Effective Tips for Running a Property Management Company

From 2020-2025, “the property management industry is expected to grow, along with rising rental costs and rising demand for floor space from US businesses.”

Even with the pandemic, the property management industry is projected to continue to grow, and at a rate of 2.5% to be exact. As such, becoming a property manager has never been more lucrative ($88B+ industry revenue) or popular. 

What exactly does a property manager do? While property managers don’t usually own the property they manage, they are responsible for the management of single-family residences, apartment complexes, malls, and private business buildings. Essentially, any building or property that the owner doesn’t want to look after themselves. 

A property manager wears many hats as well, as they’re responsible for coordinating repairs, maintaining upgrades, setting up new leases, receiving rent from tenants on time, giving tours of open units, handling complaints, marketing initiatives (advertising, social media, etc.), and communicating with the property owner as to where things stand with their property.

Knowing that the field is rich with opportunities and that juggling multiple tasks at once can become hectic, we compiled a few tips to help you with running a property management business.

Check out our 8 tips on running a property management business.

Running a successful property management company requires you to search for clients on a regular basis. Not many are just going to fall on your lap! So roll up your sleeves and ensure you’re networking as much as possible. 

“Virgin conducted a study and found that 84% say they prefer in-person meetings because they help to build stronger, more meaningful business relationships, allow for more complex strategic thinking and – most importantly – are a better environment for tough, timely decision-making.”

As such, networking allows you to close 40% more sales. However, make sure you’re strategic by participating in events that are worth it, ask to be introduced to build credibility, remember that networking is a two-way street, be respectful of time, and find a reason to follow up. 

Additionally, EZ Landlord Forms provides a great directory of real estate investing clubs within all 50 states so you can easily locate investing clubs in your area. 

Also, be sure to hit some non-traditional places and events for networking opportunities. Don’t just do what everyone else does, stand out by taking the road less traveled to bring in more clients. For example, the coffee shop, a gym, a mall, your local chamber of commerce, public events, and so on. 

If you’re looking to boost efficiency, productivity, revenue, and land more leasing units quickly then you need the right property management software.

Apart from streamlining processes, enhancing communication, managing daily operations, a property management app also puts you ahead of the competition by providing you direct oversight on where things stand so you can make smarter business decisions.

This is why many property managers are choosing Connecteam’s all-in-one employee management app to run their property management business. Through Connnecteam’s robust features, property managers are able to focus on the bigger picture:

• Streamline communication: send logistical and operational communication, engaging updates, announcements, and more through advanced communication features like chat groups, real-time push notifications, private chat, updates directly to your employee’s smartphone, and more.
• Smart groups: create content especially for your many teams like building managers, maintenance teams, and office staff and send them updates and announcements including new policies or getting into new territory.
• Fully searchable work directory: employees can search for a work contact via pre-determined profile attributes so it’s easy to make a phone call, send an email, or start a private chat, without needing to save contacts on their personal mobile device. Meaning, it’s easy to find out who is managing which building.
• Task Management: create one-off tasks like if you’re doing an inspection and find something wrong then you can create a one-off task in real-time for maintenance to fix it. You can easily create and assign tasks with built-in reminders and get notified once the task is completed. 
• Automated workflows: for more routine tasks create weekly or monthly checklists, such as reviewing that there are no hazards in public areas or ensuring maintenance comes once a month to inspect the elevators. All tasks are recorded for future reference and are shared with relevant people. In addition, easily track who completed what task and when.
• Dispatching maintenance jobs with the schedule: easily dispatch maintenance jobs to a specific building or location and include shift tasks that get checked off when each task is done. Employees can add images, PDFs, digital signatures, and more if needed.

Running a property management business requires you to minimize risk, such as litigation and damage to rental units, and to maximize your client’s profit, such as by cutting vacancy rates or reducing maintenance costs.  

A great way to do this is by offering incentives to your current tenants, something as simple as lower rent for long-term leases or a rewards program can go a long way. 

You must be both proactive and reactive when handling your tenants so that issues don’t fester which can lead to bigger problems down the road, like damage to the property or defaulting in payments.

You can read more here on how to be a better manager to ensure your tenants and staff are engaged, productive, and happy. 

On a regular basis, property managers are relying on various contractors to manage maintenance and repairs for multiple properties and at any given moment. This could include an inexpensive handyman or even a fully licensed contractor for more serious jobs. The range of cost is extreme depending on which contractor is needed.

As such, it’s important you find competent and affordable contractors. But that’s like finding a needle in a haystack. However, you can hire different ones to best learn their skills or ask for referrals from colleagues you trust. Once you find one or two or even 10 contractors you trust, then commit to creating long-term relationships with each as you’ll be needing their services more times than you can count. 

Sticking with hiring tips when running a successful property management company, it’s important to have the right staff on hand. For example: 

• Secretary for the office
• Payroll administrator
• Resident manager
• Sales representatives
• Property manager
• Maintenance coordinator 
• Regional manager
• Senior facilities manager
• Tennant administrator
• Accountant 

For more information on which staff is needed for your property management business, that can be found here.

Remember that your property management company will only be as good as its team. So be sure to hire people with the right qualities and ask the right questions during the interview. 

Without effective marketing, running a successful property management company is more difficult. Make sure to maintain the following to boost your company’s credibility and increase your visibility: 

• Have a clear website that easily explains what your company stands for and what services you offer (your pricing should also be clear)
• Be active on social channels
• Ask for reviews and testimonials (either on your website, social channels, or sites like Reddit and Quora)
• Paid ads allow you to reach more clients and tenants

It goes without saying that if you want to continue running a successful property management company then you must do your due diligence and thoroughly screen tenants.

Allowing the wrong tenant to your client’s property can end up costing a lot of time and money and will seriously damage your reputation.

Resources like PublicData.com allow you to acquire detailed credit-related information about potential tenants. There is a fee in order for you to conduct a search however it’s far more thorough and fast than regular, free options. 

Be sure to visit the Department of Corrections, Department of Criminal Justice, or Bureau of Identification in your state to better understand if a potential tenant has a criminal record. 

Always make sure your employees and your tenants are aware of where things stand with their property. Such as costs, events, tenant information, finances, maintenance, and more.

Bottom Line On Running a Successful Property Management Business

Running a property management business requires a lot of time, effort, and dedication from yourself. It’s up to you to stay up to date with the everchanging real estate industry while also managing all operational and daily tasks.

You can use property management business software to your advantage to ensure smooth and efficient management.