Many Hats of a Property Manager
Asking for a helping hand from an expert does not make you weak. It was Socrates that said, “The more I learn, the more I learn how little I know”. This is never more evident than in the world of property management. It is in one’s nature to want to be a property owner. For some it is their home whether an apartment or in the suburbs. While for others it is to be part of something larger. A community or an association. After you have become a property owner you now must protect your valuable asset.
A property manager’s responsibilities include financial (treasury and account management), compliance (due diligence), maintenance (experienced operation staff), Resident relations (personality management), Emergency preparedness (24 hour on call), contract negotiator (language protection), and so much more. When reviewing financials a property manager should be aware not only of the budget in comparison to actual expenses, but also the experience of similar properties. The Institute for Real Estate Management publishes an annual income and expense analysis. The Institute compiles information submitted by property management companies from around the nation. These reports will tell a property manager; are we spending more than other buildings on wages, custodial expenses, repairs, insurance, supplies, utilities and other budgeted expenses.
The ever changing building codes require property managers to continually be up to date on compliance. An example of a new compliance can be found in the New York City building code that now requires building owners to adopt a building smoking disclosure as of August 2018. All residents must be made aware of the building smoking policy as of this date. This must also become part of the property’s applications for potential purchasers or renters. Those not in compliance will be subject to a fine.
Protecting your asset is a priority. Finding a property manager that has the knowledge is a must.
Using Technology as My Hammer
As a property manager,I believe there are many tools available to help manage the daily tasks of a community. Gone are the days of folding pieces of paper reminders, sticky notes, mental notes, or dare it be said, notebooks with scribbles. Welcomed are the days of technology, with central databases keeping track for property managers, and friendly tools for operation managers, supervisors, maintenance, and custodial staff.
Not only does technology keep a staff well organized, with projects completed and those in motion, it allows a property manager to report to the community’s board with a progress timeline, complete with pictures, time on the job, and future tasks for a project to be complete.
You can view the complete article here “Using Technology as My Hammer”
No Space For Waste
No Space For Waste
Recycling is one of the best ways that we can have a positive impact on the world we live in. WE must look at the big picture and realize that life responsibilities don’t end inside of our personal living space. Separating your plastics, cans, glass and cardboard into the appropriate recycling bins will help to reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfills. And why should we care about what end s up in a landfill?
Saves energy when
Keep your water supply clean
Keeping Our Water Supply Clean For Everybody
By sharing responsibility and making small easy changes in our lives, we can keep pollution away from storm water drains. Storm water drains make their way into our drinking water supply, oceans, and lakes.
Here are a few good habits to practice:
Pick up pet waste before bacteria and parasites travel into storm drains.
- Do not feed wild life in public areas.
- Try using less toxic chemicals around the house or outside.
- Never pour anything toxic down a storm drain. That water is usually already treated.
- Keep leaves and debris away from storm drains.
Thanks! We hope by raising awareness on good community living, that it will help improve quality of life
Maximizing Apartment Space
How do you get rid of that cramped feeling in your apartment and those winter blues?
With spring around corner, we think, there are many ways to help alleviate this feeling.
A few techniques of many, we picked out a few that will help create additional space in your apartment.
Angle Furniture in A Corner: This not only creates a storage area but is blocks in a designated space where you can keep things that usually get move around.
Shelving: Trade in that bulky end table and hutch for some wall shelving. You can stay well organized without being weighed down!
Raise Your Bed: The higher the bed, the more discreet storage space there is for belongings
These ideas were designed to help people improve on organization, getting rid of mess and clutter, while maximizing precious apartment space. We hope you found this useful and by all means, we encourage your opinions and ideas. Take a moment to comment.
Apartment Heat Loss
“Floors account for 10% of heat loss if not covered” –National Energy Foundation
We all know how costly it is to stay warm during the winter months. The more efficient you are at preventing heat loss, the more $$ you’ll save in your pocket! So what are the Do’s and Don’ts that will maximize your homes potential to retain heat?
Do’s
· Using aluminum foil behind radiators can reflect heat outwards into the room while deflecting it away from absorbing through the wall.
· Place thick curtains with thermal lining on your windows. They don’t have to be expensive- even shower curtains can be substituted.
· Adhere plastic film around windows and exposed air conditioners.
· Wood floors, even with underlayment padding, allows for heat loss. Placing an area rug over the center of the room, will help prevent heat from escaping, along with adding a decorative feature that will extend the life of the floor.
Don’ts
· Do not block sunlight from shining through your apartment. Keep the shades open during the day to maximize the precious heating effects that natural light has to offer.
· Don’t allow drafts to creep in around unsuspecting cracks. Window linings, unused fire places, floor boards, letterboxes on doors, and even key holes can be covered.
· Closed baseboard vents will not allow the coils to be most effective. Keep them in the open position, checking to see that the coils have not been painted or covered.
For questions or if you have any ideas we have not mentioned, please send us your thoughts.
JENNIFER PROSDOCIMI
OFFICE MANAGER/RESIDENT RELATIONS
Floor and Counter Maintenance
Whether it’s maintaining the value of your property, or the return of your security deposit-damage on your floor and counter tops can be irreparable.
The most effective way to clean hardwood floors is to remove all dust particles with a soft broom or dust mop. Next you should us either a hardwood floor cleaner or a neutral cleanser. Apply the cleaner with a damp mop. If there are worn patches on the floor, using water can penetrate and cause warping.
Most counter tops can get by with simple basic care. Some require specific care and maintenance. Here are some helpful tips to follow. 1. Basic wipe downs with soft cloth. 2. Wipe up spills as soon as they happen to protect the counter. 3. Watch out for heat. Use pot holders to avoid damaging counters.
Employer Drug Testing in New Jersey
In this article, I wanted to provide readers with a brief summary pertaining to Employee Drug Testing Laws in New Jersey. For starters, New Jersey has no general or comprehensive law concerning drug testing of employees. The state generally follows the federal guidelines on when drug tests can be conducted, although a New Jersey court ruling emphasized that drug testing in the workplace can only be conducted when there is reasonable suspicion of an individual (1988).
In speaking from experience, unfortunately we’ve dealt with drug testing first hand. A drug test was required for an in-house staff member with no prior history who showed signs of impaired work performance. This was not only a safety issue but a liability concern. Falling asleep on the job and walking unsteadily raised suspicions. Normally we wouldn’t have performed a drug test on an employee, but in the safety of the residents it was our concern to move forward. It was time for this person to be drug tested. The employee was required to go to a drug testing facility and within two weeks unfortunately, our suspicions were confirmed.
As office manger it’s my responsibility to make sure all in-house staffing follows company policy and safety procedures. It’s this type of policy for almost ten years, that has left us incident free with resident safety- our number one concern.