The best defense is a good offense, or so they say. This turn of phrase is true for property management and in avoiding potential accidents or just generally unpleasant situations that may occur on your property. Take some of these measures to prevent as many of the following incidents as you can so that you and your residents or tenants have a positive and uneventful experience.
Create an Organized System for Incident Reports
Everyone has good days and bad days. Sometimes, bad things and mistakes just happen, even to the best and most experienced property managers. Some of them may not be your fault at all, while others may have some of the blame falling on your shoulders. Whether this is the case or not, you, as the manager, play a big role in sorting things out.
If you and your staff don’t know the proper procedures for any and all incidents that may occur on the premises, then things will only get worse. As such, begin with a widespread education and understanding about how to fill out and file incident reports. If they aren’t completed correctly by another person, then you won’t have all the information that you need to tackle the problem effectively. If you don’t include all the details, then you’ll have a much more difficult time sorting things out. Similarly, if there has been a report that was filled out but which was lost in the shuffle, you’ll have similar issues.
A good organizational system across the board is crucial to a successful property management business, and without it, there will be disorder to contend with. Again, you have to make sure that everyone working on the property who would file an incident report of any kind knows the procedure. If there is a physical form to fill out, they shouldn’t just send you an e-mail with the details. If there is an online survey, a post-it note on your door is far from enough. A uniform process not only keeps everyone on the same page, but allows you to respond to incidents more quickly, which is imperative if there are safety or legal ramifications.
“A whopping 49% of property management organizations surveyed just last year on their risk management practices revealed that they don’t conduct Emergency Scenario Training sessions, which are geared towards improving emergency response times and quality.” Without a level of training, both you and your workers will be sorely unprepared to tackle incidents as they occur, both big and small. Risk is everywhere, and though it varies depending on the type of property you have and what is on it, you should always have a plan prepared for anything that might happen.
“This responsibility is essential to providing tenants with peace-of-mind, and minimizing organizational liability.” Even if you aren’t concerned about the potential for bodily harm, you are almost always open to legal problems. A rent dispute could turn into an all-out battle if the tenant or renter was promised one thing on paper, but the paper can’t be found. Consistency is the way to avoid these expensive headaches.
Whatever is involved in filing away important information (or, really, information of any kind), make sure that everyone is doing it the same way every single time. As far as keeping records, installing cameras in as many places as you can can help to disprove or corroborate a story which, if not in your favor, will at least end the dispute more quickly.
It takes a lot of hard work to be a successful residential or commercial property manager, and though incident reports are only one small part of this position, they are key. You want to be a part of the statistic that does prepare for emergencies and who is known for quick and thorough responses. It can be hard to do this with a big team, but, luckily, you can have technology on your side. There’s no more efficient system of organization than Budgetrac Property Management Software. Whatever is happening on your property, Budgetrac will increase your operational efficiency and keep track of all your incident reports with ease. You can file them away electronically, store them in the database, and then access them with a few clicks. There couldn’t be a simpler and simultaneously impressive way to be the best property manager in town.