The tenant paid the rent. He didn't report any breakdowns. There was no need to inspect the apartment. There was no conflict. There was no utility billing with the administration.
So the manager did nothing this month?
Paradoxically, a good month in rental management often looks like this.
It's a bit like accounting, IT administration, or insurance. We notice their value most when something stops working. However, a large part of good service is catching problems early or preventing them from escalating.
In a quiet month, there's still a lot going on in the background:
- we check whether the administration has not introduced any changes to the fees and send the Billing for a given month,
- we check whether all receivables have been received and whether they agree with the calculations,
- we monitor any arrears and react before one unpaid bill turns into two,
- we handle contact with the tenant, even if these are just minor questions,
- we send reminders related to lease agreement expiry dates, insurance or expiring alternate addresses,
- We are ready to accept the problem when it arises.
But there is something even more important.
The manager sells to the owner not only the activities performed
Let's imagine two apartments.
In the first one, the owner manages it himself.
For three months, nothing actually happens. In the fourth, the news arrives:
"Good morning, we've had a dripping from under the sink for a few days now. Today we noticed the cabinet is swollen."
And suddenly the owner has to stop his work.
Calling the tenant. Photos. Searching for a plumber. Scheduling an appointment. Deciding who pays remotely. Invoice. Work inspection.
In the second apartment the exact same thing happens.
Only the owner learns about this from the information:
"The tenant reported a leak under the sink. Our trusted technician was on site. The cause turned out to be a worn-out siphon. The element was replaced. Cost: PLN 250 gross, including materials. Problem solved. "
That's the difference.
The problem was the same. The apartment was the same. The number of problems on the owner's shoulders was different.
And this is the essence of professional management.
What if absolutely nothing happened for a month?
This is what a well-managed lease should look like.
Therefore, it is not worth measuring the manager's work by the number of phone calls made to the owner.
On the contrary.
If the owner needs to be involved in every little thing, you can ask:
Did he actually entrust the management of the apartment to someone else or did he just hire an intermediary to pass on problems to him?