in uncomfortable tenants—and angry calls.
Water heaters must be regularly checked for leaks or incorrect temperature settings. Landscape in spring should be monitored to avoid HOA violations. Broken irrigation systems can waste colossal amounts of water.
In fall, check your roof and gutters. As summer nears, inspect your foundation and seal any access points for pests. These regular checks can prevent surprise maintenance emergencies.
6. Financial Management
Make sure rent is correctly collected—including things like pet rent (when appropriate). Know the difference between pet fees and service animals. Understand lease terms and enforce them fairly. Accurate accounting and owner portals can help you stay informed. A detailed report at the end of each month helps you keep track of the rental income you are collecting.
7. ⚖️ Legal Compliance
Regulations change. Stay up-to-date on how much you can charge for late fees, rent increases, or applications. California frequently updates rent control and fair housing laws. If you’re managing yourself, you need to be the expert. Or hire someone who is.
8. Communication & Guest Relations
Managers don’t just respond to maintenance calls—they also respond to complaints about neighbors, amenities, and lease terms. They check in proactively, build relationships with tenants, and help ensure the guests want to renew year after year.
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How to Evaluate a Property Management Company
⭐ Step 1: Check Their Online Reputation
Go to Google or Yelp. Everyone loves reading reviews. This is a good sign to see what other people think about the company. Are the reviews consistently good? Are people saying the same things?
Step 2: Ask What Makes Them Different
Ask each company what they do differently than other property managers. Almost all of them will say they collect rent and schedule maintenance. But what do they do that others don’t? Do they guarantee a certain rent goal? Get specific and take notes so you can compare.
Step 3: Ask About Property Visits
Some big companies manage so many properties that they don’t visit yours. Some never go beyond the initial walkthrough. Imagine you’re in Northern California and your property is in La Quinta, and you assume everything is being handled—only to find out it’s not.
You want a company that goes out of their way to inspect, to be your on-the-ground eyes and ears. At Legacy Luxury Rentals, we conduct quarterly in-depth inspections and monthly exterior checks. We do our due diligence to make sure your home is being treated well, whether it’s vacant or occupied.
️ Step 4: Understand Their Maintenance Response
Ask: How do you deal with maintenance? How do you take requests? Do you have in-house technicians? Vendors on-call? What if something happens at 1 a.m. on a holiday weekend?
This is one of the biggest reasons owners stop self-managing. No one wants to get a call at 1:00 AM on a Sunday—or during Thanksgiving—about a sewer backup. You need a team that handles it, so you don’t have to hear about it.
Step 5: Test Their Communication
Do they answer their phone? When you called them, did they pick up or call back? Did they follow up with an email?
The most important behavior in property management is to answer the phone. If a company doesn’t do that, it’s a red flag. And once they talk to you, did they follow through? Did they keep their word? You need to know that when something goes wrong, they will always respond.
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Understanding Fees and Commissions
Once you’ve verified the services and reliability of each prospective company, then it’s time to compare fees. Management companies may charge a management fee, an admin fee, or a setup fee, as well as linen fees, or hourly labor fees for maintenance or restocking. Find out what these fees are and why you’re paying them.
A company offering a low fee, like 15%-20%, may provide minimal customer service resulting in unhappy tenants whose maintenance requests are ignored, and whose calls go unanswered. This could lead to tenants who want to break their lease or demand credits, costing you money and possible legal battles. Low cost managers may also neglect your precious asset, leading to insurance claims, damage or deferred maintenance.
That’s why it’s more important to consider the level of service than to try to save a few percent on fees. When caring for a luxury car, you do not trust it to a cheap, poorly staffed repair shop to maintain it. You would prefer to take it to a licensed dealership to ensure it is well handled.
It is the same with high-tier property management. You may pay a little more, but you want someone who treats your home with the same level of respect that you would. Moreover, a sophisticated marketer can obtain higher rents, thereby delivering more net revenue to you.
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Why It’s Worth It
There are so many things that a property manager must know and deal with on a daily basis, that you as a homeowner may not be equipped to : Market Analysis and Pricing – Advertising – Tenant Screening – Maintenance Coordination – Legal and Regulatory compliance – Collections and Renewals.
You probably already have a full-time job — you didn’t buy a vacation home to take on another.
Think of a property manager as a trusted partner in your ownership enterprise. A white-glove manager understands your needs, brings peace of mind, maximizes value, and allows you to enjoy the true benefits of ownership. The multitude of benefits from partnering with a property management professional are well worth the cost.
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✅ Ready to Make the Right Choice?
At Legacy Luxury Rentals, we provide white-glove management services tailored to the high standards of luxury homeowners. We treat your home as if it were our own.
Call us at 800-565-6689
Visit us at LegacyVillas.com/
property-management
✉️ Email: Dan@legacyvillas.com
Let us take the stress out of ownership —
so you can enjoy the part that really matters
About the Author
Dan Fried is the Owner and Founder of Legacy Luxury Rentals, LLC. The Company was started in 2011 to specialize in high end vacation rental management in the desert market. Over the last 15 years, Legacy Luxury Rentals has grown in size to currently manage 30 homes, comprising 75 individual rental units. Dan is a California Licensed Real Estate Attorney and Broker, with 40 year’s experience in residential and multi-family properties throughout Southern California. Dan has closed over $1 Billion in purchases and sales, and over $1 Billion in debt financing. With experience spanning every aspect of luxury real estate and hospitality, Dan’s unique set of skills includes digital marketing, pricing strategy, lease agreements, landlord-tenant law, HOA law, property maintenance, financing, insurance, budgeting, renovation and design. Dan is also the President of a 280-unit condominium community in La Quinta. Whatever your needs as a homeowner, Dan Fried knows how to deliver the service you are looking for.
