Being a property manager takes skill - and guts! You are responsible for overseeing many relationships, managing properties while growing your business all at the same time. It's multitasking at its finest. You may be overwhelmed at times and feel like the to-do lists are unending and like you can't keep up. This is where we want to help and enable you with tips and tools to take back control of your business.

Keeping tenants for the long term is on top of every property manager's mind. With the balance of creating great relationships with your tenants, maintaining rent, enforcing lease terms, property maintenance & so on, there is a great need for organization. We wanted to share some organizational tips and tools that are a game-changer for property management. This way, you can save time and money with your business ASAP and focus on helping your tenants and continue to grow. These tools can help put systems in place, so your relationship between you and everyone you work with can be smooth sailing. Oversee every part of your business with ease and plans in place.

#1: Create Smooth Procedures for Finances

Money-it's something we all stress about and think about daily. According to a Northwestern Mutual survey, money is the dominant source of stress for 44 percent of Americans. Rent on time and keeping funds moving keeps everybody happy. Whether you're having trouble getting rent from your tenants on time or you lack in productivity with your budgeting, START CREATING PROCEDURES. Procedures set things in stone for everything you do for every specific income, payment, or invoice. These procedures lower your stress level each month and make budgeting a lot less painful. Remember to set up clear and achievable goals when creating these procedures. Since you are continually planning to make sure projects are funded, here are some practical tools to help get started:

• Start with getting a file cabinet for all tax documents, invoices, receipts, etc. (Always have physical files AND digital files on hand)
• Find a property budgeting/forecasting software
• Use a rent calculator and online rent payment platform
• Get a communication/documentation system for a property manager, tenant, and property owner rent/finances

#2: Managing Your Rental Property

Tenants have high expectations with their rental homes these days. How do you make it the best experience, and how do you organize maintenance for your properties? With all the responsibilities of property management, upkeep on your stuff is by far the most challenging part for many. There are many moving pieces to your job, including all the back and forth communication with your team plus the legal side. Getting things done timely and on a budget can be quite the challenge. 

A great way to start managing your rental property maintenance well is to get organized. Start by finding a tracking system to help not forget any piece of the puzzle and look at it down the road if needed. One of the best things to put into place for your properties is regular maintenance checks and repairs. Create a timeline for every property you manage to have specific checkups every couple of months, like changing air filters, furnace checks, etc. This type of organization will help you tremendously with those unwanted headaches over endless repair requests from tenants and owners.

#3: Working With Your Property Owners

It can be tricky to be your tenants and property owners' middleman, especially when juggling more than one property. A great way to start organizing interactions with property owners is understanding your responsibilities and keeping up with them. SO, how do you do this and be a better property manager? Set a schedule for yourself for each property you oversee: get some planner designated explicitly for your properties. Your relationship with your owners will be way more enjoyable when you are ahead of the game and in the know all the time. The only way this will ever be possible is ORGANIZATION, which leads to excellent efficiency. We know the word organization is a lot easier said than done. Everyone starts somewhere. Here are some practical steps to take towards your goals of efficiency and more enjoyable interaction with your property owners (your property owners will thank you):

• Create an exact communication protocol with your property owners
• Minimize the amount of paperwork you send/receive
• Know your specific responsibilities & stick to them 
• Create a to-do checklist & communicate when completed
• Think long-term & create a strategy for this
• Be timely with everything property maintenance

#4: Nurture Relationships With Tenants

Now for the critical element of property management and the success of your business, your tenants! Nurture the relationships you have with your tenants by staying on top of maintenance, updates, and excellent customer service. For property management, your tenants are your first priority. This job can be very demanding and very interactive with more tenants you have. We want to give you some simple ways to manage your tenants well & create a pleasant experience for everyone. These tips will lower your stress and make you better at your job:

1. Get to know each of your properties inside & out (Be prepared for any questions at all times)
2. Be flexible & Reliable
3. Get better resources for your tenants & your team (management systems, payment resources, etc.)

#5: SecondKeys Mobile Communication

Are you looking for a tool to keep everything in one place and for your tenants? We have the perfect tool that lets you oversee all communication between you, property owners, and tenants, all in one place, along with many other features. Our SecondKeys mobile communication system helps with all four steps we mentioned in this blog. Get quick access to manage your property, tenants, landlord communication, and your business finances. It serves as the centralized documentation system and effortless property management, streamlined. No more with all the emails, text messages, or late phone calls. With this mobile communication tool, you can make sure everything is running well and efficiently. Another bonus to this tool is the portfolio management feature, where you create a better customer and user experience.

Check out all of our property management tool features to see if this would benefit you and your business. We hope this blog has given you a head start into property management organization 101!