Every single time we have a call with someone working in property management, both from Australia or the US, they tell us the same thing: it’s increasingly hard to manage competing priorities.

It’s always urgent to screen prospecting tenants to make sure you’re not getting stuck with a bad apple, answer owners’ demands for updates and reports, coordinate repairs and inspections. You also have to grow the company’s portfolio by following a specific strategy.

Because tenants and owners are increasingly connected to smart devices, and everything is accelerating around them, they are also expecting property management companies that hire virtual assistants to quickly solve problems and come up with anything asked of them in minutes.

That, of course, can be problematic. It is not cheap to hire local staff, especially in Australia. Luckily, the fact that our world is more connected than ever, thanks to the internet, made it possible for new, viable options to emerge. We now have the power to lower overhead and speed up property management processes at low costs.

No matter if your company focuses on the ever-expanding commercial real estate sector or serving residential apartment buildings, a Filipino property management virtual assistants Philippines can save you money and help you streamline your business.

Working with an offshore virtual assistant services outsourcing company (like Remote Workmate), you can make sure you will receive for review only candidates who have the relevant work experience in your country’s property industry, or you can look for specific skill sets. Either way, there are enough Philippine-based property management virtual assistants who would be familiar with all the property management services you are offering, who prepared leases before, who scheduled showings and obtained bids from local contractors for the building’s maintenance.

Just because a Philippine-based virtual property management company can’t be present on-site for some tasks, doesn’t mean that what they can do online isn’t going to help you save tons of money and time. For many virtual property management companies (Australian and American), the help of remote assistants has been a key factor in their portfolio and revenue growth.

Tasks to Delegate to a Property Management Remote Assistant

A virtual assistant can save you time and money at any point:

• when you’re advertising the property,
• when you’re processing prospective tenants,
• when you’re chasing down due rents,
• when you need scheduling maintenance work,
• when it is time to report to landlords and property management agents,
• even when you’re trying to promote your property management company.

Here are just 75 tasks you could delegate to a property management virtual assistant, to help you get an idea of the impact a $6-7/hour professional could have on your workload and organisation:

#1 Test new property management software. Finding out if new software would be a good fit for your company’s needs takes much time because many software development companies insist on doing a demo before setting prospects up with a test account. Let your VA go through all those Hangouts and Skype calls and spend your time only with the software that seems to be a good fit based on those demos.

#2 Ask for contractor bids. When maintenance work is needed, your property management virtual assistant can help you identify the best contractor for the job by finding local contractors, checking their websites and asking for bids, so you could focus on getting the right one on-site to resolve the issue.

#3 Help recruit on-site staff. Your property management virtual assistant can draft the job description and publish the job opening on career websites in your city, then screen candidates for your review and schedule the interviews for you.

#4 Expense management support. Keeping track of all expenses can be easier when you have a virtual assistant sorting things out and checking conflicting data.

#5 Research insurance providers. As a property manager, you face specific risks and choosing the right insurance can make all the difference. Your property management virtual assistant can help you research and compare the offerings of different specialist insurers.

#6 Update your company’s CRM. There might be a bit of training involved in the beginning, but soon you’ll be able to delegate this to your VA and have your CRM updated without you spending hours in it adding and removing data.

#7 Track rent progression for competing properties. Your virtual assistant can track the listings of competing companies and map out the way the cost of rent varies over time, giving you an insight into how the market changes and what other offers potential tenants are looking at when they are searching for a new place to rent.

#8 Find ways to promote the listings. There are many resources out there about how to best promote your listings, and your virtual assistant can go through them and summarise the most effective ones so you could review and decide how to go about implementing them.

#9 Find ways to promote your property management company. The same goes for your company, your virtual assistant can go through all those videos, blog posts, and ebooks and come back to you with the tools and strategies that seem to be the most effective.

#10 Find and call For Rent by Owner ads. When you are looking for new properties to add to your portfolio, keep in mind that the cost of acquisition for a new owner is around $450-500 USD dollars or even higher in some cities, so if you can bring that down by getting creative, you should do that. If the property management virtual assistant has a background in cold calling, you can ask them to search “for rent by owner” listings and reach out to the owner to see if they would be interested in letting your company manage the property.

