Property Managers Working Remotely – Increasing Efficiency Tips

COVID-19’ situation has paralyzed the world; every business and career is suffering, the work from home and remote working status is now pretty much necessary. So no matter what industry you run, you need to adapt to the work from the home regime. One of the hardest businesses to adapt to this work from the home regime is real estate. Landlords and especially property managers are finding it hard to follow the SOPs of remote work.

The work of the property manager is in the thick of thing; he the warrior of the field, so working from home can bring a lot of issues. Remote working culture has grown by 44% in the last five years, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this number will rise dramatically.

Here are some tips that can help you get the best out of this severe situation. 

Your Pandemic Plan:

Times have changed and overnight too, you need a plan of action as soon as possible. Your well-designed and efficient pandemic plan will allow you to act as swiftly as possible and have the most proactive effect. Your plan should have an objective, an overview of the actions you need to take, and things you need to accomplish. Here are some examples:

• Combating the infection by reducing the chances of spread among the residents, and tenants
• Reducing the impact of remote working and corona on all involved parties like clients, owners, as well as investors
• Successfully and efficiently maintaining business procedures
• Becoming a well-educated and controlled leader
• Communicating with transparency and educating and updating your subordinates and tenants

Apart from his, you will need a brilliant and efficient team who is good at decision making. They should have a clear idea of your pandemic plan, and they should also know when and how to act in a pressured situation.

Quality Contractors:

You are already working from home; chances are you won’t get second chances on doing stuff right, so you will need to nail every objective right the first time. So, make sure you have your quality contractors handy whenever you need them.

Any work that needs to be done on property on-site will be handled by your quality contractor, and since the pandemic means less social contact, they will need to be swift and efficient the first time they knock on your tenant’s doors.

Your contractors should be able to take care of landscaping, snow removal, as well as spraying for pests without breaking any SOPs of COVID-19. Clogged gutters burst pipes, as well as tree removal, are too the responsibility of the contractor.

Furthermore, you need to talk and decide which one of your contractors is available 24/7 in case of emergencies such as flooding or fire.

Staying Connected is the Key:

Being a property manager means you have a big-time to run, people are working for you, and with you, so the first thing you need to set right is the communication and connectivity among your team. This is the key to successfully running any operation.

It’s your responsibility to manage the team, keep them actively engaged, and give them ample support during these hard times. Work from home has become extremely easy thanks to the technology we have today; there are many online tools that can keep us connected all day long.

You can virtually track the progress of your team with Zoom and Skype calling service. For efficient one on one meeting, Slack is an extremely professional platform. Apart from that, you also have Facetime, WhatsApp as well as Duo to stay in connection with your subordinates.

Track Positive and Negative Working Points:

Since we aren’t used to remote working in the real estate area, there will be many setbacks. So as a property manager and someone in charge, you need to see what is working and what isn’t. Tracking the positive and negative impact of your remote working SOPs is very important. This will help you discover the best practices and lead with efficiency.

Keeping track of all this will help you see what’s not working and you can stop it at once before it can do any serious damage. For example, if staying connected constantly works for you? That’s great, but if it doesn’t, you can switch to occasional meetings with full reports in progress.

Renter Communications:

One of the most important things is to communicate and have an efficient communication channel with the renters and the tenants. You will need reliable methods to communicate and stay connected to your renters and tenants. In case of any issues or problems or maintenance scheduling, the renters should be notified beforehand.

You can use emails, text messages, as well as social media accounts and groups to notify them all at once. Always ask your tenants to acknowledge the notification, so in case one doesn’t, you can personally call and let them know about the issue or the progress. It’s all about being prompt and following up with your people; this how you communicate and stay connected efficiently. This also gives confidence to your tenants to come to you in case of any issues.

Marketing Properties:

One of the hardest parts of remote work is marketing the vacant properties. Due to the lockdown, you can’t do open houses, and you can’t also show the property to potential clients in person. So, what’s the plan here? Well, in recent times, virtual tours are becoming a huge thing on social media; you can take advantage of this on-going trend and market your property virtually.

All you need to do is to film a video tour of your property and upload that on your property listing, just like you upload pictures. Use a professional tool, have proper lighting as well as de-clutter the house before filming. Do all you can to make the video look appealing?

Conclusion:

Everyone understands that these are tough times, and extreme measures are necessary, but amid all this, you can do a lot to stay proactive and efficient. Following these tips will help you work remotely in the most efficient way. Stay home, stay safe.

If you’d like to talk more about property management, or you need help with Everest Property Management, please contact us at Everest Realty.

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