What Is Property Management | Definition & Examples

The property management industry is rapidly growing and is estimated to continue growing for many years.

This is mainly due to the increasing popularity of renting over purchasing.

So, if there is any time to become a property manager, it's now. However, before investing yourself, you should know what property management entails and what property managers do.

In this guide, we will be explaining what general property management consists of as well as everything that a property manager does.

To begin, let's explain what property management is.

What Is Property Management?

Property management is the overseeing of the the daily operations of rental properties that are typically owned by a third-party. This means that the property managers are typically hired by the property owners to manager the property.

The duties that pertain to property management differ depending on the specific property. However, they are all generally centered around the daily upkeep and maintenance of a rental property.

Now, although we have explained what property management is, we are still not sure about what property managers and property management companies do.

So, in the next section, we will be explaining all of the duties and responsibilities of a property manager.

What Does A Property Manager Do?

As a property manager, you’ll handle the everyday management of one or more properties (typically a group of properties owned by an individual or investment firm). Property owners typically take the route of hiring a property manager because they do not have enough time to manage the properties themselves.

Things you can expect to do on a day-to-day basis include:

• Interview, screen, and sign leases with new tenants
• Keep up with regular property repairs, checks, and maintenance requests from tenants
• Collecting rent, deposits, and other fees and managing the related accounts
• Advertising vacant units and properties, primarily on major listing sites such as Zillow
• And a whole lot more

Hopefully, that gives you a better idea of the kinds of tasks you’ll be handling as a property manager.

Keep in mind that the above list is by no means comprehensive, though. There are a slew of other responsibilities a property manager may have depending on the property as well as other factors. 

However, we briefly mentioned before a property management company. You may ask - what is the difference between a property manager and a property management company?

Property Manager vs. Property Management Company

Property managers are very experienced individuals who handle the day-to-day operations of managing property that is typically owned by someone else. On the other hand, property management companies, or property management firms, are more suited towards properties with many units or a landlord with multiple rental properties.

The reason for this is that a property management firm has a large number of property managers. This means that they can work with the property owner to make sure that they are connected with the best property manager for their needs.

For example, a residential property management company will most likely hire residential property managers and connect them with residential rental property owners that require a high level of property management services.

So, if becoming a property manager sounds like an interesting opportunity to you, you're in the right place. Below, we're going to explain a bit about how much property managers typically make and what experience is needed to become one.

How much does a property manager make?

While there are many benefits to being a property manager, one of the greatest is the pay.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the property and community association manager profession group earns a median annual income of roughly $60,000 (2021 data), far higher than the median income of most professions.

Even better, the top 10% of property managers are reported to earn more than $124,680. 

However, when it comes to property management, it’s also worth mentioning that starting your own property management company is an avenue you can take as well. 

That comes with its own set of challenges, but also greater making potential as well. 

With that said, it also requires an array of licenses and certifications in real estate and property management, explained below.

What training and certifications does a property manager need? 

Now, let’s talk about what kind of formal training or certifications are necessary to become a property manager. 

To become a property manager, no degree is required.

There are certain degrees that are a boon if you already have them, such as accounting and business administration.

However, neither of these is necessary.

What is necessary in most states is a real estate broker’s license (or a standard real estate license which you then hang at a broker’s office).

In many states, you can’t officially operate as a property manager without a license.

Beyond that, most states also require some manner of certification credit showing you took a state certified course on property management.

This certification can often be used to go towards required training hours to obtain your license, so they’re typically tied together. 

Examples of some of these certifications are:

• Certified Property Manager
• Accredited Residential Manager

Each of these are different, so you’ll need to decide which certification of those offered in your state makes the most sense for you. 

Now, if you are thinking of becoming a property manager and want to ease your workload a bit, you may want to consider an online property management software.

What Is Property Management Software?

Unlike a professional property management company, property management software (a.k.a. real estate management software) allows you to personally keep track of all of your rental properties. This allows for quick and efficient rental property management, even from a laptop.

However, there are many things that you should consider when choosing a solid rental property management software. Some of the things that residential property managers consider most important include:

• Automatic Online Rent Payments
• Streamlined Communication
• Maintenance Orders
• Reliability & Support
• Reporting

Ideally, the software you choose will contain most, if not all, of these features in the same place.

Why Is It Useful?

Solid property management software solutions can completely transform the way that companies provide their property management solutions. The best property management software takes all of the features stated above and helps property managers solve problems like:

• Lack of communication
• Slow response to maintenance requests
• Late payments
• Misplaced lease agreements

...and much more.

However, the vast amount of choices of software means that they typically offer different features. Below, we will be outlining some of the most important features that you should look out for and why they are important.

DoorLoop

DoorLoop is a complete, full-service property management software designed to offer every tool you’d need to manage your properties, whether it’s one property or one thousand.

Designed with ease-of-use, speed, and world-class support in mind, DoorLoop is the only tool on this list that offers all of the features mentioned above. And, since it is a cloud based solution, it can be done from virtually anywhere!

Features:

• Robust accounting suite: Everything you need to manage all your property accounting in one place, no difficult QuickBooks workarounds necessary.
• QuickBooks integration: Rather integrate with QuickBooks and use it? You can do that too.
• Convenient tenant portal: Communicate with tenants and allow them to pay rent and other fees and even send in maintenance requests all from within the app.
• Invaluable maintenance management features: Speaking of maintenance, edit those requests with attachments, send them to vendors, pay those vendors, and even communicate with tenants on those requests simply and easily.
• A plethora of leasing tools: From automatic listings to background checks and leasing templates to make the entire process more streamlined.
• And much more

Pricing

One of the greatest characteristics of DoorLoop is its pricing. At only $49 per month for up to 20 units, it comes in at one of the cheapest options on this list.

Schedule a free demo today to see what DoorLoop can do for you.