While some people cringe when they hear clichés, it’s important to remember that these shopworn phrases became so overused because they contain important kernels of truth that never lose their relevance.
Take the expression, “You can’t see the forest for the trees,” for instance. That often happens to veteran property managers – and we’re not talking about tree-trimming here.
Writing recently on PropertyManager.com, Mary Girsch-Bock noted that property managers often get so bogged down in the details of their day-to-day management duties they fail to take time and look at the wider view.
“With the pressure to fill empty units, keep the property profitable and make hundreds of people with very different personalities happy, property managers can sometimes forget to spend some time looking at the bigger picture,” she wrote.
Girsch-Bock says property managers can get a better insight into their jobs by occasionally backing away and doing some sidewalk market research.
First and foremost, she says, you have to keep abreast of what’s going on around you, not just what’s happening at your property. If you own a McDonald’s, say, it’s just as important to know how your own restaurant is doing as the Burger King and Wendy’s down the street. You may think you’re doing well, but if your competitors are doing even better, you have a problem that you have to address.
Spend some time off the property. Mystery shop a unit at competing properties. What do you they offer that you don’t? How are they performing?
If you have a higher vacancy and resident turnover rate than they do, find out why and how to fix it. Maybe they offer incentives and amenities that you don’t. Yet.
Her last suggestion: Invest in a good property management software system. It will not only assist you in doing your job more accurately and efficiently, but free up your time so you can perform your market research.
“Invest in a system that can perform well both now and in the years ahead.”
Importantly, Girsch-Bock said, invest in a system that can perform well both now and in the years ahead – don’t waste your money on a system that you will need to replace six months from now.
SKYLINE Residential Property Management software from Anton Systems not only helps you manage your properties more efficiently, giving you time to do your market research, but it can also help you build an amenities value package to help you stand out against the competition.
One of the key features of the system is its built-in amenities-based pricing tool, which enables you to show off the features you offer instead of burying them in your pricing.
Select the amenities you feel are important to your market, then assign a value to each amenity. SKYLINE automatically adds this to the base rent for each unit.
You can run several model scenarios and analyze the results. Once you’re satisfied, SKYLINE will update the pricing with a click of a button.
Could it be any easier than that?
Taking some time and becoming more proactive about the future of your property will pay dividends in both the short and long term. The right software system can expedite the process.