#11 Call owners based on bought leads. Using bought leads for growing your property portfolio isn’t ideal, but it might prove to be a winning tactic for your company. Your property management virtual assistant, if you hired somebody with the required background, could make the initial call or just follow-up calls, helping you nurture the leads and qualify them for further steps.

#12 Help you do a rental appraisal. When owners ask you to visit their property for an appraisal, you can have your property management virtual assistant do an analysis of the area, so you’d have some numbers in mind when visiting the house/apartment.

#13 Help you verify the rentability of properties. Sometimes the owners want to buy another property, and they look to their property manager for info on the most sought after locations. When that happens, your virtual assistant can help you identify the best locations in the state or city so that you could deliver that extra value to the client.

#14 Research advertising costs for radio, TV, print. If you want to build your company’s brand before running more cost-per-click online campaigns to add new properties to your portfolio, your remote assistant can help you find out how much would it cost to advertise your business.

#15 Answer phone enquiries from potential tenants. You can take the day off or end your day earlier, your VA can cover the hours when prospects might be calling. All you have to do is redirect the calls.

#16 Take notes during the initial call with a prospecting tenant. While the property manager can focus on the discussion, the virtual assistant can note the prospect’s answers to use them in the screening process.

#17 Schedule tenant viewings. Why go through the back and forth of emails when you can have your VA handle this and add the new viewing to your calendar?

#18 Answer protecting tenants email enquiries. A property management VA can pre-screen interested prospects, offer them the initial info they are looking for, and schedule a call for them with the property manager.

#19 Enter the prospective tenant’s contact details into the company’s property management system. Making sure all your info is up to date makes everything easier to figure out.

#20 Forward the prospective tenant’s details to the credit check company. Your property management virtual assistant can help you find out if the prospect can afford the unit they’d like to rent.

#21 Check if the prospective tenant’s listed current landlord is legitimate. Before you make the call to check the reference provided by the tenant, you can have your virtual assistant check online if they are who they say they are.

#22 Call the prospective tenant’s employer. You have to check if the tenant’s listed employer is real and if they plan on keeping the prospect on their payroll on the long term. This is also something your property management remote assistant can do for you, just remember to ask them to call the company’s main switchboard, not a cell number.

#23 Keep an eye on the tenant application fee. Your virtual assistant can make sure the prospective tenant’s payment of the application fee goes through and let you know if there’s an issue.

#24 Prepare the lease agreement. Your property management remote assistant can prepare the documents and email them to you for your review before sending them to the new tenant.

#25 Email new tenants a move-in checklist. A new move-in should run smoothly for the new tenant, and it should represent the smallest of discomforts to the rest of the residents. Your VA can make sure your new tenant has all the info they need.

#26 Update the prospect to new tenant status in the management software. Having someone that won’t forget to do this will ease things for everybody else in the team, from sales to accounting.

#27 Manage your calendar. Your time is valuable and it’s better spent talking to property owners and tenants than scheduling time to do it. Your virtual assistant can keep track of your important meetings and add them to your calendar.

#28 Recommend projects that might enhance the value of the property based on prospecting calls. Given the fact that your property management virtual assistant is in constant contact with new potential tenants asking about facilities and furnishing, they might also be a great resource in figuring out how to boost the property’s appeal on the market.

#29 Updating tenancy schedules based on the property manager’s requirements. Your VA can help you make sure your files are always updated based on the latest changes to any lease.

#30 Track changes made to state and local property-related requirements and regulations. You don’t have the time to read all articles that are related to your industry. Sometimes the state doesn’t do such a great job informing the public about new regulations and codes. Having that in mind, it might be helpful to have your virtual assistant track any changes made to the laws, codes, and regulations impacting your business so you can address any issues promptly.

#31 Manage the tenant files. For delivering top-class services, you need to rely on valid data collected regularly and that is also the case in identifying those tenants who are causing trouble.

#32 Upload utility bills to the property management software. The VA can do this for scanned or electronic bills.

#33 Order Holiday Decorations. Getting the properties ready for the main holidays is something that boosts a property’s appeal. Your virtual assistant can source high-quality decorations, help you make the decision on which to order, and then handle ordering and delivery.

