If you are considering a professional property management company to handle your rentals, one of the key things to be aware of is that many relationships between owners and property managers fail because the owner feels the need to stay involved on a daily basis. I want to discuss why property managers prefer working with owners who trust us to handle the daily operations of managing their rentals.
When owners get too involved, it creates a lot of challenges:
It reduces our autonomy: Owners hire property managers for their expertise, experience, and ability to make informed decisions. Excessive involvement from owners undermines our authority and judgment. And, when owners constantly step in and make decisions on every aspect, it disrupts our workflow and efficiency.
We get inconsistent policies: Owners who want things done their way, or the way they prefer, end up affecting our policies and overriding our decisions which confuses everyone. Conflicting instructions from owners leads to inconsistent management practices which affect tenant satisfaction and our performance. We have years of experience that have contributed to our policies and why we do things the way we do them.
There is a Tremendous burden of Communication: Constant communication and approval requests from owners takes up a lot of time that is better spent managing the property. It also means we wait for owner approval on routine decisions that end up slowing down our processes and reduces our efficiency. It also affects tenant satisfaction in a negative way.
Micromanaging erodes the relationship: Excessive owner involvement signals a lack of trust in our abilities along with a lack of respect that strains our relationship. In addition, it undermines and undervalues our expertise when it is constantly questioned. Having an amateur tell us how to run our business is just exasperating!
As a property manager, we know it's important to keep owners informed and involved in strategic decisions. However, being involved in daily operations hinders the effectiveness of any professional property manager. A balanced approach between owners and managers, with clear expectations and trust, will always yield the best results for everyone.
