How to Get Into Property Management

Table of Contents

It’s no secret that real estate is one of the most effective ways to cultivate your net worth. In fact, there are few methods that are able to provide the same returns.

More specifically, property management is one of the most effective ways to leverage real estate in this regard. So, what is property management?

Let’s take a look at all the nuances that you should know about before you get started.

What Types of Jobs Are There in the Property Management Industry?

Before you jump into this industry, you need to understand the common roles that you might play. This will help you get a solid idea of what to expect before you begin investing your time. Let’s take a look at some of the most notable.

Retail Buildings

This is a bit more complex compared to a typical residential unit since there are more nuances to worry about. These include issues with large-scale electrical systems, piping, etc.

The bright side, though, is that you will establish a much larger stream of passive income. Retail properties include stores of virtually any size, ranging from mom-and-pop shops to larger facilities.

Shopping Malls

With enough capital, it’s possible to invest in an entire shopping mall.

As you might guess, the payoff is exponentially higher than a single retail building. After all, shopping malls are essentially single facilities that house hundreds of retail businesses.

Warehouses

Not all investment properties are conventional. Warehouses are a great option for those who are looking to get involved in this industry.

Businesses of all types can often make use of the massive amount of available space that warehouses provide. So, it shouldn’t be hard to find someone to rent to.

Storage Units

In contrast to the grand scale of shopping malls, storage units are a much smaller alternative.

These can be thought of as miniature warehouses that people rent to store their belongings. Storage units require much less maintenance than the previously mentioned facilities, as well.

Manufacturing

Owning a manufacturing facility is essentially like owning a gigantic warehouse that already has everything a business needs to start its production process.

This means that they are in high demand for companies that are ready to scale their business or get involved in the manufacturing industry. When handled correctly, renting a manufacturing facility to tenants can be highly profitable.

How to Get Into Property Management 1

What Is It Like to Work in This Sector?

Property management requires a handful of skills in order to succeed. These include excellent written/verbal communication, and attention to detail, and the capability to see problems before they arise. If you do not handle your role correctly, you could find yourself dealing with a vacancy for an extended period of time.

This means that the owner will have to foot the bill for their utilities and mortgage each month. Unless you own the property yourself and are working as your own property manager, this will harm your reputation in the industry.

How Do I Start My Career in Property Management?

For those looking to get involved, getting started in the property management industry is relatively straightforward.

First, you need to research all of the legal requirements in your region. Different areas have different laws, and it’s essential that you fully understand each of the ones that pertain to you. Afterward, is highly recommended to take real estate courses.

These will make you a much more competitive candidate when looking for a property management job. Although it’s possible to get hired with only a high school diploma, it’s also in your best interest to understand as much as you can about the industry. Finally, you can obtain the relevant qualifications to help make yourself more competitive in the industry.

These will differ depending on what type of property you wish to manage. Regardless, you should prioritize acquiring them if they can help you out in your future role.

Do Property Managers Make Good Money?

Independent property managers make most of their money based on the number of properties that they handle. For example, a property manager might make a small percentage of the rental income each month for a property that they work with.

The goal here is not to maximize the percentage of the rental income that you receive. Instead, it’s maximizing the number of properties that you can manage while still providing excellent service. To elaborate, let’s assume that your average property will give you approximately $50 per month.

If you manage 10 properties, that’s $500 per month. If you can find a way to effectively manage 100 properties, you can increase your income to $5000 per month.

If you choose to work as a property manager for an existing organization, you will be paid a salary instead. Regardless of your role, there is virtually no ceiling when it comes to the amount of money that you can make as long as you prioritize client satisfaction.

Who Should Hire a Property Manager?

For those who own residential properties, it can be tempting to work as your own property manager.

In reality, the time that you spend doing so is most likely best spent on other tasks or responsibilities. Put simply, the money that you save will likely be exchanged for increased stress.

Instead, it’s in your best interest to let a professional handle the job. This will ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible while still allowing you to receive passive income.

Property Management Can Be Highly Lucrative

However, this statement is only true if you handle this obligation appropriately.

The information listed above, though, has everything that you need to know to succeed in property management. Be sure that you keep this guide in mind in the future.

Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to get in touch with us today and see how we can help.

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Enhanced Reporting

Your portal includes a selection of extremely useful reports. Reports are available in the “Reports” section, and are distinct from the financial statements. Unlike financial statements which are static records, Reports are dynamic real-time records that will update with current data every time you view them. 

Scroll down to learn more about Reports:

Navigate to the "Reports" module in your portal:

Owner Portal Reports
  • Keep in mind, these reports are dynamic records. They will refresh to display current information every time you view them. 

Enhanced Rent Roll Report:

Enhanced Rent Roll Report
  • The Enhanced Rent Roll Report will show the rent amount, last payment date, move-in date, lease expiration date, and security deposit amount for each of your tenants. 
  • It will also show a portfolio summary with occupancy percentage, vacancy loss, and more!

