Are you interested in being a property manager? Does the idea of starting a property management company excite you? Or are you a property manager looking to enhance your current business? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then this blog is for you!
Property management is a business that involves managing different kinds of people and real estate properties. As a property manager, you will form a variety of professional relationships with landlords, tenants, and contractors. Moreover, you will need to know the local laws of your market and create efficient protocols. In this blog, we go over tips you can follow when starting a property management company of your own.
Related: How to Become a Property Manager in 5 Steps
The Best Tips for Starting Your Own Property Management Company
1. Get to Know the Property
Starting a property management company requires that you know your properties from A to Z. When you get a new property under your management, it is crucial to really get to know the home’s features and systems. Each property’s unique systems have a specific service interval and lifespan. Failure to do this may result in one of your systems malfunctioning due to the lack of preventative care or maintenance. This would not be professional and would earn you a bad reputation. So, if you’re considering being a property manager for multiple clients, you need to ensure that you know your rental properties inside out to prevent any unpleasant surprises from happening.
2. Provide Easy-to-Follow Instructions
Consider this as one of your important property manager duties. When you start your own company, it may just be you running things in the beginning. Even then, you will be working with different real estate professionals and eventually, you’ll even bring on a team of your own. Make it simple for them. Outline all of your procedures and management duties for your team to ensure everything runs smoothly. When preparing this guide, make sure to be thorough and meticulous to remove any possibility of confusion. This, in turn, will keep tenants happy, which will result in higher occupancy rates. Higher occupancy rates mean happy clients!
3. Pick the Right Technology
If you are thinking about starting a property management company, you will need the right professional property management tools. Start by looking for property management software that will help you manage your business in the most efficient way. More specifically, you should keep an eye out for a platform that helps you manage your rental property records and track performance.
Check out these 7 Best Property Management Tools for 2019.
You’ll also need tools that will help you stand out among the competition- tools that help you provide unique services for your clients. One such tool is Mashboard. This tool helps you identify the next investment property for your client and get more properties under your management. With Mashboard, you can:
- Identify Which Client Is Ready to Buy
- Simply input basic client info and our system will automatically gather all the data needed to qualify
- Through our lead likelihood algorithm, you will know if the client is ready to buy another investment property without asking them a single question
- Find the Right Property for Your Client
- We supply a vast amount of properties from the MLS and Auction.com as well as off-market properties
- The Property Recommender, with its 90% accuracy, will match your client to the best possible property
- Share a Property Analysis Report
- Our property analysis report includes sales and rental comps as well as an expense and ROI analysis
- You have the option of showcasing your industry expertise by sharing the report with your clients via email or SMS
Click here to try out this unique rental property management software.
4. Start Networking
Networking is a great way to build your client base. When starting a property management company, keep in mind that customers don’t just appear. You need to search for them, attract them, and retain them.
There are different ways to find clients. Word of mouth is a great and cheap way of advertising your real estate business, especially if you are starting a rental property management company. Your soft skills will come in handy here. Start talking and forming relationships with people in your community. One way of doing this is by reaching out to the top selling real estate agents since they know about the best real estate properties. Another option is partaking in Homeowners Associations (HOAs) and real estate investment clubs. Through your involvement, you can learn who needs a professional to manage their rental properties. Moreover, you can connect with the Chamber of Commerce or a local business organization where you can try and present your venture.
Through networking, you can also meet experienced landlords and real estate investors who can give you property manager tips and advice on how to start a property management company. So, networking is not only important for finding clients but for your real estate education and growth as well.
Related: How to Build a Real Estate Network You Can Rely On
5. Choose the Right Marketing Strategy
If you are thinking of starting a property management company, you are probably wondering how to best showcase your business. In this modern day and age, you should be employing online marketing. There are a variety of online channels that property managers can use to advertise and market their property management companies. You should look into things like Google Ads, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and use such marketing techniques to boost your strategy.
In addition to online marketing, you should also give offline marketing a try. Believe it or not, there are still people who pay attention to ads on cable channels and prefer to read newspapers. As such, property management companies should be openminded to expanding advertising efforts. Consider the local market and choose the right channels to advertise through.
6. Use Rental Property and Market Data
If you are seriously considering starting a property management company, you should know your numbers. As a professional property manager, it is essential to know how much every rental property under your management will likely generate in revenue.
Professional property management companies rely on data to accurately predict the revenue potential of a certain income property. It can also be used to predict occupancy rates. As such, having a financial analysis backed by data is a great way to accurately predict revenue and see where every investment property stands financially. In 2019, this is simply good property management.
Are you an Airbnb property manager? Then check out the Best Airbnb Analytics Platform for 2019 to ensure you’re getting the most accurate and up-to-date short-term rental data you need.
To Sum Up
Once you’re all set up and have some real estate properties, starting a property management company can be a smooth venture. Coupled with the right property management software, you can then focus on growing your real estate business and making more money. That isn’t to say that starting a property management company can’t be challenging at times; it most certainly can. However, if you are willing to take the risk, it can be an extremely rewarding real estate career.