Property-based investments are some of the most popular forms of investments, contributing almost $9 billion annually. Once the real estate is taken off the market, it is usually let out to generate passive income. However, the property owner typically does not have the skills or the contacts to oversee these large property investments. Here's when a property manager's role becomes invaluable.
Tips for Overseeing Multiple Properties
More investments equate to more issues, be it with rent payments, maintenance fees, or contract renewals. Property managers are more likely to face these problems when dealing with multiple rental properties. Fortunately, the following tips can improve management and make overseeing several properties easier.
Put Properties on the Market Soon
Every minute a property is not on the market is a dollar lost.
When managing multiple properties, any empty site equates to a loss for the company. Vacancies can negatively affect cash inflow and it is crucial to get each property up and running and on the market.
Property managers can use real estate platforms to let out the property to tenants. When showcasing their sites, the focus should be on the property highlights. For example, an apartment on these platforms can be advertised for its aesthetic layout, proximity to an important center, and even its strong water force. But if marketing or sales are not their strong suit, property managers can use a professional property management firm to advertise their properties.
Use a Tenant Screening Tool
Tenants can make a real estate manager's job either a dream or a nightmare.
With a bad renter, they are likely to face neighbor complaints, late rent payments, eviction issues, and more. In worst-case scenarios, the issue can even be taken up in court.
The chances of landing such a tenant are higher when overseeing multiple properties. Fortunately, tenant screening software can help weed out risky applicants. Programs like this run a deep web dive to find details about the applicants.
Tenant screening software can be used to discover the applicant's credit history/score, criminal charges, past rent record, and more. Using these references, a property manager can cut down on the risk of eviction issues for all their properties.
Have a Well Trained Team
Having a professional, well-trained team can be a huge help when overseeing multiple properties.
All tenants appreciate quick, in-person responses to repair and maintenance issues. However, when managing several buildings simultaneously, the manager cannot be at all places at once.
For these, they can delegate the task to an experienced team member. With reliable assistants/employees, they do not have to make routine inspections of every site monthly.
However, the team must be competent and professional. The employees should be well-versed in using tenant management programs and owner portals. They should also be able to screen potential clients in the manager's absence.
For this role, it is important to train team members. Without being familiarized with tenant etiquette, management software, and more, overseeing several properties can be challenging. The real estate manager can get a reliable, trustworthy property management consultant to set up these roles within the team.
Use CRM Software
When overseeing multiple buildings, it is easy to get swamped by menial work. Dealing with tenant complaints, maintenance requests, and more can sometimes take up all the work hours. These tasks cannot be left unattended. However, they also block the property manager from doing more important groundwork and in-person property checks.
Installing CRM software like Yardi can help streamline business management. Programs like this speed up administrative processes by categorizing them under one system. Tech like this allows you to store, access, and share data for multiple properties on a single interface.
Upgrading to a CRM from a legacy system can help managers deal with the pressures of managing multiple properties. However, the fear of losing decades' worth of contacts can hold them back from installing.
Fortunately, with an efficient real estate analyst/partner, they can easily and safely transfer important data. With a trustworthy team, sensitive contacts and accounts will be moved from the legacy system to the new database during installation.
With the CRM update, the property manager can now automate routine administrative tasks including
Newsletters
Late payment notices
Tenant agreements
Leases
Rent collection, and more.
This system even screens and files tenant complaints based on urgency. As a result, you can read and address the most pressing issues without having to go through each one of them.
Visit Personally During Move-In and Move-Out Phase
A seemingly minor tip, visiting personally during a tenant's moving-in and moving-out phase can actually have huge benefits.
For example, with the advancements in real estate tech, most leases are signed based only on online interactions. The people sometimes don't even visit the site in person - real estate managers use high-grade cameras to offer virtual tours of the properties to interested applicants.
With these tools, the human connection between renters and managers is lost. Greeting the tenant on their first day with the keys and some flowers initiates a good rapport between the two. It gives the manager a chance to see the applicant in person if the lease is signed online and vice versa.
The two parties can also use this time to discuss lease agreements, building rules, management fees, and more.
Similarly meeting the tenant during their move-out day leaves a lasting impression. Since much of the real estate market relies on word of mouth recommendations, this can have a great impact for the company's reputation. Additionally, the manager can also run property checks, clear outstanding dues, and more during this phase.
Get the Real Estate CRM help You Need
In addition, a property manager should also have a healthy network of vendors to oversee multiple properties efficiently. Service providers are crucial for management, maintenance, and repair. A property manager has to establish and maintain a relationship with local vendors like cleaners, plumbers, electricians, contractors, and more.
If you're looking to make property management easier, look at implementing real estate software like Yardi or MRI in your business. Talk to us to know more about how we can help with real estate CRM implementation. We are Yardi consultants and MRI consultants that you can trust!