It’s a crisp morning in Southern Minnesota. The thin layer of frost hasn’t quite melted from the grass, but a bright sky promises another beautiful day…chock full of appointments. Chris Ekern hops into his Subaru, and heads out for another day “in the field.”
Property managers and association managers’ jobs have two parts: one is in the office; working on leases, setting appointments, attending to tenant/owner/vendor needs via phone and email, etc. The other part of their job involves physically visiting properties; inspecting buildings, meeting with contractors, checking in on construction progress, etc.
Here, we give you a look at what just a morning in the field looks like for a property manager:
- 8:00 – Meet with an architect and introduce them to the tenants whose space they’ll be working on
- 8:30 – Check in on painting progress at an industrial park that is home to several tenants
- 9:00 – Collect rent checks from a handful of properties to deliver to the landlords
- 9:45 – Meet with the building maintenance technician at a managed property to discuss roof leaks
- 10:15 – Greet roofing consultant and introduce him to the maintenance technician
- 10:20 – Go over visible internal and external roof damage
- 10:30 – Provide tour of internal building to consultant, go over construction blueprints from original construction
- 11:15 – Provide tour of exterior of property, giving points of concern, discussing cost estimates, and timeline
- 12:00 – Head back to the office to catch up on email and paperwork before the afternoon’s duties
Sound exhausting? Don’t worry; for most people, it is! But, Ekern admits this is his favorite part of his job. While some people might be drained from all the talk of studs and water heaters, this is the stuff that he looks forward to doing every day. As a property manager, this is the heart of his work.
Don’t feel like scheduling water heater inspections for all your tenants? Lucky for you, you can hire someone who is passionate about doing just that! Bluewater Commercial Real Estate prides itself in providing exemplary property management services to landlords, tenants, and associations.
