Labor for a 64 unit complex

I own a 64 unit apartment complex with only 1 employee. He is responsible for maintenance, showings, collections and property maintenance (not including lawn). I give him a free apartment and a salary. I am wondering what would be an appropriate amount to pay him? I understand it am probably below the threshold of units to be able to justify a full time person, but I dont think a part time person could handle it. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks for sharing, Bob. I don't have a good answer for the salary side, but what I find interesting is the amount of duties he has. We did a poll earlier in the year and the average number of maintenance techs was 1 per 100 units. Of course, that's just a rule of thumb, but it would seem that at 64 units plus leasing/collections/management duties, it would easily justify a full time person, if not 1.5 people. So my question is, what is your person doing that allows him to be more efficient and handle all of those duties?

Dear Sir,
Am curious how old the propertie is, where it is located,how many turnover's a year, and what is your vacancy rate? I would be interested in an apartment and utillities for leasing and management skills,seriously I have experience.Also I have held Real estate license and other related certifacates. Thank you in advance.
Michele Snyder

That is a good question Bob and the answer will depend on various factors such as where is your community located?, What is the current occupancy? What type of community is this? What is the average ROP for the area in other communities?

On a side note, from personal experience, I would only consider 1 person if the community is 100% with a very healthy waiting list and very low turnover due to each area of property management requiring skilled people in place for specific functions. I would look at two part time people (maybe 20 hours each base). One for administrative, and the other for maintenance-janitorial-grounds. I just thought of another reason to consider 1 staff and that is if the community is located in a small rural area where everyone knows each other.

Your local employment office may be very helpful in guidance of pay. The other factor is the unit + utilities and whether this is reported income.

Good Luck!

Really I have to come in and help him with some of these duties. He will do the showings, but I put the leases together and do the other administrative items. We also have to bring in help for him every once in a while. I used to have a property management company run this property, but after our the market here in Florida crashed, our rents are down 30%. We had to cut expenses, so this is where we are.

Hey Bob - have you thought of bringing someone in at least one day a week to get caught up on the administrative stuff? I am familiar with the property and to have one person do all the work is a little hard. You are in an extremely tough market as you know and to keep the momentum going with getting the traffic in/ increasing resident retention is not easy. Give me a call - Melissa

I have gotten up to 95 percent occupancy, but there are some administrative things that are not getting done. Email me at [email protected], I lost your old contact information. Thanks

Bob

Prior experience in the same market - free apartment, $30k/ year, benefits however there was 1.5 people on site.

What should the total cost of labor for management and maintenance be as a percentage of gross income? Is there a $ amount per unit that is used as a benchmark?

Where would you find someone like this. I think I am paying too much for my guy. I would prefer to have one full time guy for that amount and another half guy to come in and help. What do you think for on the guy to come for help. I was paying $10 per hour for help when we needed.