A property management virtual assistant, or property management VA, is a remote professional who provides administrative, operational, and sometimes technical support to property managers and their teams.
As a property management company grows, its workload inevitably increases. In that scenario, virtual assistants can be a valuable asset thanks to their ability to handle repetitive tasks like lease renewals, resident communication, and basic bookkeeping.
This frees up property managers to focus on strategic initiatives and resident relations, and allows the company to manage more properties and increase revenue without proportionally increasing staff costs.
In today's post, we'll dig into the benefits of hiring virtual assistants for property management companies, from improved efficiency to reduced admin burdens and more.
Related: Benefits of Property Management Outsourcing Services
Improving operational efficiency and productivity
Property management business owners juggle a vast array of tasks, from marketing vacancies to managing resident concerns. Virtual assistants can be powerful allies in this full-time endeavor, boosting operational efficiency and productivity in several key ways.
Filed under "streamlining repetitive tasks" are basic operations such as handling routine resident communication via email, phone calls, or text. This might include sending lease renewals, answering basic questions about property policies, and scheduling appointments for maintenance or viewings.
Virtual assistants can also support various marketing and prospecting/lead generation functions, including social media management (e.g., the creation of posts publicizing property listings, publishing calendar updates, etc.).
Another area where virtual assistants can boost efficiency is in the automation of invoicing for rent payments, sending receipts to residents, and tracking incoming payments. This frees up property managers from manual tasks and reduces the risk of errors.
As for more complex processes such as background checks and resident screening, while virtual assistants cannot themselves conduct the checks, they can gather necessary information, initiate renter background check requests with service providers, and follow up on reports.
They can also assist with time-consuming tasks such as generating basic real estate business reports on areas like vacancy rates and resident demographics. This data can be valuable for property managers and property owners to identify trends and make informed decisions.
Reducing costs by outsourcing back-office operations
Back-office operations can quickly become a time and resource drain for property management companies. In this respect, virtual assistants can help generate cost savings by streamlining and managing these essential tasks.
In handling routine back-office tasks, virtual assistants free up property managers to focus on high-value activities like strategic planning, resident relations, and property marketing. This increases overall productivity and leads to better financial returns.
As indicated above, virtual assistants can also automate repetitive tasks like invoicing, rent collection, and data entry. This minimizes errors and saves time compared to manual processes, reducing the need for staff to correct mistakes.
On the resident experience side, virtual assistants can help reduce resident turnover by ensuring timely communication, efficient maintenance request management, and a positive resident experience. This boosts cost-effectiveness in relation to marketing vacancies, new resident screening, and repairs needed to prepare properties for new residents.
Reducing the administrative burden
Property management companies juggle many tasks that can leave them swamped with administrative duties. Virtual assistants can help tackle some of these time-consuming chores, such as fielding resident inquiries, handling maintenance requests, and even scheduling property inspections, or showings for new residents.
This ensures timely responses and frees up the property manager's time for more strategic tasks and business needs.
They can also manage the influx of documents, organizing lease agreements, resident applications, and financial records. This keeps everything organized and readily accessible, saving the property manager from the necessity of digging through files.
Fixing capacity limitations
When property management companies are limited in their staffing resources, a virtual team can act as an extension of the in-house team, effectively breaking through these capacity limitations.
For example, by handling routine administrative tasks like resident communication and lease renewals, virtual assistants free up property managers to focus on acquiring new business or managing a larger number of properties.
A virtual property management assistant can also serve as a remote team by operating outside regular business hours, meaning tasks like fielding resident inquiries or scheduling maintenance requests can be addressed after hours, improving overall responsiveness and customer satisfaction.
In essence, they act as a force multiplier across time zones, extending the reach and capacity of the existing property management team members.
Outsourcing non-revenue tasks
In sum, virtual assistant services can encompass a wide range of non-revenue property management tasks, workflows, and job descriptions:
Administrative duties
This can include data entry, scheduling appointments, managing calendars, and filing documents.
Resident communication
Responding to routine resident emails and calls about things like maintenance coordination, parking inquiries, or noise complaints can be time-consuming. A virtual assistant can handle these initial interactions.
Lease management
Virtual assistants can support PMs with lease renewals, sending out reminders, processing paperwork, and answering basic resident questions about the lease agreement.
Move-in/move-out coordination
Scheduling onboarding processes, move-in inspections, collecting pre-move-in information from residents, and processing move-out checklists are all tasks a virtual assistant can handle.
Service provider communication
Coordinating with cleaning crews, landscapers, and other vendors often involves pricing inquiries, scheduling appointments, following up on requests, and managing invoices. A virtual assistant can help streamline this communication.
Report generation
Virtual assistants can compile routine reports such as vacancy rates, maintenance requests, and rent collection summaries.
The last word
At Second Nature, we’ve pioneered the first-ever fully managed Resident Benefits Package. The goal is to make property management easier for PMs, residents, and investors – and drive value that benefits all three. We call it the Triple Win.
Our RBP provides services that residents are proven to pay and stay for – and our team manages every part of the process so property managers can focus on what's important to them.
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May 14, 2024