Property Management- not just collecting rent and fixing toilets

Property management is easy, right?  Collect the rent, pay the bills and fix the toilets.  Like driving a car is easy, just turn the key and step on the gas, right?  Wrong!  Both need proactively managed systems to get you where you want to be,   efficiently and safely.
For today’s investor, property management may be one of the single most important factors in the success of a real estate investment.  The proper property management team will bring organization, expertise, experience and consistent systems to the operation of your real estate.  Yesterday’s “Collect the rent & fix the toilet” type of property manager can bring the investment financial problems, liability issues, customer service nightmares and all out disaster.
Today’s property management team needs to be experts on many management systems, such as investments, finance, risk, customers, facilities and human resources.
Investment management.  Investment in real estate is rewarded by consistent, predictable cash flows that meet ROI objectives.  If your manager doesn’t understand how it’s supposed to work and how operations impact returns, then the value of your asset is at risk.  Today’s property manager understands investment objectives and works to assure stable income and value growth.
Financial management.  Information is power, and financial information is critical for success.  A 200 unit apartment complex may have upwards of 1000 transactions per month.  Being able to create accurate financial statements is key to making proper managerial decisions.  If you don’t have proper accounting and reporting systems you are managing blindly.  Hand ledgers are a thing of the past.  Today’s property management team uses computerized financial management systems that deliver full monthly statements and supporting schedules.
Web-based advertising, effective communications (email), record keeping, materials ordering, and tenant screening are all systems that are efficiently managed on computer-based programs. Larger firms include payroll, scheduling, cash flow analysis, work order tracking, and emergency dispatch on computer-based systems.
Risk Management.  Liability is everywhere; you can be sued for both what you know, and what you do not know.  The same is true for government regulations.  Fair Housing Law, Civil Rights Law, HUD Regulations, State Building Code, Local Building Code, Environmental law, Title X Lead Paint regulations, Air Quality Standards, 
Rent Control, Rent Stabilization, and the list goes on.
And don’t forget the insurance company. Today’s manager needs to know about insurance requirements and processes. Just understanding how the insurance industry prices and sells their products allowed a client to save $50,000 in one year.  A properly handled claim can mean thousands of dollars difference in your pocket.
Then there is disaster planning – and recovery.  Natural and man-made events happen, regularly.  How do you handle a flood, a fire, an accident, heaven forbid another terrorist event.  Today’s property manager has contingency plans when something happens.
Customer Management. The customer (tenant) is the most important piece of the puzzle.  In no other industry can the customer be treated with such animosity by a service provider.  Where other industries will bend over backward to make a client feel important, yesterday’s property manager treats your tenants as a number – 3b has another problem.
Today’s customers don’t just buy products, they buy experiences.  Your residents are no different.  They want to feel good about renting, they want to be part of a community, not just an apartment number.  Today’s property managers are trained in customer service and focus on retaining happy and satisfied tenants.
Facility Management.  The physical asset is the foundation of the investment.  Poor maintenance procedures impact your ability to attract and retain quality residents.  Poor preventive maintenance and poorly executed capital projects drive up costs, and impact the bottom line.  Today’s property manager is trained to get the most out of maintenance dollars to keep tenants happy and build property value.

Human Resource Management.  People make a difference.  Staff that is well trained and rewarded will take good care of your tenants.  Hiring and training is the key.  Today’s property manager utilizes human resource systems to hire great people and keep them producing top results.

Not just Collecting Rent.  So how do you make sure that all of these things are happening with your real estate investment?  The key is having a management system.  The most difficult thing in property management is consistency.  What investors are looking for is a consistent cash flow.  By having a system of planning, executing and evaluating the results you can achieve that goal.  Today’s property management teams combine tried and true procedures, best practices, state of the art technology and training in a management system that delivers long term success.