Outsourcing is a risk that might be the best decision you’ll ever make—or the worst. When it comes to property management, you have to consider if you’re willing to leave your rentals in the hands of a stranger and if the service will be worth the investment.
Managing property is challenging, especially when facing multiple clients with varying needs. Trying to manage all of those people will be a struggle on occasion. The good news is you don’t have to go at it alone with the help of a property management VA.
What does a virtual property management assistant do?
They help you to reduce fixed costs as well as handle back office administration. They support businesses, tenants, and landlords to increase the service level in the real estate industry. Some of the property management tasks they commonly perform are:
General management
- Filing important communications
- Listing new and relevant profiles
- Updating your calendar with the essentials
- Managing your email inbox including sending replies
- Contacting clients interested in any properties
- Sending messages to potential clients and tenants
- Using tools and software for end-to-end management
Administration
- Reviewing property leases
- Speaking with tenants regarding their concerns
- Making cold calls for lead generation
- Scheduling viewings and meetings
- Making and inserting survey images and extracts
- Transcribing reports and letters
- Updating the relevant software
Property research
- Researching facilities that appeal to clients
- Screening prospective tenants
- Evaluating availability, competition, and schedules
- Gathering data for lease renewals and valuations
- Responding to enquiries and booking reservations
- Updating listings and finding leads
- Generating the necessary reports
Legal documentation
- Following up vendors and tenants
- Handling planning permissions, auctions, and land registrations
- Chasing stakeholders and clients for legal documentation
- Managing business and personal legalities
- Sourcing and completing legal documents
- Sharing statements, tax documents, reports and more
Marketing
- Maintaining external and internal property databases
- Maintaining building systems
- Assisting with the accounting and/or bookkeeping
- Helping portfolio managers with rent collection and other tasks
- Preparing marketing information, plans, and budgets
- Filing and marketing vacancies
Now that you know what you’re paying a virtual property management assistant salary for, read on for the other perks of outsourcing.
Is it worth outsourcing property management?
The real estate market is slowly reviving despite the ongoing pandemic, resulting in many countries changing into property hubs. Investors always have the choice to handle everything on their own but many prefer to outsource due to the time savings.
Truly, there are numerous benefits when you hire a property management assistant including:
Accessing global talent
Open yourself to outsourcing property management so you gain access to a pool of world-class candidates. Don’t limit your choice to local job seekers when you may handpick from professionals across the globe. This helps you get the best VAs in the industry.
Meeting changing needs
Different companies have different business processes and models. In the same way, no virtual property management assistant has the same expertise and experience. Fortunately, they have similar foundational knowledge to cater to your property management needs and they may be trained to better match your brand.
Streamlining your operations
When you hire a seasoned professional, you won’t need to supervise them or remind them of their tasks as they know exactly what they need to do. Your deadlines are met, your bills are paid, your calls are returned, your messages are replied to, and so on.
Promoting work-life balance
There aren’t enough hours in a day to accomplish all of your tasks so it’s worth getting some help. Your property management VA may take over your administrative and dollar-productive activities so you have time to enjoy a fun and relaxing weekend for once.
Addressing weak points
With access to world-class workers, you have access to their knowledge and experience. They share their wisdom on how to increase your bottom line, reduce your overhead costs, boost your productivity, manage your employees, and other weak areas you might have.
Guaranteeing confidentiality
When outsourcing property management, you usually end up with a VA who is on the other side of the world. Your important information won’t be leaked to your local community since your worker isn’t part of it. You need to build each other’s trust first but it results in guaranteed data protection.
Reallocating to development
More than half of property management tasks are non-dollar productive. When you hire a property management assistant, you get to free up these non-core tasks on your schedule so you have time to focus on developing new products and/or services.
Driving business growth
Hiring a VA is more cost-effective than an in-house property manager. This shows that offshore assistants enable you to grow your team without breaking the bank. With proper training, they may handle high-value yet localised work even if they are remote-based thereby increasing your bottom line.
Focusing on productive tasks
Delegating your non-dollar-productive tasks to remote assistants means you have more time to focus on core operations. You may train your local employees to take on bigger tasks and upscale your business. Or, you might want to spend more time speaking with prospective clients.
Saving you money
Outsourcing property management gets you the same results as hiring in-house, except it’s more cost-effective. They won’t need to use a physical office hence you save on maintenance, taxes, and equipment. Most VAs, like those in the Philippines, tend to ask for a lower virtual property management assistant salary too.
Where should you hire a property management VA?
It’s hard to find skilled and hard-working property managers in the real estate industry. It makes sense why many companies are outsourcing property management instead of hiring in-house. It relieves the burden of administrative tasks on their local teams without costing them a lot of money.
We at Remote Workmate are an agency that specialises in offshore staffing. We connect you with professionals to free up your time and boost your bottom line. Our aim is that you enjoy the benefits of outsourcing by matching you with the best VAs for your needs.
Let’s have a call to discuss your requirements in a property manager.