6 Pain Points for Property Managers

Property managers have many challenges in their day-to-day work. Figuring out the best methods to deal with the common challenges they face is a great way to ensure you and the rest of your team are as successful as possible.

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In this blog, we will go over the most common challenges property managers face on a daily basis and a few tips on how to avoid or lessen their burden. 

1. Vacancies 

Keeping vacancies to a minimum is key to keeping your costs down and your profits high. Vacancies are a constant in the world of property management, however, keeping things like turnover time to a minimum is a great way to lessen the impact vacancies have on your bottom line. Here are some tips to help keep vacancies and turnover time down: 

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Prioritize longer leases 

If you find a person(s) with a strong track record of being an outstanding tenant, try to lock them in for longer leases of 2 or 3 years. 

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This will limit the amount of time the property is empty and help you save money by not having to find new tenants every year. 

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Find out tenant intentions

Before your tenant's lease is up, make sure you talk with them to figure out if they intend on extending their lease or not. This will give you ample time to find a new tenant if your current one says they do not wish to re-sign. 

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This extra time should allow you to have another tenant set up for when the current one moves out, reducing vacancy time and increasing the profitability of your business. 

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Pay attention to the market 

If your property is overpriced under current market conditions, then it will sit empty for quite some time. Having a thorough understanding of the market your property is in makes sure you list the property for a competitive price and it gets filled quickly. 

2. Finding Reliable Service Vendors

Finding a reliable service vendor can be a challenge and, sometimes, even a risk. You can spend hours digging for vendor information on Craigslist, Google, local classifieds, and even newspaper ads. You might think you're in a good spot once you've found a vendor who does good work, but there's no guarantees you'll have that quality forever.

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Vendor procurement is the headache that never goes away for property managers. You'll always need a new type of service, someone who can get the job done in a rush, or a new vendor who can take on more work. The process is painstaking, but it doesn't need to be.

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Embracing vendor management and procurement softwares like VendorPM can help you turn the multiple hour process of finding and reaching out to vendors into one that takes only a few minutes. Learn more and request your first quote from a vendor with the link below!

3. Getting Paid on Time 

Not getting paid on time is something that all property managers have to deal with over the course of their careers. Not only does this affect cash flows, but it also means property managers need to spend time hunting down payments from tenants instead of using their time for other matters. Here are a few ways to help you get paid on time:

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Offer multiple payment options 

Giving your tenants multiple options to pay their rent makes it easier for them to pay you, and thus more likely they get the money to you on time. 

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Although having strict rules regarding payment seems like the simplest way to get paid and thus the most likely to be successful, this tends to not be the case. 

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Having multiple payment methods gives your tenants the option to pick the method that best works for them, which directly translates to more tenants paying you on time. 

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Send payment reminders

Sometimes tenants don't pay their rent on time because they simply forget to do so. Having reminders set to send out to your tenants when their rent is due will help to keep your forgetful tenants from being late with their rent and help you keep your cash flows consistent. 

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4. Managing Maintenance

Property managers are constantly having to deal with maintenance issues with their properties. They are inevitable, however there are ways to keep your maintenance needs to a minimum and the costs associated with them to a minimum as well. 

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Not Ignoring the Little Things 

Small issues may not seem like a big deal at the time and thus get looked over by many property managers. However that little leak could turn into a major issue if not dealt with quickly. It is important to fix small issues before they become major headaches costing valuable time and money. 

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Establish Vendor Relationships

Finding a quality vendor and sticking with them will save you a ton of time and money when maintenance issues come up. 

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Being able to call someone up when a problem arises rather than searching for someone who may or may not do the job right is essential to keeping maintenance costs to a minimum. 

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Once you've got vendors who you know do great work, you'll probably need a way to manage them and ensure consistent contact with them. Property managers on VendorPM can access our marketplace absolutely free and get their preferred vendors added for no cost to either side! Learn more and request your first quote from a vendor with the link below!

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5. Screening Tenants

Having a problematic tenant can be a huge headache for a property manager, not to mention expensive. A tenant who doesn't pay their rent on time or who causes excessive damage to the property can have a serious impact on your bottom line. 

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In order to avoid problem tenants, make sure to properly screen any potential tenants before they sign the lease. This includes a background check, requesting references from previous landlords or employers, and a credit check. 

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Making sure potential tenants pass all these checks with flying colours will help keep problem tenants to a minimum and keep you in the green.

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6. Tenant Retention 

Just like having longer leases with your tenants helps the bottom line, having them renew their leases when they do eventually run out is just as important. 

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Keeping your tenants for multiple years basically boils down to keeping them happy. If your tenants are happy with their place and the way it is managed then you give them less motivation to look elsewhere. Here are a few ways to stay on your tenants good side:

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Communicate

It is important to keep an open line of communication with your tenants so they always know where to reach you in the event any issues come up. 

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It also helps establish and maintain a good relationship with your tenants, which can help with everything from getting paid on time to retention. 

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Fix Problems Fast

Nobody wants to sit with a broken air conditioner during a heat wave. Getting to things like maintenance requests quickly can make a huge difference in the happiness of your tenants. 

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If you take a long time to get things done, or don't get them done right the first time, your tenants may become upset. Getting urgent jobs done quickly and on time can be a challenge in and of itself though. We can help with that! VendorPM lets you fill our a single service request and add vendors on our marketplace to it so that you don't have to hunt down vendors yourself! Learn more and request your first quote from a vendor with the link below!