I want to be a Professional Property Manager

[Julie Marquez]

I manage small multifamily and single family properties for my dad and uncle. I grew up in this business as my dad has been a hands on landlord/property manager my entire 35 year life. I'm getting more and more responsibilities now. I figure as I perfect the systems it will be easy to take on more clients. I've got 10 years construction management experience (plus a carpenter husband), so I'm ready to apply to apply my skills to my own entrepreneurial efforts.

I'm in the state of Washington (north of Seattle) where a real estate license is required to manage properties for other owners. I'm about halfway complete in getting my license. Then what do I do? I'm not looking to sell millions in transaction real estate (yet), so where do I hang my license in able to start my own property management company?

[Nathan Gesner]

@Julie Marquez Your Option #3 is my Option #2.

There are real estate brokerages, many of them very large, that will not touch property management with a 10-foot pole. The brokers have no experience/knowledge and none of the agents are willing to take it on. They have no idea what it involves, and they don't want to know. When one of their clients asks about property management, they refer them to someone else (or they just shrug their shoulders).

You step in and offer Property Management services. Explain how it can benefit them because they can offer professional property management to their current and new clients instead of referring them out. The brokerage looks more rounded and robust. You can train the agents on how to sell property management services, maybe even direct investors to you for recurring business. When one of your property management clients wants to buy or sell, you send them to an agent within the brokerage and get a referral fee or partner with them for the sale. It's a win-win.

The difficult part is proving you are worth the trouble. Many Brokers see property management as risky business (primarily because they know nothing about it). You will have to convince them that you're worth the effort. Demonstrate how it can benefit their business. You'll also need a space to work, possibly an assistant. Who will handle your marketing and administrative costs? How much of your commission will you share with the Broker?

Once you are ready, you can probably grow quickly. You have to educate all the agents within your office so they can start looking for clients to refer to you. then you can start spreading the word to all the other Brokerages in your area to try and get additional referrals. I'm in a small town and I get a TON of referrals because other agents know I'm good at my job and I'll take care of their clients. In a large area like Seattle, I think you can easily build to 100 doors within the first year without too much effort. If you're really smart, you can also figure out how to buy existing portfolios from other managers that are getting tired. The sky is the limit!