Overcoming Challenges in Daily Property Management
Task management is a big challenge for DIY landlords and property management firms from California to Colorado to Florida. That’s why new tools are needed to manage successfully today.
Property management is an interesting and dynamic profession. And while we love to talk about how business is improving and customers are happy, it is never a simple thing to make it happen.
We thought a discussion on your daily issues would be helpful. And to let you explore in the links below, additional insight into property management matters.
Take a quick moment to review ManageCasa’s excellent features and how they help you tame tasks!
How to Meet all the Daily Challenges
As a Property Manager, whether you are experienced or newly involved in the property management industry, you may encounter different expected or unexpected challenges.
You face big challenges related to business planning, marketing, and landlord management. And then there are daily tasks such as managing leases and expenses, tenant rent collection, unit and building maintenance, contractor issues, tenant relations and much more.
Managing all the details can be stressful and it can threaten your business if you’re not handling them professionally. A property manager must use skill in time management, multi-tasking, organization, and interpretation and have emotional intelligence too. It’s about people, assets, and processes.
The property manager needs to be able to communicate effectively to staff and existing and prospective tenants, and set and meet goals on property’s finance and occupancy and enforce building policies and procedures. Landlords expect it all to be handled well.
Emergencies and the Unexpected
While it’s impossible to address every unexpected challenge, it’s essential to develop measures such as preventative maintenance schedule and building emergency preparedness to minimize losses or damage to properties.
How could a property manager overcome some of the daily challenges?
My opinion is that everything starts with people. Acquiring good talent and managing your people are key to operational success. A wrong hiring decision can cost you more in long term and result in a significant loss of productivity.
Once you hire the right people, you must retain your best talent. Failure to maintain a consistent team may lead to operational instability, loss of information and a decline in morale. As good as your systems may be, ultimately, your business is your staff.
Checklists Help Staff Deal with the Details
Implementing appropriate system and/or property management software allows you to locate, track, document, and organize information instantly. Using proper technology is especially important when your property portfolio has progressively grown and become sophisticated.
Meanwhile, a checklist of items and tasks includes categories such as administrative, finance, staff management, maintenance may help staff to track progress and the overall property performance.
Managing Your Staff
Regular individual check-in between manager and staff is essential to identify challenges or hurdles so that the team can work collaboratively to prioritize and allocate resources among projects appropriately.
For instance, a rehab project may require additional maintenance capacities to turnaround units timely. A licensed contractor is also needed to assure project complies with building codes and inspection requirement. Your interest in how staff do their work is helpful to them.
Having regular staff meeting is great only if you set an agenda prior to the meeting. During the meeting, let team members share successes and lessons learned so that everyone has an opportunity to learn from each other. Each participant should discuss any back-burner items and be proactive in asking for support.
An Eye on Tenant Management
In addition to attracting, hiring and managing staff, you’ll need to be proactive, as well as educate and work with your tenants. For instance, a comprehensive move-in process is critical to develop a mutually respectful and trustworthy landlord-tenant relationship. Thus, it is recommended that you set aside at least 2 hours with your tenant at move-in date to explain the provisions of the lease agreement, house rules, and addenda.
A resident handbook is another useful tool to strengthen customer service, which should include management office’s address, phone number, emergency contact, community information, maintenance tips, safety tips, earthquake preparedness etc.
If you treat your residents fairly and consistently, you will be able to build a sustainable landlord-tenant relationship. As a result, you will have less tenant issues to deal with and save your time to address other operational challenges.
The list of administrative, financial and maintenance tasks that you and your team face each day is endless. That’s why having a great property management system is vital. See more about how ManageCasa can help you manage tasks with ease.
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