How to pick a great property manager

Finding great property managers for your property management company is not an exercise in guesswork. When looking to engage a property manager, you should consider these key elements:

Enthusiasm for the industry. Property Management is a very demanding (but extremely) rewarding career, and you need the right candidate on your team. Ensuring the person has enthusiasm for the industry and property management is one of the first things you’re looking for. Attitude is everything. The right attitude, coupled with that collective spark of enthusiasm, will make the difference between having a great property management business with repeat clients, referrals, and growth and a stagnant department with endless drama and little-to-no growth. You can train people, but you cannot change the wrong attitude.

Detailed,  focused, and organized. You should be looking at choosing a personality that is organized, systematized, and consistent in their work performance. The successful candidate really needs to be able to stay on target, generally autonomously. Property management requires diligence, focus, and consistency. The right person will need to be particular in their work ethic and be willing to handle multiple tasks in a very organized manner. Your interview questions should cover time blocking, including daily and weekly planning.

The right personality type. There are many personality types out there and many different ways to test this. I have used DISC, Myers-Briggs, and a few others. I’m not suggesting using any one of these in particular, but using personality testing in your property management organization will not only help you to find the right candidate, but will also help you to get the right mix in your office. You want to try to obtain the right balance of personalities and skill sets in your company — too many of one type or the wrong type for the work can cause major problems.

Your job ad is crucial. Your job ad must reflect your culture, vision, and what type of personality you need in your business. Describe what a day in the life of your company is like, the benefits of working with you, and so on. It cuts down on time wasted with people you don’t want.  Make the job application applicable to your company — add some questions you want answered in the application that are unique to your organization. This will ensure that applicants are paying attention to the job ad and considering how they are best suited to you and your business. Even think about a survey that they need to complete before they get to the interview — this will answer some of those really important questions for you before they get to the interview. This will save you time and also get the right applicants through your doors.

These ideas are really only a sampling of what you can do to pick a great property manager. if you would like more information on what you can do, please leave a comment below.