Apartment property management is not for the faint of heart. The demand and the pressure is always on with residents, maintenance teams, property owners, and more constantly needing and wanting something from the management.
To become truly successful in multifamily property management, managers needs to hone skills that can range from chief marketing officer to therapist and everything in between. These skills take time and are often tempered with acute attention to detail, discipline, and the willingness to take on that responsibility and pressure. But, even with all of that, managing apartment communities can also be a very valuable and rewarding work experience.
To help along the way, here are a few tips to help set up multifamily property managers to achieve real success in their apartment property management lives.
Be Available
In apartment property management, it’s critical to be available and attentive for residents or prospective new residents. That means responding to e-mails, phone calls, or requests for tours as quickly and timely as possible. If you are so bold to go as far as living in as a multifamily manager, you may find that being available is easier; however, being unavailable may become much, much harder. This is where having a work-only cell phone can be quite an asset. At the end of the day, property managers need to have boundaries, but accessibility for residents and setting / managing clear expectations with residents will be critical for success in the role.
Be Friendly & Organized
If employed in an apartment property management job, one of the first innate qualities a person needs is being a people-person. They need to learn to manage people in the most polite, friendly manner possible. And that stands doubly true for residents who are upset for some reason. Treating people kindly and with respect will, hopefully, mean a positive customer experience and win for all involved. Along with being generally friendly, organization is another one of the key qualities in rental property management, particularly if there are multiple properties being managed. Setting out clear processes and procedures for even the simplest tasks can make managers and their teams not only appear more professional to residents, but help the team save time and money. It will also minimize any confusion along the way and allow staff to better serve residents.
Use Good Marketing Practices
Marketing professional may not be the first thing to comes to mind when venturing into apartment property management. But, it’s still there. It’s often the job of the manager to position how to sell to prospective residents and showcase what it’s like to live at the property. And that is in addition to all of the other hats a property manager wears. Here is where technology can be a good friend to know and utilize when in property management. Video is a fantastic way to show off the community effectively and very easily. The nice thing about videos? Once shot, they can be reused as many times as needed. Sharing videos on social media is not only effective, but one of the best, and easiest, ways to add marketing pro to the list of roles taken on by those in apartment building management roles.
Know the Property
This may seem like a simple one, but as the manager of a rental property, it is so very important to know the property inside and out. It is up to the manager to be able to answer any potential questions from residents and staff. That includes all the unique ins and outs that make the property special – as well as any potential negatives. Knowing those things allows managers to be open and upfront about them, showing the transparency today’s residents want. It also helps to know the general area where the property is located – nearby restaurants, schools, or other important information. The more the community manager knows, the easier the role can be.
Have a Great Team
To truly succeed in real estate property management, a manager needs a great team. A management team will interact with residents regularly or in the manager’s absence and the property manager needs to be able to trust that interaction will be a positive one. These team members not only need to be honest and efficient at their jobs, but have many of the skills listed above to truly be useful. All of the responsibilities that fall under an apartment property manager are too many for one person to handle. The more quality people and resources available, the happier owners, residents, and staff will be.
At the heart of all apartment property management jobs is resident satisfaction. Putting the resident’s happiness at the center, plus using the above tips and skills, will not only make them a loyal resident, but make the job just a little easier and more fun. And help keep occupancy high!
Until next time…keep it real!