Property Management: A Challenging Job

Property management is a career that offers variety, the opportunity to meet interesting people from diverse backgrounds, relative security of employment and the promise that no two days will ever be the same. For people who thrive on the unexpected and enjoy nothing better than a challenge, there is no better occupation.

A demanding but exhilarating role

In a busy agency with an expanding rent roll, there is always activity, interviews with prospective tenants, discussions with new owners and every day, dozens of competing priorities. It is a demanding and consuming occupation that can be exhilarating but, at the same time, it can have one too many challenges for the inexperienced or the unwary.

Here at Bunbury Real Estate we provide both sales and property management services. While both aspects of the real estate industry can be challenging, our property staff have issues that are unique to the role. We provide administrative and management support to assist them because we know the demands and challenges of the job.

Competing priorities can lead to difficult situations

Although most people we meet are polite and civil, one of the biggest challenges our property managers face is dealing with abusive owners and tenants. On the one hand, our people are looking after a property that is a large investment for someone, and on the other hand, it is also someone else’s home. This can create a perfect conflict situation and even the best property managers have difficulty with this.

Unreasonable owners are a challenge

On a similar note, difficult owners are another challenge. Most agencies, including ours, have systems in place to identify tenants who in the past have defaulted on rental payments, trashed their rental or worse still, manufactured or consumed drugs on the premises. Property managers are careful when selecting tenants, but vexatious owners only become apparent later.

Managing social media complaints part of the job

When discussing challenges, we must also mention social media. Property managers work hard for both owners and tenants, so an unjustified complaint on social media is not only unfair, but it can be distressing. These days everyone has an opinion, but many social media users are not particularly discerning about how they use it. Property managers must be aware of this and manage their response.

Be aware of burnout and how to combat it

Finally, effective property managers are always busy, and often neglect their own well-being to get the job done. Skipping lunch breaks, eating a take-away while on the run, working longer hours than necessary and not managing time and tasks well all create physical and mental health problems. We make sure our property managers don’t experience burnout by providing support where needed to assist them. They are far too valuable to lose.