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Tips for Residential Property Managers Who Specialize in Single-Family Homes

Posted on 15. Jul, 2010 by Mary Girsch-Bock in Business

The typical multi-unit property manager usually has a solid system in place for handling everything from tracking available units, marketing properties, displaying various floor plans, and processing routine maintenance and tenant service requests. Just about any property manager will testify that having this information at their fingertips makes their job so much easier.

Photos of floor plan models can be displayed on the company website for potential renters to review. Routine maintenance is easily scheduled weeks out, with tenant service requests processed based on request date and urgency. The customization capability found in many property management software products makes this task even easier, with much of this information easily tracked and maintained simply by taking a few minutes each day to update the available data.

But what about the management companies who specialize in single family home rentals? How do their needs vary from the multifamily property manager?

The most apparent difference is that every rental home is unique. While many property management companies post exterior shots of home rentals, most potential tenants really want to look inside the home, so the availability of interior photos is vital. Spending an extra few minutes taking some basic interior shots can really pay off by eliminating unnecessary property showings, as only those interested in the property will take the time to look at it.

Tracking routine maintenance, appliance age and history is a bit more complicated for those managing single family homes. In most cases, appliance manufacturers and appliance age will vary widely from home to home, making scheduling of routine maintenance and appliance replacement more time-consuming. In many cases, smaller property management companies may simply contract out routine/annual property maintenance, considering the time and inconvenience of servicing multiple homes that are typically spread out across a wide area. To simplify matters, the property manager can maintain a list of contractors they work with, and simply have the contractor contact the renter to schedule the needed maintenance.

Another issue that can arise is the scheduling of major property repairs. While smaller maintenance repairs are filtered into a property’s yearly budget, larger projects usually cannot be completed without the permission of the property owner. Property maintenance issues, such as routine landscaping are often the responsibility of the renter, and are noted as such in the lease.

It’s clear that managing single family homes can present a new set of challenges for property managers. But with the latest property management software, and some solid management skills, those challenges can be quickly mastered.

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Tags: maintenance, single-family