Owning an investment property can be an excellent way to generate a passive income stream. It is pretty satisfying knowing that you can earn money while you sleep or otherwise not have to exert tremendous effort for income. Yet owning a rental property comes with a significant amount of responsibility, as you are the person who is responsible for maintaining a safe and secure house for your tenants. That’s why it pays to engage a property management Melbourne company to assist you in managing your rental property. But it is also possible to learn from the experts and master these skills yourself.
This helpful article will help you pick the best property manager to look after your precious investment. We’ll detail the six qualities that all skilled property managers should possess so you know what to look out for when narrowing down your shortlist. Read on to discover more.
They Need To Be A Skilled Communicator
A top property manager should have impeccable communication skills. This is because they will need to communicate over a range of platforms every day, including email, text, the phone and online meetings. If they can’t manage this, it will stick out like a sore thumb.
The property manager is a messenger between the property owner and the tenants. If a tenant has a maintenance or repair request, it must be sent via the property manager. Furthermore, the property manager needs to arrange trades and other services to attend to the home.
An excellent property manager needs to be a skilled communicator who can manage these multiple communication channels and do it politely, efficiently, and without breaking a sweat.
A Deep Understanding of the Relevant Rental Laws
Another quality a gun property manager needs to have is a deep understanding of the relevant local rental legislation. This will vary from place to place, so local knowledge is essential.
For instance, they should know about the local dispute resolution process, which typically occurs in the state-based tribunal. They can provide expert advice to the owner to assist them in remaining compliant with the law.
Excellent Time And Project Management Skills
A great property manager will often have an extensive portfolio of rental properties to manage. This can mean juggling multiple owners, tenants, trades and other professions. Each will be convinced that their issue is the most pressing, requiring urgent attention. This means that a top property manager needs to have excellent time management skills, to attend to all the tasks and complete them promptly.
A quality property manager will often use calendar software to assist them in their roles. And sometimes, they will use project management software, such as Trello, to help keep them organised and on time.
Resilience And A Thick Skin
A property manager can often find themselves wedged between the owner of an investment property and the tenants. This occurs mainly when a dispute arises, such as an urgent repair request or a general maintenance or repair issue. It’s a delicate balance, as they must maintain a robust and professional working relationship with both parties. As the owner and the tenants can become frustrated during a dispute, the intermediary (the property manager) can be caught in between. This can mean they bear the brunt of the frustration from both parties.
Hence, this is why great property managers have deep resilience and a thick skin so that they can perform their duties despite these frustrations.
High-Level Administrative Skills
Property management jobs have a lot of administration required. A property manager must lodge documents, manage bonds, administer rental payments, and deal with paperwork such as leases, lease breaks, etc. An excellent property manager will need to be able to perform these administrative tasks quickly and efficiently, on top of all their other duties. Look for a property manager who is a top gun administrator.
This skill cannot be understated. Even if a property manager has all the other skills, if their administrative nous is underdeveloped or not present, they will quickly drop the ball, which will be extremely apparent.
They Need To be A People Person
At the core of the role comes dealing with people. The list goes on: the tenants, the owner, other staff at the agency, tradespeople, and other professionals. A highly skilled property manager needs to be a people person. They need to be able to manage and maintain relationships over time, with the tensions we have already mentioned sometimes bubbling to the surface. A great property manager will keep all stakeholders on side and happy, and this is a significant task that cannot be understated.
In Summary
In this helpful article, we’ve detailed the six qualities that all skilled property managers should possess. When picking a property manager to manage your investment, you should refer to this list and ask questions designed to elicit their skill level for these six qualities. This should help you in finding the perfect property manager for your needs.
