Managing residential property takes a different set of skills than just about any other type of management. People are going to have a lot more invested when it deals with their residence. This makes interactions with the tenants more personal.
However, residential property management needs to keep in mind that this is also a business venture. The property owners have their own set of needs when it comes to maintaining the property while also bringing in an overall profit.
So how do you balance these two aspects of residential property management? What qualities make for a successful residential property manager?
Here are 7 tips for effective residential property management:
A residential property manager needs to treat every tenant — as well as potential tenants — the exact same way. There can be no preferential treatment. There should also be no prejudice.
It can seem inevitable to form some kind of personal relationship with a person you see on a frequent basis. And long-term tenants will have continued interactions with property management.
It’s important that management treats everyone the same way. Remember, each interaction with a tenant is a business interaction. Your conduct must be dictated by a set of rules and not personal feelings.
Free-flowing communication is essential to maintaining a positive environment around the property. This is the only way to ensure everyone’s needs are being addressed. A successful environment depends on the level of comfort experienced by your tenants as well as the financial security of the property owners.
Open communication ensures problems can be addressed before they get out of hand. A small repair, for instance, can have a chain reaction and create major issues if it’s left unaddressed for a long period of time.
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Duties such as rent collection are a major aspect of effective residential property management. In fact, collecting rent money is probably the main duty of the property manager. This money is what funds the entire operation, so a failure to collect means the whole system can grind to a halt.
However, there are times when flexibility can be necessary. Long-term tenants are an asset to every residential property. And sometimes, giving someone extra time to put together the rent can create goodwill between the tenant and the property owners. This will pay off in the long run, as long as the tenant doesn’t take advantage of this kindness.
Residential property management has duties to both the property owner as well as the tenant. This creates a bit of a balancing act for the manager. There is always going to be a happy middle ground between the needs of these two considerations.
Finding this proper balance will be what separates effective residential property management from someone who’s simply filling the role.
Organization is key to successful property management. You should keep updated log books relating to just about every aspect of your daily tasks. When were certain items last serviced? Who paid rent and when? How much money was spent on repairs last month?
All of this information should be easily and quickly accessible. There’s no such thing as having too much information for residential property management. This helps ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
Along those lines, make sure every essential system on the property is receiving the proper preventative maintenance as well as any necessary repairs. Property owners like to keep their overhead costs as low as possible to maximize long-term profits. And a surprise replacement of something as essential and large as a heating system can take a huge chunk out of those profits.
Use your detailed notes to make sure you are staying on top of every necessary service to the vital systems of the property.
There are going to be problems. There wouldn’t be a need for residential property management if things operated smoothly all on their own. Property management needs to address each situation with calm composure.
Broken utilities, tenant disagreements, immediate repairs — these are all inevitable aspects of residential property management. It’s important for the management team to address these issues calmly in order to find the best solution in the quickest way.
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