7 Mistakes Property Managers Should Avoid in 2021
People usually don’t like digging into their mistakes. For property managers, however, that is a necessity. There is no other way to improve their work and become better at what they do. For any property manager who cannot track these problems, there is the potential to incur financial losses and miss out on many opportunities. Here are some examples of the issues that can take place in 2021:
- Not automating processes – every property manager, who respects their time and knows that the more efficient they, the better for their job they are, know that they need to automate certain processes. Things like tenant communication, maintenance, rent collection, accounting and bookkeeping should all be automated. At the same time, relying less on face-to-face meetings can further free up some time, and make time management all the more possible.
- Not paying attention to tenants – if property managers don’t communicate with tenants, the latter will not find the need to cooperate when the time comes. It is much better to keep close track of rental experience through communication with the tenants. According to experts, lack of communication or poor communication stands at the root of staff issues. It is important to keep in touch, even from a distance.
- Doing no tenant screening – to ensure a tenant is suitable for the unit, a property manager needs to employ a variety of methods. They can resort to social media, services and even prepare a handful of smart questions that will give them a better idea of how suited the tenant is. All of this serves to reduce advertising costs, vacancies, lost rent, evictions and unhappy landlords.
- Poor accounting practices – there are no two ways about it – property managers need to address accounting matters to a large degree. That is because they need to work on aspects like income attribution, managing expenses, etc. All of that they need to do to the correct account, where information is properly laid out and accessible by the landlord/s. Oftentimes they will need specialised dedicated software and other solutions, to address this aspect of the work.
- Doing no social media activity – many landlords and tenants will believe what their property manager is telling them if there has been some prior engagement on social media with them. That way property managers can create a connection, which demonstrates that they want to be engaged in the work. This also shows attitude and intent, which creates additional value for the same people who will use the services of the property manager. The fact that most social media channels are free helps a great deal too.
- Doing no marketing of property management services – every property manager needs to get out there and connect to as many people as possible. If they are doing no marketing, then that is hardly going to happen. A good website and a dedicated marketing strategy to reach as many people as possible is one of the goals that every property manager needs to have.
- Making rent payments more difficult than they need to be – nowadays more than ever people are interested in making online payments. Their rent is no exception. By providing online payment solutions, property managers can not only improve rent collection rates but also minimise the risk for themselves and the tenants they serve. There is no doubt that every property management company needs to find online payment solutions for all its clients.
These mistakes are the ones that property managers need to be most aware of in 2021. Only by paying attention can they avoid them and ensure success in their work.
