The Responsibilities of a Property Manager
Know your roles as a property manager
Are you thinking of hiring a property manager in Kenya? Or maybe you are juggling property management as a career of interest but you are not sure of the responsibilities and skills you need to have? As a property owner, knowing the responsibilities of your property manager can maximize your profits on property investment. The Responsibilities of a Property Manager
A property manager has 4 areas of responsibilities to make sure that the business runs smoothly:
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- Administration
- Tenancy
- Marketing and finance
- Facilities
Note that responsibilities differ depending on the type of property they are managing, the monthly payment and the terms of the management agreement. These responsibilities are further discussed in the following tasks The Responsibilities of a Property Manager
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Rent collection
As a property manager, your primary task is to collect rent from the tenants on time. Rental income is the life force in the landlord’s business hence; need for the right measures to make sure the needed amount of money is collected every month. In support of these, you will be required to set rent level, increase or adjust the rent level when it is necessary and come up with a strategy of collecting rent from the tenants.
The Responsibilities of a Property Manager
Note that a property manager has the power to increase or decrease the rental payment each year depending on the market and the location of the property. This is to make sure that the properties have the highest value in the market and keep up with the latest trends in the market. Good communication skills will be needed to handle the tenants that have issues with rental increase. The Responsibilities of a Property Manager
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Tenant management
Checking on all the tenants and making sure they are comfortable is one of the ways to have short vacancy cycles and long tenancy period.it is also a way of attracting new tenants. A property manager should be well skilled in: The Responsibilities of a Property Manager
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Attracting new tenants
It is the responsibility of a property manager to make sure all property vacancies are filled. Using technology to keep up with the new trends attracting tenants is one of the most common ways to attract tenants. Maintenance and full satisfaction of the current tenants is key to getting new and long lease contracts as mentioned above The Responsibilities of a Property Manager
A professional property manager should have the knowledge to deal with different customers and research the applicant’s credit records, criminal records, tenancy history and any necessary report. This will make sure there are no cases of tenant turnover. The Responsibilities of a Property Manager
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Leases
A property manager has the responsibility to protect the owner from making losses by creating suitable lease agreements. The manager should make sure that the lease contract is attractive to the potential tenants and profitable to the business. Setting the required security deposit also falls under this category.
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Handling complaints
Tenants’ complaints will always be the responsibility of a property manager. He is also responsible for tenants’ requests and emergencies. This is the reason why a property manager should be always available and within the property.
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Dealing with move-outs and evictions
When the lease contract is over, the property manager is responsible for checking for any damages hence determining the amount of security deposit to be returned to the tenant. Also, it is the responsibility of a property manager to issue a letter of eviction to tenants who breached the lease agreement. He has the right knowledge to know when an eviction letter is necessary.
3. Property maintenance
This includes keeping the property in good condition and making sure it is safe for tenancy by running regular inspections, troubleshooting, and doing repairs. Regular servicing of the property prevents major repairs that drain a lot of money. It is advised to have a specific trusted contractor who will be doing repairs and renovations so that in case of any major issue the contractors can help you deal with the situation with much ease, having mastered the property.
The manager should further make sure there are minimal interruptions on the daily operations on the property during repairs. This could be enhanced by scheduling a specific time that the repairs should be done.
4. Finance report and management
Finance management entails coming up with financial objectives which should be achieved through rental collection, paying bills, preparing budgets, scheduling expenditures, analyzing variances and initiating corrective action. A manager should always operate within a certain limit of finance except for special or emergency cases where he will be required to judge and take actions without concern for the budget.
Besides, a property manager should keep safe records of the property’s income and expenditure. This makes it easier to track money flow and make annual budgets. The records should entail:
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Insurance costs
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Inspection cost
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Records of repairs and cost
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Maintenance cost
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Records of rent collection
5. Employee Supervision
Apart from dealing with tenants and landlords, the manager should make sure that work is being done correctly in case there are other employees in the property. The manager can further set salaries and also fire the workers when necessary.
The manager can also perform background checks and conduct interviews in a landlords absence. He can also act as a link between the employees and the property owner where he gets information or complains from the employees and then he communicates to the boss later.
6. Risk management
Risk management is taking the necessary actions to protect against liabilities. For example, regular inspection can be termed as property management since it will be preventing future substantial physical damage. Risk management also includes changing influence for possible risk to another party. To be good at risk management, the manager should have enough knowledge to handle payment receipts, annual budgets, pay monthly expenses, manage funds and contact the contractors when needed.
Being a property manager is sensitive since you will be dealing with money and tenants on behalf of the landlord as shown above. This means that your daily goal is to keep the tenants and the landlord satisfied and happy.
8 comments
Wakufia njeri
Nice article. How can I find out how to report a property manager who has collected rent from tenants but has not paid to the tenants?
Eliud
hae Njeri. kindly rephrase your questio as the monies is collected from tenants and submitted to the Land lord,
Wakufia njeri
Nice article. How can I find out how to report a property manager who has collected rent from tenants but has not remitted proceeds to owner since Nov 2020?
Arvin Kiprono Baingaru
1st it’s proper to give notice to the manager for a month or so to stop collecting rent and either appoint a new manager who will be able to collect all the evidence that shows that the previous manager was paid or carry out the collection yourself. (Arvin – 0701406258)
The best is to have all evidence that suggests the P.manager collected the rent from the tenants and did not submit them to you which you can then look for a good lawyer to be able to file the matter in court.
Josphine Irungu
Thankyou soo much for this very clear and simple information, am intending to do property management work as a side hustle..hope to walk with you
Rita Mbuthia
Hi, nice article, so I moved into a rental in June this year, but it wasn’t complete. There were no curtain rods, no fans no nothing. I stayed on June and July without the landlord making any improvements. So on August I informed him that if he doesn’t make any changes come September I won’t pay rent but use the money to make the needed improvements. He said we’d talk about it. Come September nothing had been done so again I notified him that i’m not paying rent but using the money to install the fans. I did so, sent him all the necessary receipts too and even used his fundis. That same month he transferred management to a property agent. Now come this month the agent shows up to my door saying I owe rent for two months. I told the agent to clear with his landlord but he’s insistent that is in the past and that I need to pay what I owe because thats what the landlord presented him with. I don’t know why they want to make my life difficult but is there anyway to legally handle the situation?
Anonymous
Try showing the new property manager the receipts for making the improvements on the unit. If need be, show him the conversations that you had with the owner.
Eric
What is the salary range of a first time property manager?