Everyone wants to be considered as a great property manager and to have tenants or renters think the same of them. However, not everyone takes the time and effort to work toward this goal. There are a lot of companies who claim to be experts within property management, too, so check and see if you are doing some of the following before really calling yourself a property management expert.
The Road to Becoming a Property Management Expert
There are a lot of factors that go into how successful you will be in your work as a property manager. One small component is the length of time that you have spent working within this field, but, again, that is just one piece. Experience in years alone does not a property management expert make.
Instead, think about how much time you have spent interacting with people. “Property management experts should be great with people,” so reflect on your general experiences and be honest with yourself about how they have gone thus far. If they have been generally positive, then it may be another area that you need to improve upon. If they seem as if they could be better, then you may need to make some adjustments here or there.
It isn’t too out there to imagine that the most amiable managers are ones that find great success. After all, this job is one that requires a lot of interpersonal interactions, and if they are not done with care and tact, then tenants or renters will be unhappy. They may not renew their leases because of negative experiences with the manager. Practice dealing with a range of experiences, both positive and negative, so that you are prepared to handle anything that may come your way with a smile and a good attitude.
Would you say that you have done well in finding and bringing in tenants to your building? “In today’s market… you need someone who is great at marketing. Otherwise, all of the best potential tenants may end up going to the competition.” Since this will gradually doom your business, you need to work on your marketing skills, or at least develop a strong team, so that this isn’t the case. Use what you’ve learned and experienced in the past to develop a strategy that can draw in people to fill vacancies. This is a process that can be tedious sometimes, but if you can play the long game well, you will profit as a result.
Do you consider yourself to be “familiar with local trends?” If not, you may be missing some opportunities that your competitors are aware of and of which they are taking advantage. You have to know a good amount about the industry, including “what the big players are doing, new laws effecting real estate, etc.” in order to be considered a property management expert. It may take some time to look into this via research, but that knowledge will serve you every day and help you to build a better foundation for your business.
Finally, you want to try and establish and maintain “an extensive network.” If you have resources that you can consult, then you will find your work to be easier than ever. Property management involves a dozen different kinds of work, and so having connections within various industries is a good way to ensure that whatever happens, you have someone that you know you can trust to handle it. A property management expert “should know exactly how to call to get great, fast service.” If not, then you may find yourself in the midst of an emergency without any concept of what to do next, and that could have long-term repercussions.
Whether you manage a commercial or residential property, you want to take steps to ensure that you are doing the best and most efficient job that you can do. Different methods work for different people, but these are some of the basic tips that are valued across the board. Another is to utilize some kind of property management software to help you run things on a day-to-day basis. That is where a software like Budgetrac comes into play. Budgetrac can accomplish so much of the minutiae of your business that you will find yourself with more time than ever to become the best manager that you can be.