If you\u2019re a property manager for an apartment building, especially a larger one, you are probably busier than ever. Between juggling current resident issues, onboarding new tenants, meeting potential renters, and overseeing property maintenance, residential property managers and property owners are likely stretched thin. Fortunately, there are a few simple and innovative property management solutions you can follow to free up time and make your property management service better, as well as help you be a good property manager for your renters.<\/p>\n
Learning to do more with less can feel challenging as there are only so many property management service tasks that one property manager can handle during the space of a business day. Successfully managing more tasks in a short space of time takes planning and strategy, but can help to alleviate stress that would not be manageable in the long run otherwise.<\/p>\n
Here are a few property management tips and tricks to make future property management easier and more efficient and help you be a more successful property manager.<\/p>\n
Property management basics argue that a residential property manager\u2019s goal, aside from ensuring resident satisfaction, is to increase efficiency and optimise operations. To find areas of improvement for your rental property, start by using these tips and answering the following questions:<\/p>\n
Which tasks take too much of my time? Oftentimes, there are tasks that a property manager or property owner wants to focus on that end up taking a backseat to repetitive and sometimes tedious but necessary tasks. If you find yourself spending significant amounts of time on repetitive administrative tasks, it may be worthwhile for you to consider outsourcing those tasks to a support employee, app, or service. Even outsourcing one task can save precious minutes, even hours of your time. Over the space of a year, those minutes can add up.<\/p>\n
What are my residents\u2019 most common complaints? Providing a desirable community environment starts with observing common complaints or even surveying residents for their most desired amenity ideas. Consider giving tenants a suggestion box or an outlet to provide anonymous feedback about issues they\u2019re having around the community. Proactively addressing complaints and suggestions can show current and potential renters that they are valued and also help you find operational issues you might not have realised were a concern.<\/p>\n
How can I be better organised? Even with the best time management skills, the property management business can be challenging, as a property manager is regularly inundated with various jobs and demands. Consider scheduling or batching your time instead of knocking things out as they come up. There are several apps and services available that can help to streamline processes or organise anything from handling rent payments to accepting packages.<\/p>\n
What are the recurring problems or tasks that cause you the most grief? Each residential building or community has its share of issues. It may sometimes feel like a revolving door of problems \u2013 as soon as one thing is fixed, another problem takes its place. That said, many communities have issues that, for one reason or another, seem to pop up regularly. This could be anything from package theft problems to complications stemming from a lack of parking. Whatever the particular issue, take some time to brainstorm solutions that can hopefully grant both you and your residentssome relief.<\/p>\n
Now that you\u2019ve taken some time to reflect on opportunities for how to improve your rental property, here are a few other common problems you may want to consider adding to your list, as well as some solutions that other property managers have turned to for help.<\/p>\n
The meteoric rise of eCommerce platforms has changed the way that people shop for and purchase goods. In fact, GroupM expects that global retail eCommerce sales will rise to $7 trillion by 2024 (comprising 25% of total retails sales) and reach $10 trillion by 2027. And, since the start of the pandemic, eCommerce penetration has seen 10 years of growth in less than 3 months \u2013 with the percentage of total sales reaching nearly 35%.<\/p>\n
With residents shopping online now more than ever \u2013 some properties are experiencing over 60% more package delivery<\/a> volume than their normal level \u2013 many property managers are struggling to keep up with package management. This results in two key issues for build-to-rent communities:<\/p>\n A solution for this problem is simple and aesthetically pleasing: smart package lockers, such as Parcel Pending<\/a> by Quadient. Smart apartment parcel lockers<\/a> can free up a property manager\u2019s time by creating an easy, secure, and contact-free way to handle daily deliveries.<\/p>\n Smart residential parcel lockers<\/a> provide a number of important benefits, including:<\/p>\n A large part of any property owner or property manager\u2019s job is meeting with and screening a prospective tenant to fill a vacancy at their rental property. Although it would make the job significantly easier to just accept a rental application from anyone who shows up and wants to sign a lease agreement, a property owner or apartment property management<\/a> company\u2019s job is to bring in the good tenants \u2013 ones who will pay rent promptly and be good neighbors to existing residents.