Last modified on March 15th, 2019
By Aimee Miller

As a property manager, it is your job to ensure that everything runs smoothly. This means presenting all required information to the property owner in a timely fashion and also ensuring that all residents are kept happy. So what are some key management tips that all property managers should be familiar with?

1. Always have a contingency plan.

Do you have a complete plan outlined in advance should there be a flood in the property? How about the recovery process following a fire? These are circumstances where you need to act quickly and without hesitation. Having a plan in place ensures that everything runs as smoothly as possible even during a crisis. If you have more than one employee in a property management firm, ensure that all information is documented where each of them can find it.

2. Know what you’ll outsource.

Even if you have on-site maintenance, there still may be tasks that are better off outsourced depending upon the your staff’s specific skills. Be sure that you’re familiar with their strengths and weaknesses, and have a proficient person that you can call as soon as they’re needed, rather than fumbling through directories.

Minimize paperwork.

Too many hard-copy reports and papers can easily confuse the efficient functioning of any property management office. It also creates much more work to keep things organized. Property management software can help reduce the need for extensive paperwork, and allow reports to be submitted electronically.

4. Have a protocol for an unhappy resident.

If a resident is unhappy with the quality of their residence, responses to maintenance requests, or anything else, what do you do? If there is a legitimate issue, you need to respond or risk negative feedback.

5. Have a communications protocol with the property owner.

Agree upon a mutually beneficial method of communicating that sets a standard. To function efficiently, you can’t always be available to the owner. But remember, he/she is the one that you’re working for as a property manager.

Your goal as a property manager should be to minimize the complications and chaos involved with running one or more properties. It is easy to be pulled in five different directions at the same time and to become disorganized if you haven’t carefully planned and organized for a variety of situations that may occur.

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