Property management: Understanding the duties and responsibilities of property managers
One of the benefits of owning and leasing investment property is that it can be financially rewarding; however, there’s also no denying that it takes time and dedicated effort for it to pay off.
If you’re a hands-on property owner, it might make sense to just do everything yourself and live close to your property. You can just spare hours every month staying on top of all the tasks, no matter how monotonous or repetitive. However, if you have expansion and revenue growth on your mind, the DIY approach may not be in your best interests.
Let’s look at property management and how it can help you get every job done (whether big or small) while preparing you to deal with challenges as well as opportunities to scale up.
What is property management?
One common misconception about property management is that it’s just collecting rent. Of course, there are owners who are unfortunately saddled with paying property managers who only do just that. Owners may prefer to self-manage their properties to save money, but it goes without saying that self-managing has its disadvantages as well.
In reality, property management is all about what happens after purchase or entering into a lease up until the tenant decides to vacate it. It’s a whole lot of work handling routine tasks and maintaining the property to a high standard from start to end just to make sure that owners are making more from their real estate investment portfolios.
What is a property manager?
The duties and responsibilities of a property manager will depend on the services they offer as well as what you’ve agreed on as stated in the contract. But generally, as the acting third party or middleman between the owners and the tenants, property managers usually take responsibility not just for collecting rent but also for:
Preparing the property to be leased and putting it up on the market
Carrying out administrative tasks e.g. updating systems and records
Dealing with complaints
Finding and screening tenants (or, in some cases, evicting them)
Arranging for repairs and maintenance
Conducting routine property inspections
Handling utility payments and other property expenses
In short, property managers are professionals who work in your best interest–they handle the daily management of your property so you can have time to focus on other things.
Take note that there are countries and states which may require property management businesses to have a license or specialty certification in order to operate. This is because some responsibilities like listing and leasing a property are deemed real estate activities that require government regulation.
What are the different types of property management?
Property management is split similar to how real estate property is categorized: residential, commercial, industrial, and land.
Residential property management
This involves overseeing residential real estate or any property that is used for housing and where tenants might stay long-term. Examples of residential property include family homes, condominiums, duplexes, apartments, and townhouses.
Commercial property management
This involves management of commercial properties or any property that is intended for business operations and services. Most returns from commercial properties come from the lease of the property.
Examples of commercial real estate include hotels, hospitals, parking facilities, and retail stores like restaurants and malls.
Industrial property management
This involves management of properties intended for industrial activities, including research and development, manufacturing, production, storage, and distribution of goods. Examples of industrial properties are warehouses, factories, and power plants.
Aside from the usual management tasks, industrial property managers might also be required to take on some specialized duties such as ensuring compliance with zoning laws as well as building codes and regulations.
Land management
This involves overseeing vacant land, undeveloped properties, and agricultural land that is typically for raising livestock and growing crops (e.g. farms, ranches, homesteads, orchards, etc.)
Similar to industrial properties, managing vacant land may also involve ensuring compliance with covenants as well as zoning laws and water rights (depending on where the property is located).
What skills are needed to work in property management?
Though you don’t always need experience to work in property management, there are most definitely some skills that can help you improve your service delivery and in turn, boost your profits.
One important interpersonal skill to have is the ability to communicate effectively. In fact, good communication skills are integral to any managerial role. Remember, property managers deal with both the landlord and tenants. They have to create dialogue and check for understanding between the two parties; to do that, a property manager must lead with clear communication and handle difficult conversations with a calm but firm demeanor.
Property managers also need to have a high level of organisation. Given the various responsibilities assigned to them (which are not always set in stone), property managers need to work smart by dividing their tasks into “urgent” and “important” tasks. With such an approach, it will be easier to keep everything running smoothly.
Is your existing business model no longer as efficient and effective in promoting operational and customer service consistency? Don’t settle with a quick or cheap fix if you’re looking to upskill and prepare yourself for challenges as well as opportunities to scale! Slow and steady will help ensure that your business’ success is much more sustainable down the line.
Consider property management consulting to get customised and industry-focused advice and support that only brings value to your property management business.
What are the benefits of property management?
At this point, you may still be thinking what’s the point of hiring someone else to do the day-to-do tasks (which can, undoubtedly, be tedious and time-consuming) if the property owner can do it themselves. Here are the benefits of having a property manager:
Marketing your property
Property managers establish themselves in the market through marketing and advertising programs. Therefore, they can help you come up with a detailed marketing plan with advertising materials. You no longer have to worry about stuff like getting professional photos taken of your property or your listings not reaching your target market. They can help put up a solid listing that attracts the best tenants, helping you avoid long vacancies in your properties.
A bigger and better pool of potential tenants
Established and experienced property managers will already have a list of potential tenants. Out of this list, they can identify which are most suitable for your property and steer you away from accepting tenants with a bad history.
24/7 presence and availability
Being a landlord is a full-time job, what with tracking down late fees, collecting rent, dealing with complaints, scheduling repairs, etc. Why not relinquish these ongoing responsibilities to a trusted and reliable property manager?
Property managers can personally respond immediately to any tenant complaints or requests, given their connections with service providers. No need to lift a finger except to check on your property manager’s updates via phone or email. This way, you can still benefit from your property while freeing your time to focus on other things such as growing your real estate investment portfolio.
Knowledge of the market trends and the law
Depending on the location of your properties, you may have to deal with local state or territory property laws. It’s important to keep your property up-to-date and in compliance to keep your investment profitable.
Micromanaging real estate is already a tough gig–what more when you have to keep up with the changing real estate regulations as well? A good property manager can help you avoid the legal hassles (like lawsuits) from screening and selecting tenants down to evicting them when necessary.
Maximized profitability of your time and money
Another misconception about getting property management services is that it’s just an added cost on top of overseeing the maintenance of the property. Not many realize that with a good property manager, you can actually make more money long-term. You no longer have to put up with flighty and irresponsible tenants who can’t stay long and only leave damages on your property. Less repairs to deal with means less money to fish out of your pocket and your property remains in great shape. You’re also free to spend your time focusing on your career growth or on finding other investment opportunities in and out of the real estate industry.
Ready to upskill and lead a successful property management business?
Are you a property manager (or a real estate broker) looking to service hundreds more properties or start your own company from scratch? Set yourself and your business up for scalable growth and success through the Property Management Academy.
Wherever and whenever you can build your practical and strategic knowledge by attending online property management training and accessing exclusive specialist resources through our ireviloution member vault.
Each program and course is carefully curated and developed by Jo-Anne Oliveri, a leading authority on international real estate management with 30 years of experience and expertise on her side. She has trained thousands of business owners and property managers worldwide and taught them the objective, outcome, tasking, and timeline of every property management task.
Ready to apply real insights and forward-thinking solutions across all areas of your property management business? Request a 30-minute discovery call with Jo and start revolutionizing your team.
