3 Mistakes Holding Your Property Management Company Back From Success

Growing your property management company to the point that real estate professionals are bidding for your business requires experience, time, and a great deal of work.

However, in an effort to climb to the top, many property management companies fall victim to mistakes that can actually sink their business rather than grow it.

Today we will look at some of the most damaging gaffes property management companies make while attempting to establish a reputation as number one, as well as solutions to these mistakes.

Mistakes You May Be Making

Even the most seasoned of property management companies make common mistakes in the rental property business. Unfortunately, making many of these mistakes can lead to property owner dissatisfaction and a loss of their business.

Let’s take a look at those common mistakes you should strive to avoid:

• Not placing high quality tenants. Property management companies should enforce a strict tenant screening process for every applicant that walks through the door. Criminal background checks, credit screening, prior living situations complete with references, and individual evaluations of every prospective tenant can prevent poor tenant placement.

• Casual enforcement of the lease agreement. The lease agreement is in place to protect your company, the property owner and their rental home, as well as the tenant residing in the rental property. Failing to enforce the agreement with tenants can lead to non-payment of rent, destruction of property, and angry property owners. Never make exceptions for anyone when it comes to lease provisions.
• Ill-timed maintenance and repair responses. Your property owners’ satisfaction results from the proper care of both their property and their tenants. After all, property owners hire you to take care of every aspect of managing their rental property. If you fail to respond in a timely manner to maintenance and repair requests, your property owner will surely find another company to manage their rental home.
• Poor vendor relationships. Wanting to get maintenance issues resolved quickly and economically is understandable. And, it is likely your property owner wants just the same. However, not forging strong relationships with your vendors can waste time and result in poorly finished work if you choose a different vendor every time an issue pops up. Find those vendors that perform quality work in a timely manner, that are also cost-efficient, and aim to work with them regularly.

Now that we have discussed some of the most common mistakes that can harm your property management’s reputation, here are some mistakes that you may not have considered in the past as being harmful to the success of your company.

Mistake #1: Avoiding Negative Reviews on Online Review Sites

As popular review sites such as Yelp and Google+ continue to allow customers to rate businesses of all types, it is important your property management company has good reviews in order to remain competitive.

No business owner wants to admit his or her service was under par and resulted in a negative review. However, trying to worm your way out of a negative review, rather than accept responsibility, learn from the experience, and make appropriate changes is far worse than the negative review itself.

Here are some tips for combatting poor reviews:

• Always claim your business on a review site so you can monitor the reviews
• Claim ownership of your reputation by asking all tenants for reviews
• Don’t focus on the one poor review left by a disgruntled property owner or tenant; rather chase the many other positive reviews that people are willing to leave
• Be the best in customer service you can – to both property owners and tenants – because if one is happy, many times the other is not
• Conduct regular surveys of your services to improve your company
• Follow up with any negative reviews to see what can be done about the situation
• Take the time to thank those that leave positive reviews

Mistake #2: Not Following a Shaky Lead

In the competitive world of property management, it is your job to close as many leads as possible and turn them into customers.

If you meet with an income property owner seeking property management services, such as the ones you provide, and they leave without sealing the deal, don’t stop there.

Maybe they are not quite sure if they truly need your services. Perhaps they are still shopping around. Maybe, just maybe, they are still deciding and are actually waiting for you to follow up with them (which is often considered a great customer service tactic).

Make it your goal to close on every single lead that you encounter. Convince them that they need you, that you will provide them peace of mind when it comes to their property, and that your services are the most cost-effective on the market.

Of course, not everyone will sign on to work with you. However, the more you go after what you want, the higher the chances that you will successfully grow your customer base.

Mistake #3: Not Making Time

Growing a business is demanding no matter how you look at it. Do not get caught up in the day-to-day administrative tasks and stall as a business. This not only gives you no room to grow, but your service may actually suffer because of it.

Here are some great extras you can throw in between meetings, phone calls, and appointments that will elevate your business and establish it as the go-to property management company:

• Evaluate all procedures for improvements – this includes things such as tenant screenings, maintenance calls, vacancy turnarounds, and tenant retention programs.
• Launch a website – keep your current and potential customers, as well as tenants, informed with a website that offers a list of your services, available properties, and information regarding the rental property business.
• Team up with your staff and keep learning – brush up on federal and state landlord-tenant laws, brainstorm lead generating strategies, and even find out what your employees feel would bring your company to the next level.

In the end, any progress is good progress when it comes to building your property management company. In order to make your company a success, you must avoid all of the common, and not so common, mistakes that many property management companies make on a daily basis. In doing so, you will see your company begin to significantly grow.