Unit Comparison Report:

Unit Comparison Report
  • If you own multiple units (or buildings) with Nomadic, you’ll get access to the Unit Comparison Report. 
  • This report enables you to quickly compare financial performance between your units at a glance without toggling between individual reports. 

Income Statement Month-Over-Month:

Income Statement by Month Report
  • The Income Statement Detail – Monthly Report serves as a month-over-month record of portfolio performance. You’ll see itemized income and expense categories and can track monthly. This report will update with fresh data every time you view it. 

Financial Statements

Financial statements will be published to your portal on a monthly basis. The statements are found in your Documents library, and provide a historical record of all financial performance. The statements serve as a snapshot of financial performance over a given period, and are static documents (unlike Reports, the statements do not update/change in real-time). 

Scroll down for more info about the Financial Statements in your Documents library:

The Documents area contains monthly financial statements:

Owner Portal Documents
  • The statements in the Documents are are static documents. They are posted to the portal once a month to serve as a historical record of financial performance. 

Download a statement to see month and YTD financials:

Owner Portal Property Statement

You'll also find a month-over-month operating statement:

Month over Month Statement

Portal Communication Tool

You can use your owner portal to communicate with our team. Any messages you send through the portal will go straight to your Account Manager. When we reply, you’ll get an email notification and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

Here’s an overview of using the communication platform:

Click "Communications" and navigate to "Conversations":

Commincation Dashboard Screenshot
  • The communications module will contain a record of all messages that you create through the portal. 

Click the "New Message" button and send your message:

Owner Portal New Message Screenshot

Responses will show up in the conversation ticket:

Portal Conversation Response Screenshot
  • You’ll get an email notification whenever you get a response, and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

You can reply in-line using the comment box:

Owner Portal Comment

Each conversation will be logged in its entirety:

Portal Conversation Snapshot

Understanding the Ledger

Your portal includes a ledger with all transactions. The ledger is populated with data in real-time as transactions flow through our accounting software. Much of this information is also available in the Reports area, as well as the Statements in your Documents library, but the ledger is the most comprehensive resource for diving into the details. 

Please scroll through the sections below to get a better understanding of how to interpret the ledger. 

By default, transactions are sorted chronologically:

Owner Ledger Dates
  • The date reflected in the lefthand column is the actual transaction date, not the “bill date”. This is the date the transaction was actually processed. 

If you have multiple properties with Nomadic, you'll see the address for each transaction in the "Location" column:

Ledger Property Column
  • You can filter the ledger to look at just one property, all properties, or specific sets of properties. 
  • If you only have one property with us, you’ll just see the ledger for that property. 

The Description column displays the transaction type:

Owner Ledger Description Column
  • BILL: this is an expense transaction, such as for repair costs or management fees.
  • CHARGE: this is a transaction  billed to the tenant, most typically a rent payment. 
  • NACHA EXPORT: this is a credit we processed to your distribution account. This type of transaction is how you get paid! 

The Amount column shows the dollar value of each transaction:

Owner Ledger Amount Column
  • Positive Amounts: if an amount is positive, it reflects a transaction that is payable to you. Typically, this will be a rent payment that we collected from your tenants. On occasion, a positive number could also signify a journal entry or credit adjustment. 
  • Negative Amounts:  if an amount is negative, this is a transaction that is either payable to Nomadic or is an amount that has already been paid to you. Typically this will be for repair costs or management/leasing fees. Owner draws (net distributions into your checking/savings account) also reflect as negative amounts, since they have already been paid to you. 

The Account Balance column shows a sum of positive/negative transactions at a given point in time:

Owner Ledger Account Balance Column
  • Account Balance should always equal zero after a net distribution has been processed. When the balance is zero, this means that all expenses have been paid and you’ve received the remainder as net operating income, leaving a balance of zero (meaning: no one is due any money, as all funds have been distributed appropriately). 

Navigating the Propertyware Owner Portal

Your portal includes some extremely useful features that help you understand your property’s financial performance at a new level, with real-time transparency into every transaction.

Scroll through the snapshots below for an overview of portal navigation! If you need more help or have specific questions about using the portal, you can reach out to your Account Manager any time for a screen share. 

You can filter all info by date range or property:

PW Portal Filters

View a snapshot of income and expenses on your dashboard:

PW Owner Dashboard View

See every transaction in real-time on your ledger:

Owner Portal Ledger View

Statements and forms will be posted to your documents library:

Owner Portal Document Library

View a suite of real-time financial reports:

Portal Reports View

See a running list of all bills, and drill down for more detail:

Owner Portal Bills View

Under Bill Details, you'll find dates/descriptions/amounts and more:

Portal Bill Details

You can also communicate with your Account Manager through the portal:

Owner Portal Communication Tools

How do net distributions work?

Net distributions keep your accounting clean and simple. Each month we’ll collect rent from the tenants, deduct any repair expenses for the previous month and any management/leasing fees for the current month, and credit the remaining net operating income to your account. 

Net Distribution

You’ll receive a statement via email each time a net distribution is processed, and can view all transaction details in your Propertyware owner portal.