Critical Steps to Starting a Property Management Company

Property management business relates to overseeing one or multiple residential, commercial, or community properties. In cases when the owners lack time or experience to manage the properties themselves, their properties are often run by a property management company.

According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors, the increased demand for commercial properties has made prospective management an attractive business opportunity. Here are a few tips for establishing a thriving property management startup.

Set up the enterprise

As with any other type of business, you need to establish a legal entity, either a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) or an incorporated business (Inc.). You can hire an attorney to do it for you, or you can do it online. Initially, you can work from home, but eventually, you’ll need to set up an office for a more professional appearance.

Set up a website and an email account but also make sure to print business cards. A computer, copier, scanner, and a fax machine should be enough. Since you’ll likely spend a good deal of your time outside the office, your cell phone will be the main means of communication with clients and contractors.

Provide outstanding maintenance

The visual aspect of a building has always been important, but in property management it’s essential. In the commercial department, companies are interested in motivating their workforce and boosting their morale by presenting an attractive company image, and a rundown building is a very opposite.

With residential properties, there’s no better marketing campaign for a successful property management business than properties that are well-maintained. Areas which should be regularly inspected include landscaping, parking, signage, paint, windows, and roofing. In commercial properties, the interior details like flooring, plumbing, walls, fixtures, and furnishings, also fall into the property manager’s purview.

Properties that are well-maintained and appear highly-professional will justify your rates and make you competitive among the other property management businesses.

Adopt the latest technology

Modern buildings today are viewed as an integral part of the business itself, providing the best workstations, the best connectivity, and best mobile capabilities to their clients. It means that the property management company needs to employ highly trained professionals who understand how technologies work, and even anticipate problems so they can effectively troubleshoot and offer optimal solutions.

Streamline the operations by considering a modern cloud-based property management system that can make every part of the property management process simpler and faster. Apart from featuring live dashboards with a quick overview of essential data and insight, these programs simplify document management and invoicing process.

Offer regular upgrades

In any business, maintaining a status quo is just one step from falling behind, so make sure you keep up with the trends and offer your clients the latest features there are. This includes all aspects of the rented space, from the advanced storage features to smart surveillance and alarm systems.

If you provide your clients with a hassle-free environment in which day-to-day maintenance is taken care of, their businesses can focus on running their operations and expanding revenue streams. A thriving client is a happy client, so this is clearly a win-win arrangement.

Embrace networking

In the very beginning, word of the mouth is probably the best ways to advertise your business. Talking to people, maintaining the community and communication can establish a relationship between you and potential clients.

Downtown real estate agents will know a lot about properties for rent, as well as people who’re interested in buying properties for investment. Also, give it a shot with Home Owners Associations (HOAs) and real estate investment clubs, as that’s where you can find landlords and investors.

Finally, contact the local Chamber of Commerce or a business incubator and try to present your venture.

Roles and qualities of a property manager

Responsibilities of a property manager include marketing vacant rental units, showing the properties, collecting applications, seeing leases signed, collecting rent, overseeing maintenance, and managing move-in and move-out inspections. One of the attractive prospects for a property manager career is that startup costs are moderate and no advanced academic degrees are required.

Since a property manager needs to build a strong network of contractors to handle maintenance issues, the ability to connect with people and organize work is definitely a bonus. In daily tasks that involve communicating with landlords, tenants, and contractors, property managers need to stay dependable, independent, and consistent. Finally, a property manager needs a working knowledge of local, state, and federal housing laws and regulations.  

The commercial property management business is a different game than simple building maintenance. Apart from maintaining their clients’ properties, property management companies are constantly pressed to generate new business by offering advanced features and technologies that make their services more attractive.