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A property manager’s job is not easy.
None of the tasks are extremely hard, but the devil is in the details, as they say.
There are the daily tasks of collecting the rent, filing for eviction, keeping up with the maintenance of the property, lease renewals, showings, new lease signings and marketing the available properties.
However, that only scratches the surface of the complete job description.
A lot of property managers also keep all of the accounts payable records and pay the expenses, they do reporting on each rental unit for owners, and they keep up with the taxes and insurance payments on the property. It is a lot of work and if the property manager misses a deadline, the ripple effect could be detrimental to the many other tasks that hinge on each other.
Like anything in life, if you understand the position, it can be easier to embrace the frustrations you might encounter in this real estate investment game, whether you are an owner, renter or wanting to be a property manager yourself.
From the perspective of the owner:
The property managers are the glue between you and your tenants. The manager shields your identity from the tenant so that tenants aren’t looking up your name and number in the middle of the night to call you about their backed-up toilet. The property manager also keeps track of all of the expenses, income and other accounting details, allowing you to hand over clean records to your accountant at the end of the year.
From the perspective of the tenant:
Sometimes the manager’s hands are tied. It’s not that they don’t want to give you everything you want, but they face budget restrictions and requirements handed down to them by the owner of the property. Therefore, they are not being “mean” if they do not honor your request to replace all of the appliances in your rental home with new ones; they are probably following the budgets outlined by the owner of the property.
From the perspective of those who want to be a property manager:
This job can be very rewarding, especially when all parties are happy. You must be very organized to avoid the little things sneaking up on you. Property managers need to have a thick skin for when either a tenant or owner is not happy with the way things are going. Overall, it can be very rewarding to help tenants find a place to live.
Frustration with your current property manager can be a common occurrence among both owners and tenants and even the property managers themselves, but what it comes down to is communication. As a manager, owner or tenant, don’t be afraid to express your frustration, but do it with class and document your conversations with e-mail. State the problem or issue clearly and offer a solution.
No matter the role you play, anyone will most likely be “all in” when it comes to suggestions on how to make the job easier for all involved. Likewise, if it is done with respect, each person will feel better about their role and will only improve the job to offer better services to clients.
Understanding the role that each person plays will be key in making the task of property management manageable and profitable for all involved.
Jessica Hickok is a REALTOR® Broker and Property Manager/Landlord with Dizmang Properties, Inc. (www.getpaul.com) in Springfield, Missouri. She can also be found on Twitter as @SugarCube.
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.
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Sunday marks week three of America's new favorite pastime:
Fantasy Football.
It's a multi-million dollar industry - and growing.
But who do you start? Who do you sit?
The Aaron Rodgers' and Adrian Peterson's of the world are automatic plays.
But what about some of the fringe guys?
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Amazon' 10-inch tablet will start getting built in the first quarter of 2012, DigiTimes reports.
By all accounts, Amazon is planning to release two tablets: one smaller, 7 inch tablet which will compete more with the Nook and be a kind of "super Kindle", and a bigger 10 inch tablet which will compete with the iPad.
According to sources DigiTimes spoke to, both tablets are being built by Foxconn (yes, that Foxconn) which is already building the Kindle, and the small tablet will ship in the fall and the big tablet next year.
Don't Miss: Everything We Know About The Secret Tablet So Far ?
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We&Co is a new location-based app that is all about great service. If you receive excellent customer service you can 'thank' those responsible. It's a fine concept, given the importance of customer experience in modern business.
I asked co-founder Ryan Jones to provide us with a lowdown on the app...
In one sentence, what is We&Co?
We&Co is a location-based social app for people who provide and enjoy great service.
What problems does We&Co solve?
We interact with hundreds, if not thousands, of people every year. However, in some respects, we’ve lost the ability to build human relationships in our rapid-fire world of “always on” and “quick transaction”.
Facebook has helped us reconnect with family and friends. LinkedIn is a place to connect with colleagues. Through the power of a mobile "thank”, We&Co helps you connect and build relationships with the people who provide you outstanding service on a daily basis, but aren't easily bucketed. The woman who cuts your hair just how you like it, or, the barista who makes that perfect cup of coffee, for example.
Additionally, to date, employees at the point of sale have not really been involved in location based marketing. We&Co is the first app focused on empowering employees within a business via mobile, location based tools.
We&Co enables great service providers to track & build an audience of patrons who appreciate the great experiences they provide, fostering 1:1 relationships that truly build customer loyalty in store.
When and why did you launch it?
We&Co was launched on July 16th. Our team is passionate about using technology to facilitate the creation of new human (real) relationships. We launched We&Co to elevate and empower service sector employees and spread a little more joy in our increasingly cynical world.
Who is your target audience?
Popular location based social apps out there today are often focused on attracting 18-25 males who go out a lot. We are hoping to grow the social location based space by attracting more women and a slightly older demographic now adopting smart phones… folks that tend to appreciate great service experiences and people.
In addition, we want to involve more employees in location based marketing, so we've built a game that allows employees to compete to become "The Boss" if they receive the most "Thanks" from patrons over a 30 day period.
What are your immediate goals?
In the short term we are looking to build traction in a couple of key cities in the US and continue tweaking the App based on user feedback. We'd also love to build a web app so that people without smart phones can claim their profiles and send thanks online.
Additionally, we've seen strong demand for an Android App, so we'll be looking to get that out as soon as we can.
What were the biggest challenges involved in building We&Co?
We had a lot of fun building We&Co. Every startup faces a whole host of challenges early on, so it is important to have a purpose that drives you every day.
The We&Co team is intensely motivated by the chance to elevate and empower great service people who work hard to provide outstanding experiences.
How is We&Co funded?
We are currently funded by generous angels.
How will the company make money?
As We&Co grows, we will look to provide premium features for employees and businesses to grow and enhance their communities and 1:1 relationships. In addition, we plan to offer integrated sponsorship and targeted advertising over time.
Who is in the team and what does it look like?
Co-founders are Marc Mathieu (SVP Unilever), Jared Malan (ex BeDo), and Ryan Jones (ex P&G). TJ Muehlemann (CTO) and Meggan Wood (Creative Dir.) round out the core team.
We&Co's strong business purpose attracts a lot of motivated people and active volunteers in the "Thankforce" a grassroots effort born in Atlanta, London and New York.
Where would you like to be in one, three and five year’s time?
1 Year: Key location based player with significant user base and strong initial employee acceptance.
3 Years: Globally-recognised location-based player with strong brand partnerships
5 Years: Potential for public offering.
Chris Lake is Director of Innovation at Econsultancy, an entrepreneur and a long-term internet fiend. Follow him on Twitter or connect via Linkedin.
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