Need help finding a top shelf condo, HOA, or rental property manager? We can help!
February 26, 2021 | Condo, Manager, Rental
Trying to find a property manager that will care for your property using industry leading know-how and state-of-the-art information systems can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Although, many managers claim to hold the key to friendly and efficient management of condominiums, HOAs or rental properties, very few do. The simple truth behind why so many managers fall short in terms of resident service or management efficiency is simple: the volume of tasks that managers need to perform in their day-to-day activities is staggering.
So at UpperBee, we have put together a list of the top 5 things to look for when choosing a property manager:
Number 1 – Does this manager have the right communication tools for the job? The top three things for a manager to remember is: communicate, communicate, communicate! Because managers deal with hundreds, if not thousands, of resident requests, not to mention building maintenance and accounting tasks, a manager needs to have access to a state-of-the-art system that allows service request tickets to be dispatched to various staff members based on their nature, so not to create bottle necks. Knowing that on average, a manager can expect to have to deal monthly with 1,44 tickets/unit* and that’s not counting phone calls, it’s plain to see why emails, SMS and messaging apps fall short when one has several hundreds, if not thousands, of units to manage.
Number 2 – Does this manager give me real-time self-access to all my financial and other important information? As mentioned previously, managers are very busy people, so busy in fact that they routinely have to prioritize between sending you that document or information you required, taking care of a maintenance issue or answering a resident request. Time being a limited resource, make sure that your manager makes the most of it by relying on a system that allows for real-time self-access to all relevant information that helps them streamline their day-to-day operations in order to free up more time for you!
Number 3 – When was the last time the water heater was serviced? If you do not have a ready answer to this simple question, then your manager is probably not using the right tools for the job. When choosing a property manager, make sure that he uses an accessible Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) to keep up to date equipment, tasks and maintenance actions lists. This way, you do not have to wait for your manager to have the time to give you a certain piece of information, you will be able to access it for yourself.
Number 4 – Are the tools used by this manager future proof? Things are changing rapidly, and nothing changes quicker than software. From software that ran on a single computer, to over networks, now most up-to-date software solutions run over the internet in what are known as Software as a Service, or SaaS for short. If your manager’s core operations are not run from a well-supported SaaS, then your manager is not keeping up with the times, nor does they seem to be investing in his company so that they can continue to offer best in class customer service down the road. Manager’s that fail to adopt a SaaS approach risk entering a manager’s death spiral, were as time passes, they are less and less able to meet forever increasing customer demands.
Number 5 – How do the tools used by this manager allow them to take on new clients without sacrificing service or management efficiency? All managers add new clients, either to meet growth objectives, benefiting from favorable market conditions, or simply to replace clients that they have lost. Client churn or an increase in business size puts a tremendous amount of strain on a business, particularly one that does not rely on industry leading tools for its day-to-day operations. Managers that use a non-integrated set of tools are particularly susceptible to this, as not all information is ported over from one system to the next, resulting in valuable time being lost.
So, one thing is clear from the preceding, a manager’s most precious commodity is time, and that they need to do the most of it. UpperBee’s time saving web-based condominium and rental property management software suite was built from the ground up by managers, for managers for exactly that purpose – To give managers access to a fully integrated set of tools, previously available to only the largest of management companies. UpperBee’s various modules integrate seamlessly to save your manager’s time and enable them to offer you the level of service you deserve.
You can find a property manager that uses UpperBee at https://upperbee.com/en/find-an-expert/. Just fill in your building information and let us show 8 of the closest property managers to you that rely on UpperBee.
* Based on an internal study conducted by UpperBee.