#34 Handle tenant move-out procedures. Your property management remote assistant can help tenants properly end the tenancy, informing them about the correct procedure, the types of papers they need to prepare, and processing the payment for returning their deposit.

#35 Preparing monthly property reports for owners. To increase the owners’ confidence that their properties are in good hands, you can start sending them monthly reports with stats on collected rent, maintenance work, regulations.

#36 Create purchase orders for various supplies. Your property management virtual assistant can help you make sure you always have all the needed supplies available, ordering them regularly.

#37 Prepare maintenance reports. If something is broken longer that it works properly, maybe it should be replaced. To keep an eye on these types of issues, your virtual assistant can prepare maintenance reports for you that will help you identify key issues and do a cost analysis.

#38 Email tenants lease expiration letters. Having a virtual assistant to prepare the email and additional papers for you can help you make sure you’re sending these at the right moment, no matter how crazy busy your days get.

#39 Send rent day reminders and late rent notices. If your virtual assistant can track the payments made by the tenants, then they can also remind tenants to pay their rent on time and send a late rent notice when that’s the case.

#40 Make follow-up calls to verify repair work with tenants. Your property management virtual assistant can call the tenants for whom you hired contractors to do repair work, to make sure that the contractor did solve the issue.

#41 Schedule gas safety checks. Working out the best time for both tenants and the gas safety technicians can drive people crazy. Luckily, your remote assistant can take care of that for you.

#42 Handle online research. When you want to buy a product or new equipment for the property or for your company, you can delegate the research work to your property management virtual assistant so you can only focus your attention on a ready-made list, where you have all the info you need to make a decision.

#43 Prepare bills and bank statements for your accountant. If your accountant is paid by the hour, having your virtual assistant prepare the documents and invoices they will need could help you save money.

#44 Fill in property-related documents. Whenever you need to add data about the property to a form, database, document, you can delegate this task to your property management assistant.

#45 Manage your inbox. Your remote assistant can also manage your email, filtering spam messages, labelling emails – so you can answer them based on their urgency and importance.

#46 Keep track of on-premise appliances and their warranties. Your remote assistant can help you create a system to track all appliances and equipment that is currently on the property to make it easier for you to see if those that break still have their warranty.

#47 Promote property amenities with tenants. Email tenants about the leisure activities they can enjoy on the property or prepare texts for brochures to be printed for the same purpose.

#48 Generate rent roll reports. Help property owners track the value of their rental income by providing them with clear and concise rent roll reports, generated by your virtual assistant, and vetted by you or your senior staff.

#49 Organise your cloud-based files and spreadsheets. Keeping your folders tidy can help you save time. Having your virtual assistant sort things for you will make things easier to find, and more accessible to you and your team, so you could get back to tenants and property owners alike with the info they requested more rapidly.

#50 Drafting email correspondence. When you receive many emails that focus on the same subject, you can allow your property management virtual assistant to draft and save replies so you can just review and send them.

#51 Schedule property inspections. It’s normal for property owners to want to know that there’s no damage done and all appliances and furniture are in good state, so making it easier for them to schedule an inspection is really going to earn you bonus points with them.

#52 Data entry and data mining. If you’re thinking of using your property management virtual assistant to build lists of prospects, we’d say that’s a good idea. They can help with almost any type of data entry tasks.

#53 Track the payment of contractor invoices. Your property management virtual assistant can check with your accountant that your contractors’ bills have been paid, after checking that the work has been done to the required standards. Keeping good contractors happy and paid on time is also important.

#54 Act as a tenant liaison officer during extended property repairs. The property management VA can be the one to answer by phone or email the questions the tenants might have on the repairs and their planning.

#55 Make travel bookings. If you need to travel for business (or even just for personal matters), your virtual assistant can help you book flights and hotels.

#56 Find a rent roll top coach. If you want to sell your business or simply make sure your processes are
as efficient as they could be, you can bring in a business coach to help you streamline everything and boost your profitability. Your virtual assistant can help you find the best available coach in your region.

