Property Management – West Hills

Rental property management is a person or a company that manages a rental property on the behalf of its owner. They must be able to attract tenants, manage the property’s books, coordinate with contractors, and be able to anticipate problems and address them in quick and efficient manner.

Proper Certification

If the rental property manager is working in a public sector, such as federally subsidized housing or federal senior housing, he should have a certification from the Institute of Real Estate property Management and/or the National Organization of Home Builders. If the rental property manager is working in the private sector, such certification isn’t necessary, but it helps to establish his credibility with the property owners. That said, private rental property manager should still have a Bachelors degree, preferably in either business or urban development.

Day-to-Day Management

The manager coordinates the daily and monthly activities such as collecting rents, processing paperwork, communicating with renters and addressing their requests and complains. The rental property manager must keep tabs on ongoing issues and make sure they are addressed in a timely, efficient manner. A property manager must be able to balance the needs of the owner and the needs of the renters.

Accounting

This involves budgeting the costs and keeping track of all daily, monthly and annual expenses. They must also be able to look at the expenses and determine just how profitable the property is and whether or not there is room for improvement. A property manager should know how to use common bookkeeping software.

Marketing

The rental property manager is responsible for attracting new tenants. Depending on the size and location of the property, this can take on a number of forms. With smaller properties, the property manager may place a “space available” sign (or several) near the property and take out a few ads in local papers and on the Internet. With large properties, particularly commercial properties, he will have to approach corporate clients and try to sell it to them. In all cases, the rental property manager must be very familiar with both the property and the neighborhood it’s located in. If the potential tenant wants to know why their property is better then similar properties in the area, the property manager must be able to explain it to his or her satisfaction.

Maintenance

If the rental property suffers any structural, mechanical and power problems, the manager is the one who is responsible for getting them fixed. This includes both immediate problems such as a blown-fuse and more long-term problems such as a decaying building fixture. Usually, a property manager hires a handyman to do the actual fixing, but manager should have at least some background on the issues. As the rule of thumb, a property manager should try to find a way to handle those problems in the cheapest way possible without negatively impacting the quality of the repairs.