Do you know how many property managers there are in the United States? Not 100,000. If you guessed 200,000, guess again.
There are over 300,000 property managers, all of them trying to get a slice of the rental market pie. In your area, you’re likely to have 5-10 competitors vying for a small market.
You have to find ways to stand out in the marketplace. You need to do your job well if you want your reputation to shine with renters and homeowners.
Keep reading to discover the best tips to become a successful property manager.
1. Get Clear on Who You Serve
How well do you know your target market? The reality is that you have two distinct audiences that you serve.
You work with homeowners and investors to rent their properties. You also have tenants that occupy those properties. Each audience has different needs and goals.
Property owners typically want to make money on their rental properties. Renters need a safe, clean place to live at a reasonable cost.
You can break that down into a niche market. For example, you can work with out-of-state investors who see the opportunities to make money in Arizona’s real estate market. You can work with homeowners who want to rent their property out in the summer months.
Renters can be niched down into small families looking to rent a single-family home. They can be young professionals who want to be downtown.
You need to understand these audiences so you know how to market to them and how to cater to their needs. You’ll also develop a reputation as someone who serves specific niches in the real estate market. It’s much easier to get referrals because people are very clear about what you do.
2. Have a Great Attitude
Property management is a very stressful job. You can’t let the stress get to you and take it out on others. You need to let go of the stress and be positive.
An attitude that shows you’re eager to help all of your clients goes a long way. It will help you develop a strong reputation, and you can back that up by getting the job done.
3. Use the Right Technology Tools
Your job as a property manager is to juggle a lot of balls in the air. This is especially true when you manage many properties. One tenant needs a repair, other properties need to be inspected, one tenant is late with rent.
You need to be on top of all of these situations, which isn’t easy. You can’t keep track of everything in your head or on a spreadsheet. Property management software is necessary so you can do your job and handle more properties.
You can have one platform that accepts payments, lets tenants schedule maintenance calls, and keep track of open properties. These are all critical functions of your job. This level of organization will put your tenants and property owners at ease.
4. Surround Yourself with Competent People
You may be a property manager, but you’re not a marketer or a handyman. You have to have smart and competent people around you who can help you do your job better.
It’s a team environment, and you need to hire the best people you can. Property management companies tend to have a system in place for handling certain situations.
Your job is to handle sensitive issues, such as evictions and owner-related issues. You can have an assistant that it the point of contact for tenants. Another assistant would be responsible for marketing the properties and leasing them out.
You’ll also need cleaners, contractors, and maintenance people in your contact list to keep your properties in pristine condition. You may also want to have a bookkeeper and an accountant to make sure your property management company is profitable.
5. Be Reliable and Operate with Integrity
Tenants and owners depend on you to come through and provide a great experience. There are plenty of rental horror stories out there that make tenants think twice about renting.
Owners don’t want to have their properties destroyed by poor management and bad tenants.
You have to instill a sense of confidence in both tenants and owners. That’s why you have to be a reliable person. You also have to act with integrity.
You don’t want to develop a reputation of a property manager that lies about contracts or doesn’t take care of maintenance issues. You won’t attract renters or owners.
6. Understand the Role of Marketing
Marketing is an important part of property management. You need to go beyond just taking a few pictures on your phone and listing them on a few websites. You need to write great copy that makes the property appealing to your target audience.
If you want to market to homeowners, you’ll need to take a different path. You can get out and develop your network. You can also connect with real estate agents who also cater to investors.
7. Always Look to Improve
You can always do your job better. Every few months, look at your processes and think about how you can do things more efficiently. You want to ask yourself how you can serve your tenants and owners better.
You also have to keep up with landlord-tenant law and any changes in property codes. You have to make sure that your properties are in line with the law.
Be the Best Property Manager
As more people are renting and delaying home purchases, there are plenty of opportunities for property managers. There is a lot of competition as more people become property managers.
You need to be the best property manager possible. You have to understand who you’re serving and always have a professional and positive attitude. You can help your cause out by using technology to help you be more efficient.
These tips and the others presented here are a clear path to stand out in a crowded market. Head over to the Real Estate section of this site for more real estate tips.
