Being in the property management business brings on a lot of misconceptions. Some common ones I’ve heard are, property managers are only in it for the money, property managers don’t care about owner’s properties and the big one – property management is easy.
I’ve been doing this for 19 years and yes, money is a motivator; amongst other reasons. This is my livelihood and been working on my craft for some time now. All things considered, the first reason I became a property manager was because it was intriguing. I remember the first time I encountered a property manager. I was newly licensed, ready to sell, yet I observed my first real estate brokers interactions through all the activity that came into the office. The phones were abuzz of prospects scheduling showings, tenants calling in work orders. The door slamming open and shut of Tenants walking in to pay rent, write a lease and even to submit a “dreaded” complaint.
Complaints and problem resolutions are both the unavoidable part of our job and the make or break of our tenure. All property managers will deal with either or both and sometimes more often than you think. It’s not that we’re doing a bad job, it’s just you can’t make everyone happy in a high-liability job. We deal with owners, tenants, prospects, applicants, vendors, neighbors, HOA’s and the list goes on. Some issues can be resolved quickly and smoothly, while others may require more attention and some sort of legal action. There could be court appearances for eviction court or could be subpoenaed and be a witness in a case for cause. You might even have to be present or conduct an actual eviction, alongside a constable. Being a property manager brings on a lot of responsibility to both the agent and the broker conducting business. That’s why it’s so important to choose your property manager wisely. We’re not the bad guys. We’re here to do the work a lot of others will not attempt or want to do. We handle an owner’s asset from beginning of a management agreement to the expiration or termination of that agreement. We work tirelessly to make sure owners get paid on time, inspections are conducted, maintenance is completed and paid for and this is just a snippet of what we do. We haven’t even covered being on call and dealing with emergencies if needed. Ever had a tenant die in your rental property, have a tenant use your rental as a “grow house” or have a house burn down? How would you handle the situation? Do you even want to know or attempt to handle the situation? What about the owner? What will you say and how will they react? What about you? What if the owner or tenant blame you?
As you can see being a property manager isn’t easy, risk-free or quick money and the misconceptions are just that, misconceptions. It’s not for everyone. You must have thick skin, be confident, a problem solver, a good listener, follow policy and procedures and the law. However, Property managers are still warm, kind and fun ethical people. We just have a little streak of badass in us that comes out when needed. Think of us as the superheroes of the property management side of real estate!
If you haven’t yet, I suggest speaking a little more in depth with a property manager in order to learn more about what we do and how we can work together. We’re Realtors as well, just like you but with a little bit of daring or crazy. However, you’d like to describe us, just know you may need us one day and we’d like to make it a win-win situation for all involved. Who knows, you may find yourself being a superhero to your client.
