Property Management Service

Managing a property and its tenants often involves a great deal of work and effort, property owners usually don’t handle these responsibilities themselves and prefer to outsource the work to a property management service. Property management is ideally suited to be a work at home enterprise. Property managers are responsible for managing tenants, maintenance, construction, income, expenses, bills and taxes. If you have a flair for managing and an eye for detail this rewarding job could be your next work at home business.

Before The Start-Up, Let’s Not Get Ahead Of Ourselves

To run a property management service you’ll need a combination of great management and communication skills, basic experience in book keeping is also recommended. To better understand the industry it’s helpful to have a qualification in a related field such as property development - finally since you’ll be dealing with contractors and maintenance staff, some knowledge of building maintenance and construction will also be helpful.

The Start-Up

To effectively manage your service you’ll need a standard home office setup, you may already own much of the equipment required. You’ll need a work space, desk, computer, internet connection, printer, fax, phone, scanner and copier (four in one machines sometimes offer great value for money). Many managers use specialist software to manage their tenants, this isn’t necessary but definitely something to consider. A quick search in Google for property management software reveals numerous sites, do some comparative shopping before making a purchase.

Since you’ll be mobile for a small part of your work week a cell phone is a must, you’ll also need a reliable car. Lastly you’ll need marketing materials to sell your service. Elance.com offers great packages for business card, letterhead, business envelope and logo design.

Making It Work

You’ll have to work hard to get your first few clients, however this is one work at home business where constant marketing isn’t necessary. Property owners choose their management services very carefully as they rely on them to look after their investment and its well being. Build a reputation for excellence from your first client and never let it slip, a good reputation will bring in new referral business and will be your greatest asset.

Marketing

Market your service using classified ads in local newspapers, membership to local real estate organizations and possibly an ad in the Yellow Pages. Consider developing a website with a basic run down of your services, a client list and testimonials will also be a good idea. Be sure to register your site with relevant niche directories and services such as Google Local if you live in the U.S. Also consider using a pay per click service like Google Adwords to drive targeted traffic to your website. Keep in mind Adwords takes some time to learn and become proficient at, we recommend Perry Marshall’s The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords as an excellent place to begin.

Don’t Forget

If you manage a high profile property such as a shopping mall you may be required to be on 24 hour call in case of emergency.