How to Succeed as a Property Manager

Pacific Crest Real Estate • February 17, 2016

Tips and Resources to Help You Succeed as a Property Manager

Whether you’re changing careers and are new to property management or you’re looking to sharpen your skills, we thought you might appreciate a few tips and resources to help you succeed as a property manager.

BiggerPockets.com

This blog offers loads of helpful tips for property managers, landlords, and property owners and investors. Here are a couple of our favorite tips from their blog post “ How to Be A Landlord “:

Education is important. Seek a mentor, read books about property management and real estate, take continuing education courses, tune into online resources — like this one! — that will help you stay on top of industry news.
Once you create a policy, stick to it.

AppFolio.com

If you’re a Pacific Crest Real Estate property manager, you already know that we use AppFolio’s services for many tasks. But did you know that the company also offers tips on their blog along with webinars and more? If you missed it, you can review the “Secrets of Successful Property Management Companies” webinar here.

Tune into the News

In addition to staying on top of what’s happening in your community, you might pick up on success tips from time to time in the business section, too. Click here for The Houston Chronicle ‘s “Keys to Success in the Property Management Business” segment. The tips include primers on marketing and networking.

HappyInspector.com

This site compiled a list of career advice from successful property management companies around the country. Here’s one of our favorite tips:

My best advice for on-site staff is to just remember that residents are people too. Of course, you have to be careful in terms of fair housing and you can’t have favorites or best friends from among your residents, but you can be attentive, kind and understanding in your interactions with them. Encourage yourself and your staff to treat residents with respect and consideration. This goes a long way in terms of the reputation of your community both on-line and in person.

–Crystal Hadidan , Client Creative Director, Resident360

Social Media

Pay attention to the #PropertyManagement , #PropertyManagers , #multifamily and #ApartmentLife hashtags on Facebook and Twitter for tips, too. Even Pinterest has boards for property management tips.

Zillow.com

Zillow’s advice mirrors some that we’ve already covered, but the company is always offering more advice via their blog and social media accounts. Here are some important tips from their “ How to Succeed as a Property Manager ” blog post for managing tenant relationships:

Be responsive.
Get organized.
Don’t try to do everything yourself: Delegate.

Lightpath

This company’s blog offers a checklist that could help you succeed as a property manager. Here are a few of the tips:

Learn how to best market vacancies to local residents
Learn how to generate and use reports that indicate how well your property is, or isn’t, doing
Familiarize yourself with your lease agreements
Be an active part of the community

The Real Key to Success is You

There is no easy button that can ensure you succeed as a property manager, and we won’t lie to you: It’s going to take a lot of hard work on your part, but you can do it! Finding and using resources like those we’ve listed above will help.

A special note for Pacific Crest Real Estate property and resident managers: Be sure to contact your asset managers with any questions or concerns you may have. You’re also welcome to contact our main office anytime. Keep an eye on this blog for more success tips, too!

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A favorite Seattle Blog – A Million Cool Things to do in Seattle

By Pacific Crest Real Estate • March 16, 2016

There are a Million Cool Things to do in Seattle! We love Seattle, we really do, but we’re not the only ones. The blog “A Million Cool Things to do in Seattle” is one of our favorite when scoping out fun activities for the weekend whether for families, couples, or out-of-town guests. It’s sponsored by Findwell, a fellow real estate company based right here in the Emerald City. In addition to sharing information about upcoming events, the blog also includes a Seattle guide and neighborhood guides and a frequently updated events page. And you can search for things to do in Seattle by category — the site lists everything from scenic viewpoints to sporting events and hiking opportunities. Stay in touch with what’s happening by signing up for the “A Million Cool Things to do in Seattle” email newsletter and by following the blog’s social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. On a Similar Mission As you can tell, we’re big fans of the “A Million Cool Things to do in Seattle” blog. That’s in large part because we feel they’re on the same mission as us, so we feel good about encouraging you to tune into what they’re up to because, like us, they are aiming to build strong and vibrant communities … like yours! Share your ideas! If you’ve got some more ideas about cool things to see or do in Seattle, we’d love to hear from you. You can reach us via social media, too. Connect with us on Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, and Instagram. We’ll be on the look out for your suggestions and will happily re-share your suggestions with our followers. In the meantime, have fun in this beautiful city we call home! Seattle rocks … but you already knew that.

Happy Thanksgiving!

By Pacific Crest Real Estate • November 18, 2015

Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving Wow, what a year! And what a great time to pause and reflect on all that we’re thankful for, a list that begins with you. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Pacific Crest Real Estate. We hope you have nothing but luck and safety during your holiday travels, that your cornucopia is indeed full, that you have a time and place to relax and enjoy the holiday, and that you, too, have a lot of things and people to be thankful for this year. We Can’t Do it Without You We don’t need a special time of year to be thankful for all of the hard work our office staff and asset managers put in every day, for the dedication and consistent efforts exhibited our property and resident managers, for the stellar collaborations between our investors and developers, and the loyalty our residents offer, many of whom have called our properties home for years. We know it’s all of you who truly make us a successful company, able to live our mission: We have a dual mission at Pacific Crest Real Estate. We endeavor to provide valuable, expert guidance for property owners to help them reach their goals. We also aim to build strong and vibrant communities by providing quality living space for residents and supporting the community they live in. Thank you today, and every day, for being part of our team. Holiday Hours Our offices will be closed on Thursday, November 26, and Friday, November 27, so our staff can spend the holidays with their families. Office hours at our 80+ properties in the Puget Sound area may vary, so check with your property manager. You can still access our online services to view your account via our Tenant Portal, pay your rent, or submit a maintenance request. And, you can always send us a non-urgent message via email.

About Pacific Crest Real Estate

By Pacific Crest Real Estate • October 14, 2015

Our principal, John Stoner, started Pacific Crest Real Estate in 2003. Today, the agency offers professional management services for more than 80 multi-family properties in King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties and the staff includes numerous asset managers, bookkeepers, maintenance technicians, and resident managers.