As promised from the closing of my last post, my topic for this post is establishing expectations for clients and recognizing and using value add opportunities.. I’ll touch on how I structure my management agreement to allow and budget for upkeep and improvement. As I mentioned last time, working with a client that won’t reinvest in his or her property is a complete waste of time. The management fee you receive won’t be worth the low quality tenants, and high volume of complaints associated with the lack of upkeep. It’s always important to remember your properties are your brand. The better all of your properties show the higher service you can deliver to all of your clients and tenants.
A word of caution to managers and investors, do not bend over backward to please a potential client, and do not work with a manager who is willing to bend to your every whim! I know this may sound counter intuitive, but as the old adage goes, “if it seems too good to be true, it must be.” There is probably a reason that your prospective manager is so willing to please you, and a large part of it is probably due to a lack of experience, structure, or over zealous ambition that is causing them to forgo their best interest in pursuit of growth.
Every manager should have a solid structure that they adhere to, and that they hold all of their properties to. Our company performs showings by checking keys out for vacant units in exchange for a drivers license or credit card as collateral. I’ve discussed our policies and practices with potential clients that were used to the traditional showings in which a leasing agent or a maintenance technician takes prospective tenants through the units. This particular client made that a sticking point where he wanted his properties to still be shown in the traditional way, which simply did not work with the way we operated, so we did not initially come to agreement and went our separate ways. As a manager you need to hold to your practices because otherwise you will end up in a situation with no organization and no structure.
Share your expectations, and establish boundaries and understandings at first contact. Remain confident in your practice, however always be receptive to new ideas, do not refuse your potential client the time they desire and deserve to discuss their viewpoints and opinions.
