Taking over a property---where do I begin?

Good morning property management pros---

I have a fantastic new opportunity to take over two properties as the property manager. The total units for both properties is 84 and they are located less than a mile apart. I'm really excited, but I just needed some advice on where to start. There is no property management software in place, I'm used to OneSite, but I'm not sure if that would be feasible or cost effective with such a small number of units.

Some questions I have:
Does anyone have any recommendations on what kind of software, if any, to use for two small properties? The current manager is doing it old school, BY HAND!

There is no housekeeper on site, currently contracting out for cleaning for make readies. Is it more cost effective to have an on-site housekeeper for such a small amount of units?

Anyone have any cost effective marketing/website ideas? There is currently no website or marketing in place for the properties.

Should I do a letter to the residents announcing the change in management, go door to door, introducing myself? The current manager has been there for almost 15 years.

WHen conducting a quick file/bookeeping audit, I discovered several discrepancies, some files have no leases in place, some monies missing, quite a few issues. Do I bring this to the attention of the owner, or just try to clean it up without worrying him?

I'm sure I'll need more advice as time goes on, I would certainly appreciate any advice right now. Thank you so much!!

Congratulations Shannon! Is this your first PM position?
As far as hiring a housekeeper, how much turnover do you have between the two properties? How much are you paying for turn cleans? Is there actually enough of a work load to keep a housekeeper busy between turns?
Let's say you are turning 50% of combined units per year, you pay around $200 per clean (that number seems to vary wildly, but it's what I was paying to clean a 3br a few years ago) then you are spending $8,400 annually. You wouldn't be able to hire someone for that amount. I have a housekeeper for 163 units, with about 30% turnover. The only way I can get by with it is having her cross trained as a tech too. You also want to take into account the cost of cleaning supplies, the cost of hiring a new person (drug test, background checks etc), their salary, benefits, workers comp etc. It adds up quick!
I would definitely send out a letter introducing yourself to your residents and letting them know you're there for them. I would also host a small event, maybe just coffee and cookies or something so they can meet you face to face. Quick story for you; when I took over my current seniors’ community on my first day I sent out a letter introducing myself. Within and hour of sitting at my new desk in my new office I get a call from the power company saying they need to shut off service to our building for 12hrs in order to connect power to a new building next door. Well being that I now have a seniors community I have many residents on oxygen, it’s a 4 story building and elevators don't work without power, nor does the security system. So once again I sent out a letter asking residents to meet me in the community room so we could get a game plan together. To this day I have never had so many residents in one place. They were so curious about the new lady they all showed up. That turned out to be a blessing as we worked together as a team to prepare for the power outage. The night went completely without incident (I spent my 1st night as their manager with them) and built a reputation for caring about the residents from the very 1st day. I also earned the respect of my staff because they knew we were in this thing together.
I would MOST DEFINATELY let the owner know about the accounting issues. You may not be able to correct them yourself, and you will probably need their guidance in getting things back in order.
Feel free to contact me if I can help you or you just need to [email protected] Oh and good luck!

Thank you so much for your reply, Stephani! I really appreciate the advice. This is my first time as an on site manager, I did manage single family homes in the past. I love the idea about hosting a small get together to introduce myself to the residents! I'm really excited about making a difference in these two small communities. I hope you had a great holiday and thanks again for all your help!

Congratulations on your new opportunity! I've done dozens of takeovers, so I know how challenging it came be (especially during the first few days).

Are you working for a management company? If so, what software do they use. Regardless of the cost, I think having a computerized system is invaluable. Seriously. Pay whatever it is because the pros outweigh the cons. I realize it might be hard to convince the owner of a small community to agree to pay for it, but it's a must. OneSite is great, so if you like it, I say use it.

It's good that you did a lease audit. Telling the owner about every little detail (even the not so little ones like missing leases) probably isn't important. Just start making the corrections and keep the owner informed about your progress. Obviously, there is a reason the former management is gone, so they already know there are problems and you don't need to point them out.

In your situation it's probably best to contract out cleaning services. Adding someone to your payroll is expensive and a long commitment. Maybe you could balance some of the work in-house with your maintenance staff doing a few light cleans and only using a turnkey company for the tough jobs.

You should definitely send a letter and I have some that you can use as a template. There also might be one in the File Bank here. Check there if you haven't done so already. Going door-to-door is great, but I think having a resident event in a month or so would be a better way to introduce yourself. Tell them about it in the letter and then you can send out reminders as another point of contact.

