Simple Tips For Being A Successful Property Manager

Being a property manager is a very challenging and exciting job to have, but it’s definitely not a job that everyone can do. You generally have a hundred and one things that you are trying to get done for yourself, and having to assist and direct staff and vendors on top of it can make for a very stressful environment if not managed correctly. Here are a few quick tips to determine if you are, or can be, a successful property manager.

Don’t Let The Workload Overwhelm You

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This is a very difficult thing to be able to do. When the work starts piling up (especially around month-end) it is hard not to tailspin into a panic. I have watched other managers hit this point where they feel like they will never get caught up, and all it does is make them less productive. There is always a bottom to that pile of paperwork, you just have to do one thing at a time until it is done. Sometimes that can take several days, but it can be done.

Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help. You generally have staff around you that you can delegate to, or you can ask for some help from your boss or other managers. We have all been in that position, and you will always find someone who is willing to help. Allowing yourself to drown when there are life jackets available isn’t heroic, it’s just stupid.

Cross Train Your Staff

I can’t emphasize this enough. This week, I am away from my own office all week at budgeting sessions. I have to be able to trust that my assistant is going to be able to handle running the property while I am not there. The way that you make sure that they can do that, is to be constantly training your staff to be prepared for the next promotion. I feel that if my staff is not regularly being considered for a promotion, than I am failing at my job. Encourage your staff to learn more and you can delegate more to them, and spread the workload around. While I know a lot of us property managers are control freaks (I definitely am…) the best thing that you can learn to do is to let go and train your staff to help you.

You Have To Love Your Job

This applies to successful people in any profession, but is extremely important in property management. You have to be able to take the good with the bad, and look at the big picture. If you don’t love your job, you should probably start looking for a new one. We all have those bad days dealing with residents, but at the same time you are hopefully getting the good residents coming in and complimenting you on a job well done.

Being able to manage a place where hundreds of people live in such a small area is something to be extremely proud of. Don’t let the hard stuff get you down, and celebrate your successes!

Please leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Managing An Affordable Property

I briefly mentioned in my previous post about managing affordable housing. Affordable housing is something that a lot of people in the property management field try to avoid, but for me personally it is something that I became very good at, and have enjoyed doing for the most part. There are a few things about affordable housing that you should know before taking a job working for an affordable property.

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First, What Is Affordable Housing?

A lot of people like to assume that affordable housing and Section 8 are the same thing. They are not. They have different objectives, and are completely different programs. Affordable housing came about through Section 42 of the U.S. Code that was written as a part of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The purpose behind this law is to give developers a tax incentive to build housing and rent the units at a rate that lower income people would be able to afford. Hence, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program was created (I choose to use the term affordable, it is just much easier). Believe it or not, the people who build the communities don’t always hold the tax credits. What these developers generally do, is accept the tax credits that are given, and turn around and sell them for cash to complete the development. Once the property is completed, you can move residents in and you begin the process of certifying all of the residents.

Initial Certification Process

At a conventional property, you can have someone tour, apply, and move in on the same day. In affordable housing, that is just not possible. Certifying a future resident is a process that takes some time, and a chunk of effort. You can not just accept a current paystub from someone, make sure they make enough, and call it good. You have to make sure that this person is BELOW the required income qualifying threshold before you can approve their application. This involves receiving pay information from the employer, not the applicant. If this applicant has children, you have to verify that there is not any child support being provided. This is done by contacting your local district attorney’s office to see if there is an open case for child support collection. For others, you may have to verify if the household is comprised of residents who are all full time students. Because students are considered “transient”, an entire household of full time students is not eligible to participate in the affordable program. These items along with a persons assets are verified for income generation and then sent of to a compliance department to ensure that you haven’t missed anything. Once your compliance department has approved the application, you are set to move the resident in.

Re-certification Process

If that initial certification process doesn’t seem daunting enough, after the initial lease term is completed, you have to complete an annual re-certification. That first annual re-certification is going to be the exact same process that you went through to get the resident approved to move in. You want to start this process at least 90 days in advance to ensure enough time to complete the certification before it is due. Failure to complete this certification on time can be very costly. If your property is 100% affordable, you can generally switch over to a self certification process after the 1st re-certification is completed.

