August 3, 2010
Property Management 101
Blake Dale Ratcliff asked:
Property Management includes a myriad of responsibilities. Fixating on performing every item perfectly for a small business and perhaps even more so for a big business can be overwhelming. More importantly, trying to perform all items without error or misstep is impossible. Instead, great property management is best accomplished by picking a few items and performing those items as nearly perfectly as possible while seeking productive innovation. With that in mind, the key is choosing the three items that you would like to define your company.
My short list of items to perform superbly are:
Great customer service and customer management. Outstanding accounting and financial management. Off the chart marketing and leasing.
These are broad areas that will tie the business together creating a tremendously effective organization.
Great customer service and customer management will assure high quality resident records, courteous treatment of prospects and residents, effective resident management from application to moveout and from billing to eviction if necessary.
Outstanding accounting and financial management assures accurate recording of every transaction, correct categorization of each item, effective accurate preparation of statements, strong cost management and cash controls, and the ability to provide high quality investor financial communication.
Off the chart marketing and leasing causes the manager to innovatively drive traffic to the property, to continually improve the selling to closed lease process, and to assure great follow up and communication with prospects and the market. In the end, meeting this objective will result in plenty of prospect, steady and strong leasing, and minimizing turnover.
The three items together (because of their mutually supporting requirements) will expand quality performance to effective work order management, strong capital planning processes, great capital renovation and improvement plans, satisfied customers who offer great referral traffic, and a very satisfied investor who can count on the business to provide profitability, minimzed cost, high quality services and facilities, and strong improving asset value.
As an owner or manager, you may choose different items to focus your management attention. However, if chosen correctly, the items will support one another and provide a clear vision to your investors, your employees, your contractors, and your residents. In effect, the shared common vision will lead the business to a total product that is greater than the sum of its parts. As described in the book, Good to Great, you will achieve the hedgehog effect that leads to steadily improving performance for profitability, customer satisfaction, asset protection, and cost management.
Property Management includes a myriad of responsibilities. Fixating on performing every item perfectly for a small business and perhaps even more so for a big business can be overwhelming. More importantly, trying to perform all items without error or misstep is impossible. Instead, great property management is best accomplished by picking a few items and performing those items as nearly perfectly as possible while seeking productive innovation. With that in mind, the key is choosing the three items that you would like to define your company.
My short list of items to perform superbly are:
Great customer service and customer management. Outstanding accounting and financial management. Off the chart marketing and leasing.
These are broad areas that will tie the business together creating a tremendously effective organization.
Great customer service and customer management will assure high quality resident records, courteous treatment of prospects and residents, effective resident management from application to moveout and from billing to eviction if necessary.
Outstanding accounting and financial management assures accurate recording of every transaction, correct categorization of each item, effective accurate preparation of statements, strong cost management and cash controls, and the ability to provide high quality investor financial communication.
Off the chart marketing and leasing causes the manager to innovatively drive traffic to the property, to continually improve the selling to closed lease process, and to assure great follow up and communication with prospects and the market. In the end, meeting this objective will result in plenty of prospect, steady and strong leasing, and minimizing turnover.
The three items together (because of their mutually supporting requirements) will expand quality performance to effective work order management, strong capital planning processes, great capital renovation and improvement plans, satisfied customers who offer great referral traffic, and a very satisfied investor who can count on the business to provide profitability, minimzed cost, high quality services and facilities, and strong improving asset value.
As an owner or manager, you may choose different items to focus your management attention. However, if chosen correctly, the items will support one another and provide a clear vision to your investors, your employees, your contractors, and your residents. In effect, the shared common vision will lead the business to a total product that is greater than the sum of its parts. As described in the book, Good to Great, you will achieve the hedgehog effect that leads to steadily improving performance for profitability, customer satisfaction, asset protection, and cost management.
Filed under Real Estate by on Aug 3rd, 2010. 
Leave a Comment