Have you thought about becoming a property manager, but want to know what the property manager role actually entails? What are the responsibilities of a property manager?
Read on if you are contemplating pursuing a property management career. We hope the list of responsibilities below will help you decide if this career is for you.
What Does a Property Manager Do?
In general, a property manager is hired when the landlord or real estate investor wants to outsource some or all of the daily responsibilities of their rental property. Property manager responsibilities can, indeed, include a few basic tasks or you might be responsible for entire operations at the property. We list below 10 common property manager responsibilities.
1. Finding New Tenants
Property manager responsibilities usually include tenant management. This is the main responsibility of landlords and many are happy to outsource this to property managers. Tenant management often includes finding and attracting tenants. Residential property managers are expected to fill vacant rental units at the property. Marketing a rental property, therefore, is part of the job description. They will need to advertise the rentals and post compelling ads to relevant listing sites and other places for advertising rentals.
2. Tenant Screening
Property manager responsibilities also include making sure that new prospective tenants are trustworthy. Here, professional property managers often have a specific tenant screening process that goes through the prospective tenants’ credit history and backgrounds. The good thing here is that the more people they screen over time, the better and faster they can pick the right tenants and avoid frequent tenant turnover.
3. Handling Complaints
Maintenance and handling complaints are also common property management responsibilities. For example, if someone is having frequent parties at the property and the neighbors complain about it, it will likely be the property manager who will have to deal with it. Sometimes property managers even have to handle emergency situations, so you should also be aware of the safety precautions taken at the property.
4. Coordinating Tenant Turnover
Property manager responsibilities include the coordination of tenant turnover. Indeed, property managers are the ones who need to coordinate when people move in and out. Property managers will need to check the rental spaces after previous tenants for damages, organize cleaning, and fix any damages before new tenants move in.
In some cases where tenants cause problems, the property manager handles the evictions. This means they should know the landlord-tenant laws as well as have the courage to handle the situation confidently.
5. Setting, Collecting, and Adjusting Rents
Collecting rent is a basic responsibility of any landlord. Property manager responsibilities, therefore, can also include lease management as this task landlords gladly outsource to property managers. The property manager will also usually define and set up systems for collecting rent from tenants. They will often have to include strict deadlines and penalties for late payments, and a method to check all rents have been paid as agreed.
The property manager is not only in charge of collecting the rents but is also usually responsible for setting a rental rate. This requires that they actually know the market. A property manager must adjust the rents in a way that attracts tenants but also generates rental income for the owners. Likewise, the property manager can also increase or lower rent annually based on the developments in the real estate market.
6. Property Maintenance
Property manager responsibilities also include property maintenance. This will ensure the property stays in good condition and is a safe environment for the tenants. Maintenance means investigating and resolving tenant complaints and enforcing rules of occupancy. They will also check all the vacant apartments and maintain and renovate them as needed or coordinate the work of contractors. Do note that in colder locations, basic maintenance can even include contracting snow removal services.
7. Securing the Property
Property manager responsibilities often go beyond basic maintenance at the rental property. They will also need to secure the property by either contracting security guards or maintaining proper security devices or both. Their role will also include setting up policies and procedures that build emergency preparedness. A professional property manager knows that the more secure the rental property is, the more sense of security the tenants feel. This improves tenant retention.
8. Overall Supervision
The responsibilities of a property manager and their role can often be a lot more than meets the eye. Yes, property manager responsibilities do include the more visible day-to-day errands and services, but in the background, they can, in fact, run the entire show. That is if the real estate investor wants to utilize the whole spectrum of property management support available out there. Property managers can be requested to carry out all the analysis, planning, and management of the property. To this end, they do need a wide set of management skills and knowledge of the real estate domain.
If there are other employees working in the rental property, for example, security guards, property manager duties include supervising their work. This includes setting their salaries and evaluating their performance. Property managers will also supervise other potential contractors at the property.
9. Financial Management
For a residential property manager, financial management starts from analyzing and establishing the right rental rates, calculating costs, depreciation, and taxes as well as determining realistic profit goals and a budget to achieve them. On top of planning, a property manager is also expected to accomplish financial objectives. To this end, they collect rents and pay invoices, monitor variances, and take corrective action to get the budget back on track.
10. Staying Up-to-Date and Enforcing Landlord-Tenant Laws
Professional property managers must have in-depth knowledge of local landlord-tenant laws in terms of screening tenants, handling security deposits, lease terminations, and evictions, as well as compliance with property safety standards. They will have to enforce these and all the policies laid out in the lease contracts. This can also include confronting potential violators.
Final Thoughts
We hope this list of common property manager responsibilities provided you a better understanding of what is expected of this role. As you probably noticed, property manager responsibilities can include only a few essential tasks or include entire management of the rental property. It is safe to say that property managers need to acquire various skills and knowledge for managing rental properties successfully. Mashvisor covers tips for beginner and more experienced property managers in its blog, which we recommend you to read to get further insight.
Check out the Mashboard and see how else Mashvisor can help you as a property manager.