Realtor managers such as Sean Robbins are the unsung heroes of the real estate industry. They do a lot more than simply collect rents, and they should be compensated for their efforts accordingly. In this post, we will discuss 10 responsibilities that a property manager has which you may not know about, but need to know to select the right one for your business.
Table of Contents
Hire and manage contractors
Property managers coordinate with your contractors to get work done on the property. They also hire new contractors when old ones don’t perform satisfactorily or if you need more than one type of contractor on a job.
Inspect properties for code violations and safety hazards
This is a very overlooked responsibility that many people fail to realize that a property manager has. If there are any health and safety risks in the rental unit, they must take action immediately by getting in touch with relevant parties such as landlords, building authorities, and fire departments.
Prepare reports and statements
Your property manager will compile and produce reports regularly that inform you of the status of your rental income and expenses. Common reports include things like statements, budgets, year-to-date totals, month-to-date totals, inspection results for apartments or units in your portfolio. You can also request reports regarding tenant complaints/compliments which may indicate issues where there previously weren’t any.
Communicate with tenants regularly
They will be in constant contact with tenants who need to pay rent or report maintenance issues to them right away. They will organize walkthroughs when potential tenants want to view an apartment unit in your portfolio.
Handle tenant complaints
Whether the complaint concerns repairs or maintenance issues, rent collections, or deposit refunds, they are often the first person to hear about it. They will follow up with you regarding any policies that need to be changed to prevent the recurrence of the issue in the future. For example, if there is a problem at one of your properties that involves something like parking problems. You may decide to relocate the tenant’s parking space temporarily or let them know that you will work towards resolving it sooner rather than later.
Prepare lease agreements and renewal notices
This is another responsibility that people don’t expect a property manager to have. But often, they will draft and send out standard lease agreements to applicants who have passed the initial screening and wish to rent one of your properties. This saves you a lot of time and energy, and all documents must be up-to-date to comply with city laws.
Handle late rent payments
Rent collection is almost always the responsibility of a property manager even though there may be other employees such as leasing consultants on staff. They must contact clients immediately once their rent payment has failed to go through and follow up accordingly depending on the rental policies in place. While some companies let their clients know that any payment made after the 7th will incur a late fee, others choose not to include this information to let their clients know that they are flexible.
Order maintenance supplies and manage contractors
You may decide to hire one contractor for all your properties or you may like to hire different types of contractors depending on the type of property you own and what needs doing (overall repairs vs. small jobs etc.). Your property manager must liaise with you constantly when it comes to hiring new contractors because some people only want reliable plumbers who can fix anything while others would like occasional inspections by pest control companies during ‘bug season.
Manage work orders
Work orders are requests made by tenants/owners which can be anything from regular maintenance issues such as replacing smoke alarm batteries, repairing taps or light fixtures, etc., problems with appliances not working or any other type of service request requiring attention by an expert tradesperson. When a tenant reports something broken/malfunctioning, the property manager should ask them to provide photographic evidence which should be uploaded on a work order system.
Deal with insurance issues related to damages
A property manager usually has access to an emergency fund which they use when dealing with situations such as leaking roofs, burst pipes, etc. If you contract a property manager, likely, they will also handle these types of emergencies for you so you don’t have to get involved personally unless necessary. All interactions made by your property manager should be recorded in case there are any disputes over payment invoices from contractors after the work is completed.
About the Author:
Ray is a sought-after thought leader and an expert in financial and money management. He has been published and featured in over 50 leading sites and aims to contribute articles to help novice financial planners. One of his goals is to impart his knowledge in finance to educate and help ordinary people create and achieve their financial goals.