<\/p>\n An ideal prospective tenant will meet the following criteria:<\/p>\n In fact, according to TransUnion<\/a>, \u201c84% of landlords say that non-payment is one of their top concerns about new tenants\u201d. But, to ensure the prospective tenant screening is thorough and correct, the process can take a lot of time. Here are some tips a property manager can use to attract good tenants and streamline potential tenant screening for a rental listing:<\/p>\n Rental property payments are of concern to a good property management company or property manager. Why not make it easier for both you and your residents by making payments virtual and automatic? This allows you to easily collect, track, and organize payments, thereby reducing the amount of time you spend worrying about whether or not a resident has paid their rent.<\/p>\n Since the vast majority of all late payments arise from people simply forgetting that they need to pay, it might be wise to use a property management tool such as an automatic rent payment system or one with a payment scheduling feature to help facilitate this process.<\/p>\n Using tools or systems like this can significantly benefit a tenant, a property manager, or a property management company. Here are a few of the most important benefits:<\/p>\n In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, some communities are now requiring reservations for the use of common areas or amenity spaces like the gym. Depending on the number of amenities or common areas your rental property offers, this can easily become a time-consuming process \u2013 especially for an in-demand amenity or common area.<\/p>\n Consider investing in resident amenity scheduling software to make life easier for both you and your residents. Note that this may already come as a part of your property management software and not require a further investment on your part.<\/p>\n A resident amenity scheduler enables a resident to reserve an amenity for any available time slot and receive reservation alerts and reminders so they don\u2019t miss their time slot. This is perfect for managing resident use of amenity spaces like the pool, gym, common area, or flex workspace.<\/p>\n Property management staff can easily control the hours of operation, the number and duration of time slots, capacity, and even how far out residents can make reservations.<\/p>\n We also recommend that rental properties follow the suggestions noted below in addition to enforcing advanced reservations for the use of any indoor amenities. Alternatively, if space and weather permits, consider moving some gym equipment outside to allow for better ventilation and space between residents.<\/p>\n The unfortunate reality is that only 50% of current residents renew their lease agreement at the end of their term. If you\u2019re looking to reduce tenant turnover at your property, here are a few tips and tricks to secure that all-important lease renewal:<\/p>\n Check out \u201c7 Secrets to Boosting Your Apartment Lease Renewals<\/a>\u201d for more of our property management tips that can help you reduce resident turnover.<\/p>\n There are a variety of issues that a residential real estate owner, property manager, or landlord can face on a daily basis. By addressing larger concerns such as package overflow, rental payments, and resident screening, you free up time to focus on the more important matters like property maintenance and resident maintenance issues. This newly freed-up time can even allow for more time to focus on the customer service aspect of property management.<\/p>\n Your time is valuable and limited, therefore it\u2019s paramount you take advantage of these property management tips and tricks in order to optimize your operational efficiency. Doing so can provide noticeable benefits for both you and your residents! And once you have happy residents, you will, in turn, see better tenant retention.<\/p>\n Adding new amenities may not be at the top of most properties\u2019 to-do list right now. But if package management has gotten out of hand, Parcel Pending by Quadient is available to help.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you\u2019re a property manager for an apartment building, especially a larger one, you are probably busier than ever. Between juggling current resident issues, onboarding new tenants, meeting potential renters, and overseeing property maintenance, residential property managers and property owners are likely stretched thin. Fortunately, there are a few simple and innovative property management solutions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[257],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-residential-en-gb"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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#2 Managing Potential Tenant Screening<\/b><\/h3>\n
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#3 Managing Rent Payment<\/b><\/h3>\n
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#4 Managing Access to Amenity Spaces<\/b><\/h3>\n
#5 Securing Lease Renewals<\/b><\/h3>\n
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Putting These Tips & Tricks Into Action<\/b><\/h2>\n
Reach out to our team<\/b><\/a> to find a smart property management solution that fits your unique property needs and budget requirements.<\/b><\/h4>\n