No job is perfect, and overseeing the day-to-day operation of a rental property is no exception. Property managers are professionals that act as intermediaries between landlords and their tenants. Their duties involve managing tenant complaints, collecting rent, filling up vacancies, and handling or supervising repairs.
So if you’re considering a career in property management, it might be worth your while to weigh the pros and cons first.
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Pros of Being a Property Manager
- It’s a high-income job
Property management salaries vary across the country, but the national average is around $55,000 per annum. So if you’re considering becoming a property manager, you can bank on receiving decent compensation for all the hard work you put into your job. Besides, there are other avenues for industrious property managers to pull ahead and earn greater figures. One of the many benefits of being a property manager is taking on as many properties and clients as you can. In other words, if you have the time, you can become a contract worker for different companies. Thus, the more you work, the more you earn. After a while, if you fancy being an entrepreneur, you can even start a property management business. That would enable you to employ other professionals, manage more prominent clients and perhaps even double the national average.
- There’s room for growth
Besides earning a comfortable income while working for a local property management company, there’s room to develop your career. Property management is a high-growth industry with the potential to expand. Growth is a crucial consideration for many people looking to enter the job market or make a switch in their careers. Since housing is an essential need, real estate is a relatively stable industry that continues to grow, the need for property managers is not going away any time soon. On the contrary, thanks to predictions of mass population increase and the consequent housing boom expected to follow, demand for these professionals is bound to rise.
- You gain valuable real estate skills
If you want to be a successful property manager, you need a handful of soft skills to help you in your career. For example, when you’re managing several properties simultaneously, your organizational skills have to be top-notch. After all, you need to properly track the expenses, record tenant payments, and monitor essential documents such as maintenance receipts, insurance forms, and more. Besides organizational skills, it would help if you were adept at marketing to find clients who will hire you and tenants to fill their vacancies. Of course, when your job requires you to manage so many people, you also have to be a solid communicator since you act as the link between the landlord and their tenants. Other skills you might pick up during your career include problem-solving, time management, patience, negotiation, and more. These skills might come in handy if you decide to become a property owner or switch careers in real estate.
Cons of Being a Property Manager
- Finding clients can be difficult
As highlighted earlier, you need some marketing skills because you have to sell yourself. If you’re a newbie to the industry, it might be for property owners to put their faith in you. After all, real estate is a capital-intensive venture, and they would essentially be trusting you with their investment. Hence, it can be challenging to break into the market. Moreso, if you manage to get a job at a property management company, which would be your best bet, you’ll probably get stuck with all the unpleasant and mundane tasks at the entry level.
- Managing a rental property is hard work
Another downside of being a property manager is that it can be stressful. If you struggle with multi-tasking, you might find it challenging to satisfy all your clients, which could jeopardize your career. Besides, one of your duties will involve managing tenants, so you should expect one or two phone calls at odd hours about flooded toilets or some other residential mishap. Even when you’re having a bad day, you still need to provide viable solutions or risk-bearing liability for your mistakes on the job. Then there’s also the problem of dealing with tedious tasks like documentation or unpleasant repair work.
- You’ll most likely need a degree
Although the National Property Management Association only requires a high school diploma to consider you eligible for a certificate, many property management companies are biased toward college graduates. It looks better on your resume when you have a background in a relevant field such as accounting, business, or estate management. That said, a college education can be expensive, and property managers don’t earn extravagant incomes, so that you might bear the burden of long-term student loans. However, it’s important to note that while a degree isn’t necessary, it can boost your prospects in the long run.
Conclusion
To wrap up, like every other career, being a property manager has its unique pros and cons. On the one hand, you get to enjoy job security while you earn a decent income and gain valuable skills. While on the other hand, it might be hard to find clients when you’re starting, the job can be tasking, and you might be at a disadvantage without a college degree. With these factors in mind, we hope this article has provided some valuable information to aid your decision or satisfy your curiosity.