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To make sure property managers have a well-needed break this summer, here are four steps to keeping tenants happy over the shutdown period.
Property managers are the workhorses of the real estate industry: hardworking middlemen who need to facilitate difficult relationships between tenants and landlords.
With stress levels at an all-time high among property managers, it’s important that these professionals get a much-needed break over the holiday period. But how can property managers keep tenants happy in their absence?
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) recently emphasised that “while property management is considered by some as a 24/7 role, it’s important to have procedures in place that allow you and your team to enjoy some well-deserved time off during the festive season”.
If an agency plans to take time off during the holidays, the REIQ advised they follow four crucial steps to ensure a smooth return to work in the new year.
Here are the REIQ’s four key steps for a smooth and stress-free shutdown.
1. Decide early
“If you haven’t decided your trading hours already, make a decision as soon as possible,” the REIQ warned.
By early December at the latest, offices should have decided whether they will close the office only for the public holidays, close the office for an extended shutdown period, or remain trading over Christmas with skeleton staff.
It’s crucial to know early on who will be on leave and who will be available over December and early January.
2. Give notice
Once an office-wide decision has been made, this information should be promptly relayed to tenants.
The REIQ stressed that “it’s important to communicate with tenants on how to report maintenance issues and pay rent during this period”.
“Information is key to customer and client satisfaction, so set the expectations to ensure no one is left to assume how things will work,” REIQ stated.
Informing tenants and landlords with plenty of notice will allow time to answer last-minute questions.
3. Create FAQs
“As most property managers know, the months of December and January seem to be the time for maintenance issues such as power outages, overloaded circuits or air conditioner faults,” said REIQ.
With both tradespeople and property managers likely to have reduced availability over this period, the REIQ advised teams to create written troubleshooting guides or FAQ sheets so that tenants “can try to fix the problem first before determining whether a tradesperson is needed or not”.
4. Have an emergency tradie pipeline
All the preparation in the world cannot prevent emergencies from occurring, so the REIQ recommended property managers to ensure they have key trades lined up for unforeseen issues.
As well as notifying clients of their contact details, the REIQ advised property managers to also “outline what will be classified as an emergency for direct contact, as opposed to items that should be reported to the office for attention upon the office reopening”.
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