One of the first things I do when taking over a new property is start calling residents. Every single one of them. If there are 50 residents, I call 50 residents. If there are 200 residents, I call 200 residents. If there are 500 residents, it may take me a few weeks, but I'm still going to do it. Most property managers think I'm crazy. I don't send a mass email. I don't send a newsletter. I don't send a text message. I don't send an individual email introducing myself. I pic

One of the first things I would tell new property managers was simple: Property management is not a desk job. Many people enter the industry believing they will spend most of their day sitting in an office answering emails, reviewing reports, processing paperwork, and handling phone calls. While all of those responsibilities are important, they are not where property management actually happens. The property is where the job happens. I often compared apartment management to r

I've heard Property Managers say they walk their property every day. Then I've watched them drive through it in their car. That's not a property walk. A property walk means getting out of your vehicle, walking the grounds, entering buildings, checking common areas, visiting market-ready units, inspecting vacant apartments, and seeing the community through the eyes of the residents who live there. Throughout my career, I built property walks into my daily routine. Not because

In most apartment communities, the Property Manager is viewed as the leader of the property. They are responsible for occupancy, resident satisfaction, collections, budgets, staffing, and overall performance. If a property struggles, the Property Manager is typically the person expected to explain why. But there is a flaw in how many companies view property leadership. The Maintenance Supervisor is often treated as a department head rather than a true partner in the operation

What Your Property Manager Is Looking For When Reviewing Your Application Applying for an apartment can be stressful. Many applicants assume that property managers are only concerned with credit scores, but that is rarely the whole story. After reviewing thousands of rental applications throughout my career, I can tell you that property managers are evaluating much more than a three-digit number. They are looking for honesty, stability, and evidence that you can successfully

Most maintenance supervisors weren't promoted because they were great leaders. They were promoted because they were great technicians. They knew how to diagnose problems. They knew how to complete repairs. They knew how to turn apartments. They knew how to keep a property running. So when a supervisor position became available, they were the obvious choice. The problem is that repairing an HVAC system and leading a team require two completely different skill sets. Unfortunate

One of the biggest mistakes I see in property management is the belief that the office and maintenance team operate as separate departments. They don't. At least they shouldn't. Too often, the office staff sits on one island while the maintenance team sits on another. Communication happens through work orders, emails, and occasional phone calls. The relationship becomes transactional instead of collaborative. Then everyone wonders why frustration starts building. The answer i

One of the fastest ways for a property manager to become overwhelmed is to make themselves available for every question, every minute of every day. The phone rings. A leasing consultant needs an answer. A maintenance technician has a question. Someone stops by your office. An email arrives. A resident needs something. Before you know it, your day has been spent reacting instead of leading. Many managers assume this is simply part of the job. I disagree. Every Interruption Has

Where Did Your Day Go? The Time Audit Every Property Manager Should Complete One of the most common things I hear from property managers is: "I just don't have enough time." I've heard it from new managers. I've heard it from veteran managers. I've heard it from managers overseeing 50 units and managers overseeing 500 units. The interesting thing is that when I spend a few days observing how they spend their time, I usually discover that time isn't the real problem. Visibilit

Most property managers don't become overwhelmed because they're lazy. In fact, the opposite is usually true. The managers who struggle the most are often the hardest workers in the building. They're the first to arrive. The last to leave. The ones answering emails at night. The ones residents ask for by name. The ones who always seem to have the answer. At first, that feels like success. Eventually, it becomes a trap. The Hero Manager Problem For years, I believed being a gre

One of the most common things I heard from property managers throughout my career was: "I just don't have enough time." At first glance, that seems reasonable. Property managers deal with resident complaints, maintenance issues, delinquency, staffing challenges, vendors, corporate expectations, inspections, leasing, renewals, and a never-ending stream of interruptions. Of course they're overwhelmed. But after more than 20 years in property management, I've come to believe tha