Property Managers, a unique breed?

This post is directed at property managers but will also make a good read for property hosts too who may one day find themselves managing more than one property.

Property management companies are broken down into two categories:

I) The first being the “bespoke” property manager who looks for a niche, or a certain type of property in a specific city or even specific post code. They concentrate and focus on growing a portfolio which is profitable and are extremely picky about the type of landlord and property they engage with.

This property manager will potentially have grown organically and may reach a maximum property portfolio of up to one hundred properties and will run and manage this book with a small, family like team of cleaners, maintenance guys and office staff. Happy days!

II) The second type of property manager is a completely different breed. Interested in world domination and landgrab (a bit of an extreme description I know).

The accumulation of hosts and properties seems to be top priority, and the launching of properties in different cities funded my millions of pounds in investment both privately and publicly is on their agenda.

To discuss the latter breed further (II), we need to understand their mentality and what they are hoping to achieve. This property manager has decided to take a global approach, while providing a personalised local service through locally established management teams which in effect each act like property manager (I) above.

A localised service but with global backing and experience, supported by amazing systems of technological integration and an army of problem solvers ready to jump at the first sign of something going wrong. Bliss.

Just to digress for a moment, and show a level of empathy, property managers, regardless of their size, are the guys who deal with challenges and problems from all sides. They find themselves in the middle of all connecting spokes of the short-let journey.

If guests have an issue, they call the Property manager. When hosts are not happy, they call the property manager. When booking platforms such as Airbnb have an issue, they email the property manager. Not an easy task at all so be kind.

Property management integration with channel managers such as Guesty, bookingsync and Rentals United is key.

These channel management systems give your property the exposure needed to make sure you have limited void period and your property is rented out to an optimum level, taking into consideration price points, the type of guests staying and how long for.

To be listed on such platforms costs a lot of money, one which the property manager will be paying on your behalf.

Property managers are indeed a unique breed. Can you imagine letting your property out through an estate agent on a long-let basis and then asking your estate agent to deal with the fact that the guest is not happy with the pressure in the shower? Or a broken toilet seat? This is essentially what we expect of our short-let managers.

What is important to note though, and in summary of the above, is that regardless of whichever property manager type you decide to go with, always remember that they will do their upmost to give you a personalised local service, and will always do what they can to maximise your property profits while also maximising your property reviews.

The only gain when you do, and they also lose when you do too, sometimes even more than you.

Build a strong relationship with your property manager and work to find solutions with them.

They are a unique breed.