Staying In Compliance

Failure to stay in compliance with all of the rules in the affordable housing program can be extremely costly for the owner of the property, or whomever holds the tax credits. The form that is used to notify of these potential problems is the dreaded form 8823. If a certain amount of mistakes are made, the credit claim that was issued by the government can be rescinded. This would cost the ownership a lot of money, and could cost on-site staff their jobs.

This post barely scratches the surface of what all is required on an affordable property, but gives you the basic information that you would want to know going into the process as a resident or a manager.

Please leave me your thoughts in the comment section below!

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Managing Month End Close

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We all have been there. You are going through your month end closing procedures, and surprise! You discover a big ol’ mess that has to be cleaned up… before your deadline in the next 30 minutes. It is a moment of panic that could have been completely avoided had you checked that earlier, or had been keeping tabs on your property’s accounting throughout the month. I have a few tips below to help make sure you stay on track and avoid that big surprise right at the end of the month.

Manage Your Receivables Carefully

Checking the aged receivables is something that should be done daily by your assistant manager (if you have one), and you as a manager should follow up on it at least once a week. You want to check for open credits, any write offs that may be missed, and investigate any unusually high balances (both outstanding and credits). This is an even more important if you manage an affordable community, or have an affordable portion. With affordable housing, you generally have a good handful of residents receiving Section 8 assistance. I don’t know about you, but the housing authority in my area is constantly sending out contract changes, adjustments, and even taking money back. This is a constant issue that needs to be monitored, and it is something that can take a long time to unwind if left alone for too long.

Make Sure Your Traffic Is Accurate

Making sure that your traffic is accurate will help make your month end process go faster. If you have checked your traffic on a regular basis (Every other day for me), you will know that it is accurate come month end. This involves not only making sure your staff is entering their traffic correctly, but making sure that move-ins and move-outs are completed in the computer at the appropriate time. You also want to make sure that all of the charges have been entered correctly for these residents. Verify the move-in charges against the lease, and audit the charges on move out files. You want to make sure that all of your income and expenses are falling in the right place before the month closes.

Enter Your Invoices Regularly

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Entering invoices is my absolute least favorite job duty to perform (you can ask anyone who has ever worked with me… I just can’t stand it). When I was a fresh new manager, invoices were always something that I would put off until the last possible moment. You know what happens when you do that? Your financials become a MESS. you either end up having to accrue and reclass FAR more items than you should, and you end up missing things all together that hit you in another month. Take it from me, it is not fun having to spend hours going over bills to make sure that are accounted for in the correct month. It is far easier to just enter your invoices weekly (or twice a week if you have a lot) and then they end up falling in the month that they belong in. I just have to suck it up, and take that time out of my week and make sure they get done.

Ultimately, I try to take a day and look at my month end checklist (most look something like this) about three days before it is due. This will allow you to catch anything that was missed and give you time to correct it before you are staring that deadline in the face. When you do discover that mess, don’t panic, and let your supervisor know if you are going to need more time. It is better to be honest than catch them by surprise.

Leave your month end tips in the comment section below!

Dear Residents

(Disclaimer: if you are seriously being mistreated by your apartment management, contact their corporate office, or in extreme cases you can contact HUD.)

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This post is going to be a little different than my prior posts because this post is addressed directly to the people that we do our work for, the residents. This isn’t directed at all residents, because the majority of residents are very cooperative and friendly. I believe there is a 90:10 rule that exists, and it means that you are spending 90% of your time dealing with 10% of your resident population. That is the 10% of the people I am trying to reach. I have listed a few tips below if you think you might be “one of those” residents.

First And Foremost, Don’t Be Rude!

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I’m not talking about people getting a little upset once in a while. We are dealing with your home, so you have every right to get upset when something bothers you. What is not acceptable, is coming into the office screaming like a child about something as minor as a parking space. News flash, acting outrageously does nothing more than make you look immature.

When you have an issue, talk about it like the mature adult I know you’re capable of being. I generally really try my best to make a resident feel at home and try to go above and beyond to help. I don’t know about others, but I am far more likely to take those extra steps (that I don’t have to take) if you can express your concern in a calm and collected manner.

