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Property Management Blog


What is the job of a property manager?

What is the job of a property manager?

You might be wondering what property managers do. With new technologies and software emerging constantly, the job of property managers got easier. For example, while some still receive rent checks in the mail, many property managers now receive the rent from the tenants using an online portal only. That's what we do, and that makes our job easier.

But there is something that will not change for a very long time, if ever. That is a mechanical failure and handling of it. Can technology handle leak repair? Technically, the technology exists to detect leaks. Is it possible to automate everything with technology by installing a leak detector to every pipe, notifying a plumber, arranging the time with the tenant for the repair date, sending an invoice when the repair is done, and paying the plumber?

Perhaps, but we can't have technology work most of the time. It needs to work 100% of the time, as we can't just fix most of the leaks. For example, when there is a leak, should you call a handyman or a plumber? That requires judgment from an experienced property manager by considering the issue, the skillset of the particular handyman and the plumber, cost, availability, and urgency. Technology just can not make the call. 

Also, what if there's an exception? For example, in this case, the shut-off valve of the particular condo building unit did not work, so the water supply of the whole building needed to be shut down. To do that, you have to contact the HOA, arrange the date and time with the HOA and the plumber, arrange the shut-off with the vendor from the HOA, post shut-off notices to the building, and remove them once the repair is done. But the repair is not done yet, as the plumber opened up the wall, so now a vendor needs to go there to fix the drywall. Even with the incredible advance in AI, you can see that it's just not possible to complete a simple leak repair without human intervention.

Going through the above process may not be something you are interested in doing, do not have time to do, or are not sure how to do. If you are like most of us, we delegate pretty much everything in our life. We did not make the car we drive. We did not make grow the food we eat. We did not code the software we use. It’s OK to delegate because we already do. Maybe it’s time to add property management as a task to delegate to a professional property management company.

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