A well-run company has a structured team and well-defined company procedures. Having structure is even more imperative in the property management world. Read on to learn how to structure your PG County property management company and the team within it.
Who’s on Your Property Management Team
A well-trained staff is vital for a good property management company. Below you will learn about what makes up a property management team. This will help to guarantee a team ready to lease and maintain your properties.
The goal is to start with one of each position. Once established, hire support staff to allow for more growth. You can choose to hire contractors or in-house employees. Either way, these are the professionals every property management company should have.
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Property Manager (unless this is you): A dedicated property manager handles all aspects of the process. They oversee everything from leasing to rent collection and maintenance. This team member should have plenty of real estate and property management experience.
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Leasing Professional: Seek out agents with experience in leasing properties like those you manage. They handle property tours, get applications, and write leases for property manager approval.
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Marketing Specialist: A marketing specialist should be well versed in all aspects of marketing from digital to print. Additional experience should include real estate, listing optimization, website updates, and photography.
- Maintenance Vendor or Technicians: To begin with, a trusted maintenance vendor is your best option. They offer employees with different skills to provide 24/7 coverage for emergencies. As your company grows, adding in house maintenance techs can be beneficial.
Additional Support Staff
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Administrator: An administrator helps file, direct incoming calls, schedule appointments, and prepare documents. This frees up time for others to focus on more complex tasks.
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Bookkeeper or Financial Advisor: A member of your team should have a bookkeeping or financial background. Even if you use a third-party vendor, keeping your company’s finances running well will help at tax time. Company filings can be much more complicated than personal.
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Legal Counsel: Generally, this will be a third-party individual. As your property management company grows, this could be a full-time staff member. Legal counsel must be well versed in real estate law, rental laws, and eviction law.
How to Structure a Property Management Company
Now that you have a small team, how should you structure your PG County property management company? How you break down the company will depend on the size and geographical areas of your company.
- Small company, one area: If your company is small and in one location, then structuring will be simple. You could be a one-person company or hire a small staff. Either way, it is essential to have robust procedures in place. These may include tenant screening, eviction policy, lease drafting/signing process, and budgeting.
- Company in several regions: If your company spans a large area, consider breaking down your staff by region. Then have a team of higher-ups manage that staff. See an example of this property management company that succeeds in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.
- Property Managers and Leasing Staff: You would have regional property managers plus property managers at the property level. For example, you’d have a regional manager for Maryland, PA, and Virginia. They would oversee all property managers in those areas. Then, you’d have the same for the regional leasing manager and then leasing staff for properties.
- Higher-ups: Once you have staff at a regional and local level, you need higher-ups that manage all the tiers. This may include directors of property management, owners of the company, etc.
- Nationwide company: Finally, if the company is successful and able to become a national company, the set-up would be similar. It would also have larger regional managers such as east coast, central, west, etc.
Tips for Running a Successful Property Management Company
Below are the top things that people look for in a property management company. To be successful in property management with good reviews, you need to excel in these areas.
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Reasonable fees: Don’t overprice your services, but also don’t underprice. Do local market research and set prices at a reasonable cost compared to the competition. The average cost to hire a full-service property management team is 10% of the monthly rental income. Keep that in mind, when setting prices and fees.
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Availability: Be available and have available staff. Property management never closes, not on holidays, weekends, or late hours. This especially applies to the maintenance aspect of things. You need reliable maintenance staff and vendors that can respond to emergency requests no matter the day or hour.
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Reviews: A good online reputation is necessary in today’s world. Manage your online reputation by always responding to reviews. The best way to get reviews is to make your tenants happy and keep them happy. If not, they will publicly leave negative feedback, which will hurt the company’s reputation.
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Experience: Are you an experienced property manager or just starting? Regardless, you will need a staff of well-trained and educated staff. Like we mentioned above, start with a team that is well-versed in the industry with plenty of experience. Eventually, you can hire less experienced staff. However, when starting, the more experienced staff, the more success you will have.
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Capability: Capability is key! That is why your staff needs to be dynamic and diverse. Do not have property managers with little experience. They need to be able to handle any property management needs. This includes marketing, collecting rent, evictions, turnovers, and maintenance.
Are you looking to hire a property management group for your PG County rental properties? The experienced team at Bay Property Management Group Prince George’s County can help with your property management needs across Philadelphia, DC and Maryland including Laurel, District Heights, Hyattsville, Landover, and Upper Marlboro.