Try To Follow The Rules

We put rules in place for a reason. Please try to follow them. Remember, there are TONS of people living around you, and we are trying to maintain a pleasant living environment for everyone in the community. This includes taking out your garbage correctly, picking up after your pets, or even taking your pets outside to do their business (something I thought I would never have to explain). The biggest thing, don’t smoke in your apartment if it’s against the rules. It is a health and safety concern first, and people REALLY don’t like the smell.

If you occasionally break one of the rules, it’s OK. We don’t mind having to help clean up every now and then. You won’t be thrown out, and we aren’t tracking your every move. Although, when you are consistently breaking the rules you will have to deal with the consequences. When you get charged for leaving trash by the door, accept it. The wrong thing to do is to tell me that it’s really difficult to take your trash to the dumpster. It’s not.

Finally, Don’t Be Passive Aggressive

There is nothing more frustrating for someone who’s job is to fix your issues, than someone who won’t just come out and say it. When there is something that you would like to see changed, please just say it. There are another 100+ apartments that a manager has to worry about, so please forgive us if we miss your subtle hints.

Please just be blunt and tell me (again, in a calm and courteous manner) what it is you would like. It may not always be something that I can do, but I will always be honest and do what I can to try to find a solution.

Remember, as managers we are trying to build and maintain a positive relationship with all of our residents. While there are many things that get on our nerves (and I am sure we get on yours) open dialogue and clear communication can go a long way to building that relationship.

Leave me your thoughts in the comments below!

Managing Your Online Reputation

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Your online presence can be a very difficult thing to manage, especially when you are dealing with somebody’s home. While it can be difficult, your online presence is becoming more important as time goes on. Here are a few tips to help make your online presence paint you in a better light:

Respond To Your Reviews

Responding to every review you get, both positive and negative, will help reinforce that you care about what people think regarding your property. You can use a site like reputation.com that helps to alert you whenever a review is submitted for your property. When you are responding make sure you keep it professional. I know there are times that you want to just be completely honest when you are responding to a negative review, but it is highly likely to backfire if you do. It is really difficult to respond professionally when someone has just said that “he is like an angry confused kid who feels somewhat entitled” or “He is extremely rude, his follow through and memory is horrible”, and yes, these are from actual reviews about me. You will never be free of statements being made like this, but it becomes very clear to prospects that you are the more mature party when you respond professionally to the negative review.

You Have To Ask For Positive Reviews

I have learned over the years that people are far more likely to be self motivated to post a negative review when they are angry, than a positive one when they are happy. You have to be actively asking your happy residents to post a review. They generally don’t think to post something like that, so when they come by and sing your praises, don’t be afraid to ask them to post it online!

Ultimately, managing your online reputation the correct way will help increase your traffic, and make it easier to lease! If you have a lot of negative reviews that are not responded to, it can make it more difficult.

Share your favorite review stories in the comments below!

 

Market Status: Reno, NV

To say that the housing market in the greater Reno area is booming may be an understatement. Rent has continued to increase, and there are no signs of slowing down. What caused such a dramatic rise in rents over the last several years? There are a combination of two primary reasons that I will explain below:

Reno Was Hit HARD By The Recession

The economic landscape in the Reno area was not looking too good between 2007 and 2012.  The gaming industry stalled, as people didn’t have the extra money to spend at the casino. Employment had dropped significantly, and the housing market was definitely hit hard, with property values dramatically decreasing. Through this vacancy in the multi-family industry also decreased as people started to leave town to go where they could get work. Prices for homes and rental communities dropped so low that builders halted projects, and did not come back. Once the recession ended, the economy started to rebound, and prices started to stabilize. Then…

The Economy Took Off

If you were not the type of person who paid attention to what was happening in the local economy, it would appear as if all of a sudden things picked back up. When the economy turned around it was in large part due to Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval making the conscious decision to diversify the economy in Nevada. He made economic development a cabinet position, and started working to bring larger companies to the area. This resulted in bringing companies like Tesla, Swtich, Apple, and Google to the Reno area, marking the beginning of the massive housing shortage we are seeing today.

