Is anyone using VAs for their Property or Asset Management ?

[Gino Barbaro]

We are starting to implement more VAs into our accounting and property management parts of the business. Just wondering what companies y'all are using, and how are VAs helping your business.

Thanks for taking the time to respond

Gino

[Caleb Brown]

I am leaving a comment because I'd be curious too. VA's seem great but I am leery of managing and them doing what I want correctly

[Drew Sygit]

@Gino Barbaro have been using them for 10+ years.

You'll want to make sure you approach this correctly!

What we've found (our opinion):

Virtual Assistant (VA): great for task-based work, but they won't care about your company, clients, etc.

Remote Team Member (RTM): COVID allowed many to work from home. So, does it really matter where a worker is located? 

We only hire RTMs now and they're like any other worker. You do have to be aware of cultural differences and other challenges:
- In other countries, workers ALWAYS take their birthdays off
- You should inquire about & respect local holidays
- Timezone differences of more than 2-4 hours, can lead to mysterious "sick" days. Really it's burnout as humans aren't designed to work graveyard shifts (look it up!)
- There are several scammers out there that double-clock and outsource themselves. So, you'll want to use tracking software like Hubstaff to monitor what an RTM is really doing. not as much of a concern with a VA if you pay them for performance and not by the hour.
- Getting an RTM to buy into your ompany culture. We require at least 3 video meetings each week, so they can meet and get to know their team.

DM us if you want to know more.

[Nelisa Lee]

We used VAs for years but they were all referrals from other investors who no longer had enough work to support them. Although based on Drew's response, I think our VA team members would be what he's referring to as "Remote Team Members."

They work on our accounting/bookkeeping/reporting/administrative aspects of our rental portfolio. While they don't necessarily help with asset management directly since we have property management in place. They do help with reviewing our reports from our property management companies to identify spikes in utility usage on vacant properties, reviewing expenses to make sure they were approved, vacancies, etc. Our PM does a lot of that as well but as owners, I want to make sure things don't fall through the cracks. 

The biggest thing I have found is that they are very task oriented and will follow instructions well but you have to coach them up to be able to make their own decisions. So, when they ask a question especially something that doesn't necessarily have a right or wrong answer, I often push back to ask them what they think. This helps them create confidence, learn and develop and honestly has made them incredible assets to our team!

Agree with all of the points Drew made as well about understanding cultural differences. Our VAs expect birthdays off and local holidays which we're happy to give them plus they get vacation days as well. We also give full 2.5 weeks off during the holidays because family and Christmas traditions are important to them. It puts us a little behind at the beginning of each new year but honestly, I think it brings everyone back refreshed and more efficient when they do come back and we also take that time off so it's nice to know that I'm not ignoring emails from them.

I've heard good things from other investors that have used Rocket Station and Hire Train VA to find theirs but I can't speak to that experience personally. Hope this helps!

[Max Emory]

Regarding bookkeeping/accounting, 100% of the feedback I've gotten from REIs who have tried to have a VA help with their bookkeeping is they had no clue what they were doing and they caused more issues than before they were involved.

There are great groups out there such as the "Bookkeepers for Real Estate Investors" Facebook group where VAs can get the education they need to be productive within REI bookkeeping. But, if they don't have some sort of formal training/experience within the industry hiring them is a terrible idea (from what I've heard).

Just to put this into perspective, all of our bookkeepers are U.S.-based, Associate Digital Bookkeeper certified, QuickBooks Online Pro Advisor certified, & Bookkeeping for Real Estate Investors certified. And, they still have questions and need help with certain scenarios every now and then.

Bottom line: VAs can be very valuable but need to be properly trained and preferably come with experience like any other hire.

Hope this helps!

[Gino Barbaro]

@Drew Sygit

thanks for the feedback. We are starting to use VAs for low level work to free up our employees for more important tasks.

Gino

[Gino Barbaro]

@Nelisa Lee

It sounds as if remote team members is a step up from VAs. I guess it's all about the marketing. 

thanks for your feedback

Gino

[Gino Barbaro]

@Max Emory

We use a company called Scale Virtually, and they do a good job vetting their VAs, and I agree with you, I wouldn't hire a VA for high level important tasks, but reporting, such as our weekly pulses, general ledger stuff, they work well and free up our employees to do other tasks

Gino

[Nelisa Lee]

Quote from @Max Emory:

Regarding bookkeeping/accounting, 100% of the feedback I've gotten from REIs who have tried to have a VA help with their bookkeeping is they had no clue what they were doing and they caused more issues than before they were involved.

There are great groups out there such as the "Bookkeepers for Real Estate Investors" Facebook group where VAs can get the education they need to be productive within REI bookkeeping. But, if they don't have some sort of formal training/experience within the industry hiring them is a terrible idea (from what I've heard).

Just to put this into perspective, all of our bookkeepers are U.S.-based, Associate Digital Bookkeeper certified, QuickBooks Online Pro Advisor certified, & Bookkeeping for Real Estate Investors certified. And, they still have questions and need help with certain scenarios every now and then.

Bottom line: VAs can be very valuable but need to be properly trained and preferably come with experience like any other hire.

Hope this helps!

 Great point Max! Our team members we have have were formally trained in accounting for real estate before taking on any bookkeeping responsibilities and do still require guidance. I would never trust anyone without proper training and oversight.