Is a Career as a Property Manager Right For You? | Billy.com

If you have a passion for real estate, you can get involved in the business in many ways. If you’re not ready to invest and don’t want to be a Realtor, you can learn a lot about real estate by working for a property management company. In essence, you’d be a landlord’s best friend. Is a career as a property manager right for you? These questions can help you decide.

Can You Multitask?

A good property manager understands all that goes into taking care of a property—and it’s a lot. It helps if you’re organized and unflappable in a crisis. But even when everything goes well, you’ll have to handle a multitude of responsibilities for many properties. The job is not unlike being a professional juggler. Your duties include:

• Marketing the property
• Hosting tours
• Finding tenants
• Collecting rent
• Paying bills
• Inspecting facilities
• Keeping records

Do You “Got a Guy”?

As a property manager, you’ll be responsible for scheduling maintenance, repairs, and improvements. If you know what you’re doing, you can say, “I got a guy” for every eventuality. Building good relationships with great contractors takes time and trust. If you can recognize talent and show them respect, you can send a lot of work their way. In return, they’ll prioritize your jobs, do their best work, and maybe even show some flexibility on pricing.

How Do You Feel About People?

In addition to all the property-related tasks, you’ll be taking care of tenants—people with wildly varying personalities. When you hear from them, they’ll likely have a complaint, a concern, a question, or an excuse for late rent. A career as a property manager could be right for you if you accept that a large part of the job involves customer service, which means:

• Responding to emergencies
• Settling disputes
• Dealing with complaints
• Looking into disturbances
• Enforcing the lease

If you can do all that and hold onto your sanity, you can parlay your experience into other areas of real estate with an intimate knowledge of the ins and outs of property management. And your people skills will be impeccable.