Websites can be tricky. You don't want to have one just for the sake of having one. Does the community have a Facebook Page? Maybe start there. It's free and you can direct prospects there for leasing information and communicate with residents. Also, if you're not doing any online advertising you might want to check with an ILS (MyNewPlace, ApartmentGuide.com, etc.) about getting listed. They spend millions on SEO and your listing will show up almost always at the top of search results.

Anyway, good luck with everything. I'm glad to help if you need any advice.

Shannon,

I suggest the first thing you address is Budget and Rent Roll. These two items will set the tone for your success. Secondly, send out a letter introducing yourself and since the holidays are here, plan a small get-together for all the Residents at each site. You also need to plan where your office will be and how to operate both properties from that space - does it mean you will have to show units at a site without an Office?

I agree that you need some type of software system - does your budget support this expense? Can it be built into the budget for 2012? I love Yardi as it works well for small communities and is super easy to set up and manage. I used it for 32 small properties and it worked great. OneSite and Yardi may be very expensive; however, is your Owner looking to increase his/her portfolio? This cost is divided among all properties as a shared expense. These software programs also allow you to provide detailed reports to the Owner/Investor - This is essential, in my opinion.

Next, assess your team. Do you have a FT Maintenance Tech? You should keep your cleaning as a contracted expense until you can justify the cost with an additional property or responsibility (as a PT Tech, as said by others.)

There are free website services. I would not worry about that yet. I would make sure my financials were in good order before concentrating on this marketing tool. Advertising and marketing is important, but you can work on this by talking with your ad reps, etc. Use those resources!

I would think you would have a management contract with the Owner. In it, it should specify how much oversight the Owner has and wants. This is something to be discussed with him/her. I have never performed any accounting "fixes" without a lot of detailed emails to back up my actions. Once you work with an Owner for a couple of years and you have his faith and trust, then you will not have to ask much at all. It will then be a reporting system each month.

Good Luck - you can always contact me at [email protected]!
~Mindy

Sorry for the late reply, David and Mindy, just wanted to thank you for the advice. Been on the property working like crazy to get it cleaned up and ready to go. I have taken over as an assistant before but never a manager, so it's definitely a huge change. I'm ready for the challenge and I really appreciate your help!

I did have one other question:

The owner asked me to create my own commission/bonus structure as there is nothing in place currently. I don't want to be greedy, but I also don't want to short change myself. With such a small property and occupancy being nearly 100%, I was thinking of basing the structure off collections. Does anyone have any experience of what I should ask for or how much?

Thank you all so much for all your help, this website is fantastic! :laugh:

Ahhhh, the art of compensation! Personally, I would not take a commission on new leases for exactly that reason: if you are 100% occupied, how do you make anything extra? My contract would specify a Bonus structure based on occupancy, collections, and delinquency (for example, a 10% Bonus, or more, would get you $4000 annually if your salary is $40K.) I would take a "commission" on all the renewals!

Ahhhh, the art of compensation! Personally, I would not take a commission on new leases for exactly that reason: if you are 100% occupied, how do you make anything extra? My contract would specify a Bonus structure based on occupancy, collections, and delinquency (for example, a 10% Bonus, or more, would get you $4000 annually if your salary is $40K.) I would take a "commission" on all the renewals!

Hi Shannon!

Congrats on the new adventure!

I am about to embark on the same adventure myself - one building, 90 units, everything done old school (by hand). I know that I will have a property management software system and I am already planning a holiday event.

Like everyone else I suggest a letter to introduce yourself, focus on a budget for 2012 and utilize Facebook.

If you want to share the journey together let me know, I have been in the industry for awhile and would be happy to help any way that I can!

Best of luck!

Sheila

Thanks Mindy and Sheila!! I'm slowly but surely getting things in order, thanks to all the fantastic advice here! Sheila, good luck to you in your new adventure, I'll be in touch with you along the way!

Hello Shannon,

I seen all of the advice that you received and you received good advice all the way around. The first thing I want to say is that you are very smart for being on here in the first place and brain storming and receiving all of this good advice.

Keep on here and always ask questions because I am sure there will be someone who has been through the same thing or close to it.

So, my question is how are you doing now and are you still having fun?

Regards,

Nate