Time Saving Tips for Property Managers

A property manager is a real estate professional that is hired by a property owner to handle the operation, maintenance, and administration associated with rental properties. While the exact responsibilities of a property manager can vary depending on the type of property being managed, it is undeniable that all of these tasks can take a significant amount of time and energy to complete.

However, there are some brilliant time-saving strategies out there that property managers can use to work more efficiently. So, let us discover 3 time management tips that can help property managers to accomplish their goals and boost their real estate management skills.

Create Time Blocks and Document Your Workload

For property managers, the constant temptation to multitask can cause even a seasoned professional to lose focus. This is particularly common in smaller companies where roles can sometimes overlap, making it difficult to know who is responsible for certain tasks. Instead, start by allocating each rental listing a block of time so that you can get into a more easily managed workflow. Multitasking can be highly distracting for a property manager especially when there is so much that needs to be done, but it seems to be the case that there is more room for errors when frequent task switching takes place.

Furthermore, in order to work more efficiently, it might be useful to document your time. Any interactions with tenants should be documented by default anyway, however, some property managers find it useful to document other tasks in a similar way. For instance, try keeping a log of how much time you spend on each project. You can then break up your time slots based on whether you were setting up listings, answering calls, conducting showings, or communicating with contractors. Even tracking just one week of work in this way can help you to get a better idea of how your time is being spent.

Digitize Elements of Your Tenant Screening Processes

As a property manager, tenant screening is one of your most important, and therefore time-consuming, responsibilities. Advertising the actual vacancy, carrying out any viewings, as well as referencing and establishing whether a prospective tenant has the legal right to rent can all seem complex, but there are steps that can be taken to streamline things. One way to refine your screening process is to introduce a pre-screening survey. A Google Form survey can be set up in minutes to filter through your applications and discard any non-qualified tenants. Valuable criteria including your pet and smoking policies, income standards, and references can all be included as part of a comprehensive online pre-screening process.

Dealing with phone calls and emails from potential tenants that simply do not meet the necessary criteria can be exhausting and so using an online survey can make sure that only prospective renters that meet your criteria are considered. Moreover, it might seem intuitive, but when producing listings, you must make any minimum criteria as clear as possible. Correspondingly, some property managers have found that turning lists of criteria into a photograph can be useful as potential tenants are much more likely to read this information when scrolling through photographs of the property.

Connect with Your Team

When working as a property manager, collaborating with your colleagues is a great way to ensure that everyone is working towards a united goal. For instance, why not start each day with a short meeting about the most pressing tasks? Make sure that everyone on your team has access to a list of everything that needs doing and be prepared to break down larger jobs into smaller ones to keep track of progress. You might even want to schedule a midday check in to assess what has been accomplished so far and to ensure that no one is falling behind. In your meetings be sure to check that all tasks have been assigned and be prepared to propose solutions to any obstacles that might be limiting progress.

Give extra time to answer any questions, concerns, or clarifications and the majority of any potential workplace frustrations should be avoided. Communicating with your colleagues is also a fantastic opportunity to identify whether any tasks could be outsourced. For instance, some property management companies have found that virtual assistants can be used to post listings, respond to requests, and deal with telephone queries. Just be aware that there are some laws in place that require certain property management tasks to be completed by a qualified professional.

Ultimately, with so many responsibilities on their shoulders, it is no surprise that property managers sometimes feel a little overwhelmed. Nonetheless, by implementing some of the time management tips above, property management tasks can be completed more efficiently, productivity can increase, and overall job satisfaction can grow. Above all, rental properties are much more likely to succeed when the day to day operations needed to keep a property running is taken care of quickly and effectively.

When creating a property investment portfolio, managing more than one property can seem like a daunting task. If you own multiple properties, this guide to property management might come in useful.