The Framework of a High-Performance Property Management Team with Adam Hooley of Apmasphere

According to the Iceberg Report, right now in the United States, there are about 22 million single family rental homes and multi-family rental properties up to fourplexes. Out of these, 14.3 million, or 65 percent, are self-managed by the investor or property owner. This gives a vast opportunity to the 32,000 property management companies competing for the business. By contrast, in Australia, about 70 percent of similar properties are professionally managed. If the United States follows the Australian model, there should be about 8 million single family rentals coming into the professional management market over the next few years. Property managers can double their business by default. But – there will be a lot of consolidation in those 32,000 management companies, and the best companies will get most of the business. One of the biggest problems in the property management industry is the lack of trust between landlords, investors and professional property managers. A large portion of that potential market doesn’t see the value in professional property management and there needs to be a bridge – one that places a focus on customer experience. One way to bridge this divide, improving the customer experience, is to implement a high performing team framework. A framework that results in an engaged team with a true career path, a team motivated to work with clients at a level that is otherwise impossible to achieve. To date, the real estate business industry has been ignoring fundamental concepts like this when it comes to developing motivated, engaged employees and getting better results in both customer service and employee and owner retention – with the profitability that comes along with it. The customer experience needs to be improved for both property owners and tenants, and the best way you can do this is to empower your team. Happy employees make happy customers who make happy shareholders. Our guest today, Adam Hooley, has been in real estate all his life and has worked in many corporate environments. Along the way, he picked up some good habits concerning how to manage teams and has brought those tools to bear, helping property management companies change the way they do things. Adam recently spoke about the framework of a high performing team, and he has a lot to share. Property Management Structure: 3 Ways Companies are Currently Organized Two main business “frameworks” currently exist in property management company structures: the portfolio framework, and the task framework. The portfolio framework is one property manager taking care of all aspects of a portfolio of properties from start to finish. That one manager is responsible for leasing, property inspections, maintenance requests, inspections, and contact with tenants and owners. The portfolio system can be more efficient, but if one property manager leaves, you lose a lot of knowledge and information about the portfolio that was managed. That’s a huge drawback, especially if there isn’t a clear path to advancement for experienced employees, causing them to leave you. The task (or departmental) framework is putting individual staff members in charge of specific areas for all of the properties the business manages. There will be different people in charge of leasing, inspections, maintenance, owner and tenant contact, etc. This large number of possible contacts can create confused owners, confused staff, and a loss of efficiency. Again, neither of these frameworks provide accountability or career paths for excellent performers. In the U.S., there’s a third system, which is a hybrid of the two. In the hybrid system, there is one property manager in charge of a portfolio, who has significant support from other property managers and others who handle maintenance, inspection, late notices, and other tasks. The hybrid system is probably the best system if you had to choose out of the three frameworks – but...