This is going to vary significantly based on the property, tenant base, and so on.
First and foremost is to keep the units filled the best possible with a good tenant base. Advertising, selling, and screening need to be high on the list. Coordinating move-ins, move-outs, ensuring the make readies are completed on time, addressing repairs, etc…
The paperwork for leases all needs to be completed thoroughly and correctly.
Keeping all tenants abiding by the rules and strictly enforcing everything with written documentation for each incident. Evictions must be documented and paperwork run through the attorney.
Sorting through all the tenant complaints and determining which need to be addressed.
Children can take a lot of time.
I have a significant amount of paperwork that needs to be kept up to date.
In one case, I have my manager paying all the bills.
I can tell you that my managers stay very busy but I am ashamed to say that I do not know all that they do. I visit the property every week or 2 and I think that I am in the way of real work while observing.
Could someone please give me a a ratio or number of units needed in a apartment complex to justify having on site leasing and maintance people.Also what size complex is needed for the owner to hire outside management and what type of fee structure.
Thanks for any help. mc
This is a very subjective question and there are many variables that affect this. I will answer based on my experience though.
First off, I like to pay my managers well and give them a lot of responsibility. I have used one manager to handle as much as 42 units but he was working very hard to keep up. Much of the maintenance and cleaning was handled by outsourcing in this situation. I like to get the multi-purpose types for the smaller properties and have them do repairs and leasing but this takes a lot of diligence in hiring a capable person.
Once you get over 35 units or so, an office person and maintenance person can be hired. The amount of work the maintenance worker can handle will truly depend on the condition of the property, the grounds, your pickiness, etc… Outsourcing gardeners, painters, plumbers, etc…, will pick up the slack.
Of course, you can always hire a professional manager to take care of the property. This will save you some serious headaches if you find the RIGHT one. Figure somewhere in the area of 5-10% for a fee. If there is no onsite manager, expect it to be in the 10% range. I have found that performance varies greatly and I have a distrust for them. I am building my own management company for my small portfolio.
Re: Ratio of apartment units to management - Posted by James Buster
Posted by James Buster on November 02, 2002 at 19:38:17:
>First off, I like to pay my managers well and give
>them a lot of responsibility. I have used one manager
>to handle as much as 42 units but he was working very
>hard to keep up. Much of the maintenance and cleaning
>was handled by outsourcing in this situation.
If he wasn’t doing the maintenance himself what tasks
were the most time-consuming for him?