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Property Manager Career Interview
Vickie Gaskill is the owner of Bell-Anderson Associates, a property management company in Washington state, and the current president of the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM).
Property Manager Career Path
“Most property managers got into the business the long way around,” says Vickie. “I was a vendor to property managers (I owned a carpet cleaning company). After I sold the business, a comptroller friend of mine asked me to come to the real estate company that she worked for and reconcile some checking accounts. I was eventually hired as a bookkeeper, saw that property managers made better money, got my real estate license, and waited for a position to open up.”
Property Manager Experiences
Before she was a property manager, Vickie spent her days as a stay-at-home mom and as the head of a carpet cleaning business.
“Being a contractor (carpet cleaner) for property management companies taught me a lot about what property managers did and how they worked,” Vickie explains.
“I don’t have much post high school education other than a couple of years at the local community college and a heck of a lot of real estate management education,” she adds.
Property Management Degree Programs
Property managers typically pursue a degree in real estate management, but those with real estate investment or real estate finance degrees can go even further in this industry.
“Large companies that are managing high rise office buildings or big multi-family communities seek out these individuals,” Vickie explains.
There are also a number of trade associations that offer education programs in the field of real estate management depending on what type of property management that a student is pursuing. For example, the National Association of Residential Property Managers is for people who primarily manage single family and small residential properties.
Property Manager Job Description
Residential property managers are responsible for showing property for rent, the procurment of applications when necessary, inspections, property move in/move outs, placement of tenants in properties, delivery of notices, and other property management duties as directed.
Vickie is the owner of Bell-Anderson and Associates, a property management company in Washington. She is also the president of the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM).
Property Manager Daily Routine
Because of the varying properties that a property manager is in charge of, every day is different.
“That’s why I’m in love with the business,” says Vickie. “You come to work thinking that you’re going to get this and that done for the day, and then before you have a chance to even sit down, someone has a broken pipe, someone needs to see a vacant unit immediately, someone needs property management service for their rental property, or who knows what. This business is never dull! No two days are ever alike.”
Property Manager: Steps to Success
Property managers don’t have to just deal with property; they must deal with people primarily.
“If you are not a people person, you will not last long,” Vickie warns. “This is a service business. You have to be willing to go out of your way to service your client. People can sometimes be quite rude especially when their ‘home’ is involved or their need to find a ‘home’ is of concern.”
Property Manager Job Opportunities
Depending on the laws and statutes for each state, there are more rules in breaking into the field. Different states have different regulations.
More opportunities also open depending on the amount of education and experience that the property manager has. A real estate license is very helpful for a property manager.
Property Management Career Favorite Aspect
“I love the people I’ve come to know,” says Vickie. “If I was in a 9-5 office job, I would have never been exposed to the diversity and variety of human nature. Some of it’s been quite ugly, but most of it has been very rewarding. I have had the opportunity to live vicariously through many of the owners that I work for who are scattered all over the world.”
Property Manager’s Future Ambitions
When Vickie retires, she hopes to have an onsite job in a very exclusive high-rise condo community in a major downtown location, including a full staff and plenty of vacation time.
Advice for Prospective Property Managers
Vickie recommends that property managers should treat their job just like you are running your own business.
“If you treat it as a business,” Vickie explains, “your income is going to grow just as if you had your own company. I know, because that’s how I did it. I was a bookkeeper 24 years ago, became a property manager (and was making more money than the owner of the company), and bought the company eight years ago.”
Just because most people don’t aspire to be a property manager doesn’t mean that it isn’t a very viable and valuable profession.
“Someone has to manage the millions and millions of square footage of real estate out there,” Vickie adds. “All of it has some sort of property manager behind it.”
