I’m happy to report I offered my property management position to someone today.  I expect he will accept and we will be able to move on to training asap.

I said I would chronicle how I’m going about finding this new manager, so here we go!

The very first step, as is the case when looking for anything, is to know what you want.  This is hard for some people because they get stuck on the limitations before letting their mind run wild.  They are convinced they will not find exactly what they want, so they try to be realistic and reduce their expectations to what they believe they will find.

I think it’s a great exercise to let your imagination go and conjure up the best thing possible.  Then you start looking and you go with whatever comes the closest to your ideal.

So as for a property manager for these units, I wanted to find someone who:

  • Lives or works close to my buildings
  • Doesn’t go out of town a lot
  • Seems stable enough that they won’t be moving away anytime soon
  • Is organized
  • Can sell
  • Has integrity
  • Is teachable
  • Is handy (minor electric, plumbing, painting, general fix-it type)
  • Has tools
  • Has a vehicle that can transport a lawnmower
  • Has social skills
  • Is assertive, can be stern when needed, can push back
  • Is not too proud to scrub a toilet
  • Owns their own home
  • Is computer-proficient
  • Owns a computer, digital camera, cell phone
  • If they own rental properties, it’s a bonus

Once you know what you want, you have to figure out how you’re going to find out if they have it.  This comes from writing an ad to solicit qualified applicants, then crafting an application that asks key questions, and finally talking through a good interview.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about how I wrote my ad and what the results were.