Property managers answer to two masters – the property owner and the tenants. While tenants want a nice place to live to enjoy their free time, owners are looking to safeguard their investment and drive a better ROI.
Here are three ways to keep property owners happy:
1. Improve Tenant Quality and Retention
Owners rely on their properties for steady cash flow. This allows them to pay down the mortgage, invest in upgrades or seek out opportunities to add to their portfolio. Hands-down one of the key things that owners look for in a property management firm is the ability to seamlessly keep their property rented, with as little lost income from turnover as possible.
Property management firms that typically fare better in terms of finding higher quality tenants and keeping them for longer do five things very well. They have:
- A clear marketing strategy aimed at targeting the ideal tenant
- Consistent and firm tenant screening for new applicants
- Effective maintenance programs
- Tenant-focused technology: for example, the ability to pay rent online
- Full transparency into their leasing cycle
2. Think Like an Owner
Property owners have invested a lot of money into their portfolio and are counting on the property management firm to go beyond the status quo of protecting and managing their investment. Owners are looking to management firms to help their investment grow. They want their investment maximized, and any opportunities brought to their attention.
Daily tasks like collecting rent and overseeing maintenance requests are, no doubt, critical to the ensuring cash flow and property value. However, when a property manager look beyond the physical borders of the property asset in order to understand its place in the marketplace, they can deliver more value to the owner. This might mean analyzing the competition and suggesting upgrades which is then linked back to improving cash flow. Or it could take the form of a proactive approach to reducing expenses without any impact on service quality – for example, training managers to in negotiation skills with vendors.
Property management firms that make recommendations, ensure client property competitiveness and understand both short and long-term business goals will not only attract more owner clients, but retain them by delivering on ROI.
3. Access to On-Demand Insightful Reporting
Property owners need to know how much it’s costing to run a property and need a variety of reports to identify any potential areas for improvement. In short, they want to know how their investment is doing at any given time.
If the management firm is equipped with property management software, owners can log in at any time to get secure, real-time information on rent roll, balance sheet, income statements, cash flow and other financial data as well as inspections, work orders and maintenance reports, among others. This type of autonomy gives owners the data they want when they want it, and also goes a long way in freeing up property managers’ time, so they can better apply their efforts on managing the property.
Give Them What They Want
Owners need a solid overview of their investments in your properties – the health of finances and operations, repairs and maintenance, access to legal documents and accounting reports – ensuring their investment is running smoothly and earning them a profit. However, collecting this information takes away from time you’d quite frankly rather spend doing what they want of you: running operations with success. If you’re interested in seeing how our owners’ portal and reporting tools work, be sure to checkout pricing and get a demo.
