The property management is one of the most complicated jobs in the industrial sector. There are a lot of moving parts. Often, you’ll be responsible for multiple sites, which means problems can quickly pile up. If you’re looking to get into the property management business and want to know what it entails, then check out this simple guide.
What is property management?
A property manager is a jack-of-all-trades. Property management companies offer a range of services, including collecting rent, finding new tenants, managing day-to-day issues, and overseeing major repairs.
Typically, the job of a residential property manager will entail:
* Taking phone calls from tenants
* Getting inspections done to make sure everything works as it should
* Maintaining the yard and surrounding area
* Doing maintenance on common areas
* Ensuring rent is paid on time and property taxes are kept up to date
To work in this field, you need to be able to handle a lot of responsibility. You will manage hundreds of units and hundreds of tenants. You will be the first point of contact should anything go wrong, and you can be sure that it eventually will.
With that in mind, let’s look at the core principles of property management and what they involve.
Maintenance
In a perfect world, everything in a rental property would work perfectly. But, unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, and things will break eventually.
This is where the maintenance department comes in. When something breaks, it will be up to you to get it fixed as quickly as possible so that it does not become an overwhelming problem for the tenant.
There are two types of maintenance that you will need to carry out: day-to-day and major. Smaller issues, such as a fridge breaking down or an air conditioning unit malfunctioning, can be dealt with quickly by your team. However, a professional should only deal with bigger issues, like leakage in the roof or damage caused by an intense storm.
repairs
Major repairs and replacements can be quite costly to a property management company. This is why it’s important to have these processes streamlined so that things get done quickly. If you are dealing with large numbers of units, then this will become even more important.
rent collection
This is where the bulk of your work will take place. Collecting rent from tenants can be a tricky process and it’s important to make sure everything is done by the book. This means following laws such as those around eviction processes and fair housing.
leasing and documentation
Renting out a property not only requires that you find the right tenant, but it also means preparing and signing leases and rental agreements. This includes advertising and showing units so you can identify the best possible tenants.
To manage hundreds of properties, you will need to have robust systems in place for keeping track of all the paperwork.
There are property management companies in Washington DC, Sacramento, and all across the country that deal with this process from start to finish. If you’re working for a company such as this, you need to focus on day-to-day processes like these that are the lifeblood of any property management business.
property inspection
When it comes to your role in property management, there are two sides you need to be on top of the admin side and the client-side. The admin side is where you will spend most of your time ensuring leases, documentation, advertising, and rent collection are all up-to-date. On the client-side, you’ll get to deal with the tenants on a daily basis and ensure their day-to-day needs are met. This includes property inspection and ensuring tenants are adhering to procedures.