#57 Schedule contractor assessment visits. Your property management virtual assistant can connect with the contractor to find the best times for an evaluation visit on the property and confirm the visit and findings with the front desk manager or the building reception.

#58 Email welcome message and checklist to newly added owners. When your property portfolio increases, your property management virtual assistant can make sure your new client receives all the info they need and a warm welcome message that you have approved prior to sending.

#59 Add the new properties and owners into the management software. Your remote assistant can enter the data associated with the new addition to your portfolio.

#60 Email before/after repair photos & invoices to landlords. With such fierce competition, you have to go the extra mile to prove you are a great property manager, and sending photo proof to owners about where money gets spent on is among the things they expect. You can have your property management assistant email them the pictures and bills.

#61 Keep listings updated. Knowing which are the best websites to use and what new sites appear is important in making sure the right potential tenants can be reached. Keeping the information accurate and up to date is something your property management virtual assistant can do for you.

#62 Answer prospective tenants on live chat. If your website has installed a live chat plug-in, or you plan on installing one, your property management virtual assistant can also answer prospects during their work hours and get back by email to those reaching out outside of their working hours.

#63 Order new business cards. To make sure you never run out of business cards, you can have your virtual assistant remind you to order or order them for you.

#64 Resize property photographs for listings. Using PicMonkey.com or a similar online tool, your property management virtual assistant can resize and minimally edit the pictures to be used in listings.

#65 Remind property managers of owner/tenant birthdays. If you want to make the owners and tenants birthdays special, you can have your virtual assistant remind you of any upcoming birthdays so you can get to call or email your best wishes.

#66 Upload property videos to YouTube and Facebook page. If your company is using the services of a video editor to do video walk-throughs, your virtual assistant can upload the videos to your social media channels and assign the right video link to the right listing.

#67 Update website listings and articles. If you provide your property management virtual assistant with basic training, they will be able to update your websites with new listings or edit the current listings.

#68 Post listings on social media. With a bit of training, you can also count on your remote assistant to share your listings on your social media channels, using a scheduling tool like Buffer or just doing it manually.

#69 Turn listing info into a PowerPoint presentation or PDF. Having the info you gathered for the listing in a PowerPoint presentation or exported into a PDF can help you quickly answer virtual assistant prospecting tenants’ enquiries with a wealth of information in just a couple of minutes.

#70 Keep an eye on your online reputation. If somebody complained about your company online, you should know about it, especially when Yelp reviews show up on Bing next to search results and when Google Plus reviews show up next to Google search results. Your property management virtual assistant can check out to see how your company is appearing online to a prospecting tenant or owner and inform you if there’s something you need to correct with the help of an online reputation and digital PR expert.

#71 Research info for blog posts for your marketing team. Content marketing is important in promoting your property management company and your remote assistant can help your marketing team post well-documented articles that owners and tenants alike would appreciate.

#72 Source freelancers for creating marketing materials. Getting creative with your marketing will help you stand out and attract new owners. Your property management assistant can search for the right freelancers for the job or publish job ads if you plan on hiring full-time.

#73 Email landlords to ask for referrals. Right after finding a tenant and when you think the owner is happy with your service, you can have your VA email the property owner to thank them for choosing your company and asking if they know any other landlords that might need your services.

#74 Research team building activities for your staff. You need to keep your property management team connected and well-trained. Your property management virtual assistant can help you find the best trainers, seminars, and even off-site team-building experiences in your area.

#75 Keep an eye on your competitors. For example, in the US 91% of property managers surveyed by AppFolio say they have to compete with other companies in their area. Knowing what your competitors are doing can help you be one step ahead of them.

You now know what a property management remote assistant can do for you and your business, so it’s time to think about your next steps and we do believe giving us a call or emailing us might be a great next step.

Here’s why:

a) We offer a fast and totally free recruitment process in which you can get involved as much as you wish.

b) Labour costs for your virtual assistant mean one single monthly invoice that covers everything – employee salary, compliance, HR services, payroll management, etc.

c) We have a no work, no pay policy – your VAs work progress can be observed in real time through screen shots and time tracking software.

Contact us to discuss your needs and start a free trial or, if you have a question, type it in the comments section and we’ll answer right away.

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