The Results

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Due to such a sudden economic takeoff, the multi-family housing market in the greater Reno area increased dramatically over a few short years. According to a Johnson Perkins Griffin quarterly survey of the local market, the average rent in the area has increased by $318 in the last 10 years, with an increase of $83 (Or 7.47%) change between Q1 2017 and Q2 2017. Due to this great increase in revenues, the builders have come back. There are currently 12 apartment communities actively being built totaling 3,361 new units. There are another 19 planned projects with an additional 7,822 total units being added in the future. That is a combined total of 11,183 units that will likely be added to the market.

Looking Forward

The market in the greater Reno area is going to continue to rise. THIS IS NOT A BUBBLE. The increase in demand for housing is built on the sustainable jobs that have come to the area, not any speculation. Now the goal is to catch up to the job growth with the building of housing, both single-family and multi-family. We will continue to see large price increases in the rental market until this stabilizes, which will likely take a few more years. This is great news for existing owners in the area who can capitalize in the rising prices, but not as good for the people out looking for a place to live. Once the market stabilizes, prices will remain higher than they were a decade ago, but they will decrease from the extremely high rates we are seeing now.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Joys of the Ugly Turn

We are all too familiar with turning a unit. It is generally a pretty quick and routine process. Maybe some trash to throw out, fix a few things, clean or replace the carpet, and clean the apartment. Not too scary right? Then you have those special turns that come along (hopefully not too often). Those turns when you walk into the apartment and your jaw just drops. Let me paint the picture for you:

You open the door and you see that there is trash and belongings left behind everywhere, holes in the walls, and the apartment is FILTHY (Remember me saying how much I love maintenance staff?). You of course, have to start taking photos to document the damage, and start instantly counting how much this former resident is going to owe you.

 

The worst part can be the smells. A vacant apartment always has a different smell to it, because people had been living there. Normally it is not an unpleasant smell, but in the bad apartments, the smells can be awful. I won’t go into detail but by taking a look at the photo here on the right (I spared you… this isn’t the worst photo), you can probably guess that this place didn’t smell like roses.

I have learned over the years that you never really know who these people are. They can be the most friendly resident you have, or the complete opposite. The best way to stop these from happening is to make sure that you are doing regular unit by unit inspections, and serving these types of people sanitation notices. Otherwise, these will be far more frequent than you want them to be.

The good news, is this apartment will be beautiful in no time! It will get a full upgrade, and make the beautiful transformation that you see here on the left. Gotta love those rehabs!

Share your turn horror stories in the comments below!

 

Maintenance is Your Most Valuable Asset

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In property management, it seems that maintenance staff is sometimes seen as an afterthought, when in fact they should be the priority. Without a solid maintenance staff, your property will quickly begin to fall apart. As managers, we can survive for an extended period of time without a leasing staff, as we are generally well versed and constantly active in the leasing process. Going on without a maintenance staff is almost impossible (or at least VERY expensive) to do for any length of time.

Think about the kinds of things that these people have to deal with on a daily basis… They see some pretty scary things. On top of that, they are generally very skilled individuals. Being able to repair HVAC systems, appliances, cabinetry, and plumbing, (just to name a few) are very valuable skills that save the community a lot of money by not having to hire vendors for every repair.

According to Payscale, the average pay for a regular maintenance technician is only around $15 per hour. That, to me, is outrageous. I would generally suggest starting wages to be around $14 per hour for someone with absolutely no experience that has to be taught how to do basically everything. Pay for an experienced technician should be at least $16.50 per hour, depending on the location and cost of living in that particular area. You also have to remember, with most companies maintenance staff doesn’t get any sort of commission on a regular basis. Some get a portion of a renewal bonus, but nothing like the commissions that leasing staff can rack up.

Remember to appreciate your maintenance staff. These are the people that make it possible for us to lease apartments. Without their prep work in vacant apartments, routine maintenance, and cleaning of the grounds, we would never be able to manage a successful property. I am not trying to say that other staff members aren’t important, but I feel that maintenance is extremely undervalued in this industry. I have noticed recently that more attention is being paid to maintenance, and I hope that there are positive changes for maintenance staff.

What are your thoughts on maintenance? Leave your thoughts below in the comments!