Good news travels fast, and bad news travels even faster. For you to be on top of your game as a landlord you need to have measurable information at your fingertips at a moments notice. Think about it. In medical terms, the patient is your dear and beloved property. That would make your property manager your attending physician monitoring the health and well being of the property. You would not want a doctor that knew or even suspected a problem or to ignore symptoms of an illness in your property that could lead to even bigger problems.
Just as in the same way getting moderate exercise today can avoid potential health risks down the road; watching, analyzing and frequently reporting on the “health” of your property can lead to an extended period of healthy cash flow and even avoid some issues all together.
Let’s go back to the doctor analogy. There are doctors with good bedside manor, and doctors who have some pretty poor people skills when dealing with bad news. Every one has a different style of delivering the message. I would prefer that my property manager would be considerate and thoughtful in their presentation of the data and how the results could play out in time. Just as you want a doctor who is a specialist with a lot of experience, you want the same characteristics in a property manager who is about to perform surgery on your property.
So what are the types of tracking and data you may be looking for from your property manager? Well, for starters you want to get a physical exam of the property when you are first considering them to take on as a manager. See what type of report they may give you about your property before they even take you on as a client. Have them perform a diagnostic of the rental market, your neighborhood, how your rents compare to the market, what is your vacancy rate, eviction rate and the overall condition of your property.
Be prepared to get a little bad news. A good doctor will always tell you where you can improve your lifestyle habits to extend your quality of life for years to come. A property manager should also have a keen eye on the market to illustrate where your property fits in to the market and are the operations improving or declining, and what can be done to turn this around.
If you are satisfied so far with the results of your exam, then take it to the next step and ask the property manager to set up a sample account so you can review what you will get from month to month and how that data is to be delivered. We like real-time accounting and reporting that anyone with account access can review on a mobile device or tablet. We realize the industry moves fast from day-to-day, and moment-to-moment, so you need to make quick decisions. You need the data at your fingertips.
Some of the standard reporting you need to know on a daily basis is the status of your rent rolls, who are your late-pays and no-pays, when is the lease renewal to identify your risk exposure, occupancy and vacancy rates, traffic counts on showings, lease-up rates, marketing and advertising results, and just about anything else you can measure for performance at the property.
You also need to keep your eye on the ball for expenses that may be upcoming or due at any given time for items such as, unit turn over and make-ready, maintenance programs, repairs, contractor invoices and estimates, projected sinking fund items like roofs, driveways and heating systems.
Just like that doctor’s patient has many different systems in the body that need to work together for the total health of the body, a property also has many moving parts that need to be tracked and monitored to assess the overall property wellness.
So how often do you need to hear from your manager? Well, that depends. At least once a month to track vacancies, rent rolls, lease ups and renewals. You need to be able to forecast where your property will be three to six months from any given date. Your monthly report should help you navigate to steer clear of upcoming issues.
More frequent reports may be in the line of maintenance calls, repairs, or emergencies. This type of reporting should happen immediately and not wait until the scheduled Monday report. You need to receive bad news without delay to respond affirmatively and assume control of the situation. Fire, flood, blood, heat or hot water are items there may disrupt habitability of the property and there should be a contingency plan in place to deal with such issues. You may not be able to solve the problem immediately, but having a quick response with a plan sometimes can smooth out the ruffled feathers of residents, inspectors, and the municipalities.
Other more fun reports may be on the market itself for rentals and provide ways to offer more services, retain residents longer, how to reward residents for participating in lease up and referral program, and even better, when it may be time for a rental increase.
Just as the doctor can monitor your health and with professional guidance and direction help you improve your current physical condition, so can the property manager take your current operations to evaluate what is working well and where improvements can be made to affect your bottom line. Even they healthiest of patients can improve their diet, exercise, and daily routine to live a more stress-free life. In the same way, hiring the right property manage can analyze, recommend, and track with proper diagnostics and reporting even ever so slight trajectories in performance that over time can improve your rental property’s over all well-being.
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Warmest regards,
Brian Lucier
Belaire Property Management
Regional Property Manager
(978) 448-0669
info@belaire.co
www.belaire.co
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