Property Management

Property management is the operation of commercial and/or residential real estate. This is much akin to the role of management in any business.

Roles

One important role is that of acting as liaison between the landlord and tenant. Duties of property management include accepting rent, responding to and addressing maintenance issues, advertising vacancies for landlords, and doing credit and background checks on tenants. In exchange for the service they provide, property management companies pay landlords a percentage of the gross rent collected each month (typically 3-10%), in addition to lease commissions. If disclosed in the management agreement, repair costs may be marked by some property managers. Some property management companies manage home owner associations (HOAs).

Property managers may manage construction, development, repair and maintenance on a property. Property manager relations with tenants gives a face to the landlord and provides them the necessary buffer servicing their desire to profit and distance themselves from their tenant constituency.

There are many facets to this profession, including participating in and/or initiating litigation with tenants, contractors and insurance agencies. Litigation alone is at times considered an entirely separate function, set aside for trained attorneys. Although a person or persons will be responsible for this in their job description, there may or may not be an attorney working under a property manager. Special attention is given to landlord/tenant law and most commonly evictions, non-payment, harassment, reduction of pre-arranged services, and public nuisance are legal subjects that gain the most amount of attention from property managers. Therefore, it is a necessity that a property manager be current with new laws and practises in their given localities, cities and states.

Property management, like facility management, is increasingly facilitated by computer-aided facility management software.

Licensing

United States

Most states require property managers be licensed real estate brokers if they are collecting rent, listing properties for rent or helping negotiate leases. Alternatively, they may be licensed real estate salespersons working with a licensed real estate broker. Most states have a public license check system on-line for property management companies that engage in 'commercial building' management functions, such as strip malls, and professional buildings. Those who manage multi-unit apartment buildings, townhouses and condos do not require a real estate license.

A few states, such as Idaho and Maine don't require property managers to have real estate licenses.

Generally, property managers engaging in only association management need not be licensed real estate brokers. In Connecticut, however, a broker's license is required. Some states, while not requiring a real estate license, do require association managers register with the state.

Professional Designations

Building Owners & Managers Institute International (BOMI) offers industry-standard designations that certify the training associated with Property Management:

• the Real Property Administrator (RPA)
• the Facilities Management Administrator (FMA)
• the Systems Maintenance Administrator (SMA)
• the Systems Maintenance Technician (SMT)

Other uses

The term property management is used to describe the practise of managing capitalized assets that are not real estate in nature, such as equipment and consumables. This is particularly the case in some post-secondary institutions, federal agencies and organizations that must manage government-furnished property, such as government contractors.

External links

• Building Owners & Managers Institute International (BOMI) Web site
• Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) Web site
• National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) Web site

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