Property managers oversee the performance of income-producing commercial and residential properties and manage the communal property and services of condominium and community associations. Real estate managers, also called real estate asset managers, plan and direct the purchase, development, and disposition of real estate for businesses and are usually employed by a sole owner, large corporation, bank, pension fund, or investment group. These managers are becoming increasingly involved in long-term strategic financial planning rather than the day-to-day operations of the property.
Most property and real estate managers work in the field of property management. When owners of apartments, office buildings, or retail and industrial properties lack the time or expertise to assume the day-to-day management of their real estate investments, they often hire a property manager, or contract for services with a real estate management company. Most property managers handle several properties simultaneously. Property managers act as the owners' agent and adviser for the property.
They market vacant space to prospective tenants, through the use of a leasing agent, advertising, or by other means, and establish rental rates in accordance with prevailing local conditions. They negotiate and prepare lease or rental agreements with tenants and collect their rent payments and other fees. Property managers also handle the financial operations of the property.
They see to it that rents are received and make sure that mortgages, taxes, insurance premiums, payroll, and maintenance bills are paid on time. They also supervise the preparation of financial statements and periodically report to the owners on the status of the property, occupancy rates, dates of lease expirations, and other matters.
Property managers negotiate contracts for janitorial, security, grounds keeping, trash removal, and other services. When contracts are awarded competitively, managers must solicit bids from several contractors and recommend to the owners which bid to accept. They monitor the performance of the contractors, and investigate and resolve complaints from residents and tenants. Managers also purchase all supplies and equipment needed for the property, and make arrangements with specialists for any repairs that cannot be handled by the regular property maintenance staff.
Property managers hire and direct the maintenance and on-site management personnel. At smaller properties, the property manager might employ only a building engineer who maintains the building's heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems and performs other routine maintenance and repair. Larger properties require a sizable maintenance staff supervised by a full-time on-site manager, who works under the direction of the property manager. Building managers have similar duties and responsibilities to property managers, except they are responsible for one site only.
Although some on-site managers oversee large office buildings or shopping centers, most manage apartments. They train, supervise, and assign duties to the maintenance staff as well as routinely inspect the grounds, facilities, and equipment to determine what repairs are needed. Occasionally, outside contractors are required, and the on-site manager may obtain bids for the work and submit them to the property manager. On-site managers schedule routine servicing of the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems and ensure that the work of the maintenance staff and contract workers is up to standards or contract specifications. They keep records of expenditures incurred for operating the property and submit regular expense reports to the property manager or owners. They may recruit maintenance staff, interview job applicants, and make hiring recommendations to the property manager.
Property and on-site managers employed by condominium and homeowner associations-known as community association managers-must be particularly adept at dealing with people. Instead of tenants, they must deal on a daily basis with homeowners-members of the community association that employs the manager. Hired by the volunteer board of directors of the association, the community association manager administers its daily affairs and oversees the maintenance of property and facilities that the homeowners own and use jointly through the association. Smaller community associations usually cannot afford professional management, but managers of larger condominiums have many of the same responsibilities as the managers of large apartment complexes. Some homeowner associations encompass thousands of homes, and, in addition to administering the associations' financial records and budget, their managers may be responsible for the operation of community pools, golf courses, community centers, and the maintenance of landscaping, parking areas, and streets.
Tenant relations (in commercial properties) and resident relations (in residential properties) are an important part of the work of on-site managers, particularly apartment, condominium, and community association managers. On-site managers are responsible for enforcing rules and lease restrictions, such as pet restrictions or use of parking areas. Apartment and building managers handle requests for service or repairs and try to resolve complaints. They show vacant apartments or office space to prospective residents and explain the occupancy terms. Property managers must understand the provisions of legislation and local fair housing laws to be sure they are not being discriminatory in the renting or advertising of apartments.
Other Qualifications and Advancement
Most employers prefer to hire college graduates for property and real estate management positions. Degrees in business ministration, finance, real estate, public administration, or reed fields are preferred, but persons with degrees in the liberals are often accepted.
On-site managers usually begin at smaller apartment complexes, condominiums, or community associations, or as an assistant manager at a large property or management company. As they acquire experience working under the direction of a property manager, they may advance to positions with greater responsibility at larger properties. Persons who excel as on-site managers then transfer to assistant property manager positions where they will acquire experience handling a broader range of property management responsibilities.
Although most persons who enter jobs as assistant property managers do so on the strength of on-site management experience, employers are increasingly hiring inexperienced college graduates with bachelor's or master's degrees in business administration, finance, or real estate for these jobs.
The responsibilities and compensation of property managers increase as they manage larger properties. Most property managers are responsible for several properties at a time, and as their careers advance, they are gradually entrusted with proper-is that are larger or whose management is more complex. Many specialize in the management of one type of property, such as apartments, office buildings, condominiums, cooperatives, homeowner associations, or retail properties. Managers who excel at marketing properties to tenants may specialize in managing new properties, while those who are particularly knowledgeable about buildings and their mechanical systems might specialize in the management of older properties that require renovation or more frequent repairs. Some experienced property and real estate managers open their own property or real estate management firms.
Persons most commonly enter real estate manager jobs by transferring from positions as property managers or real estate brokers. Real estate managers must be good negotiators, adept at persuading and handling people, and good at analyzing data to assess the fair market value of property or its development potential. Resourcefulness and creativity in arranging financing are essential for managers who specialize in land development. Real estate managers may be required to hold a real estate broker's license.
Many property and real estate managers attend short-term formal training programs conducted by various professional and trade associations active in the real estate field. Employers send managers to these programs to improve their management skills and expand their knowledge of specialized subjects, such as the operation and maintenance of building mechanical systems, enhancing property values, insurance and risk management, personnel management, business and real estate law, resident/tenant relations, communications, and accounting and financial concepts. Managers also participate in these programs to prepare themselves for positions of greater responsibility in property and real estate management. Completion of these programs, together with meeting job experience standards and achieving a satisfactory score on a written examination, leads to certification, or the formal award of a professional designation, by the sponsoring association. In addition to these qualifications, some associations re-quire their members to adhere to a specific code of ethics.
Managers of public housing subsidized by the federal government are required to be certified, but many property and real estate managers who work with all kinds of property choose to earn a professional designation voluntarily because it represents formal industry recognition of their achievements and status in the occupation. A number of organizations offer such programs.
