Leasing and Property Management: A Forgotten Option

Chris Sanchez

101 Realty & Management

2019 Residential Real Estate Property Manager of the Year

When you think of leasing and property management, what are a few words that come to mind? I know for most in the real estate industry, a few would be tenant complaints, late night maintenance calls, late rent payments, evictions, and low commissions. Being in the leasing and property management business for the last 20 years, a few of the words that come to my mind are opportunities, residual income, building relationships, and turning renters into homeowners. Leasing and property management is a great industry to get in to if you are looking for long term success in the real estate industry. It can provide you with stability, monthly residual income, and an ever-growing list of potential real estate clients that you can cultivate for years to come. The property management industry offers many different sources to help build your business and pipeline, so I’ll highlight a few ways that an agent could build a long-term career.

With traditional real estate, you are constantly searching for your next listing, buyer, investor, or trying to find creative ways that will help you attract more business. In leasing and property management, if you focus on the business at hand all of those things will come directly to you. If you do a superb job managing rental properties for your clients, when it comes time for the investor or landlord to sell that property or to secure a new rental for their portfolio, they will contact you 9 out of 10 times, which takes care of your listing and buyer side. When you succeed at handling issues, emergencies, and conflicts with the tenants, you are building a long-lasting relationship that can eventually turn in to new home buyer clients. Each and every year we are able to turn renters into buyers just by taking care of the issues in a timely and professional manner. When that tenant turns into a buyer, now you have to find a new tenant for the rental property, and you get to make a leasing commission on that side of the business. Lastly, and most importantly, when you build up your property management business and start to manage more and more properties, this creates an incredible opportunity for you to earn great monthly residual income just by the tenant paying their rent. The opportunities can be endless. I am not in the leasing and property management industry for the money, I truly do love what I do for a living, but the money is just a bonus. It can definitely be a lot of work and very stressful at times having to deal with all sorts of issues that come up with managing properties and tenants, but it is an extremely rewarding field to be in and you are constantly having great people come into your life that you can build great and meaningful relationships with.

It’s exciting that the real estate industry continues to change and adapt to new technology year over year. There are new ways for people to sell their homes and search for homes online. Clients now have everything at their fingertips with a touch of a button, or without even lifting a finger by asking their favorite virtual assistant. Because the real estate industry, in general, had already been taking advantage of technology prior to COVID-19, the transition to a more virtual- based business over the past several months has been a smooth one for many.

There’s a lot of opportunity in the leasing and property management industry, especially in Arizona, and it often feels like it is overlooked by many new agents getting into the real estate business. The property management industry will continue to adapt to new technology, but it will never truly be rid of the human element. Technology can’t give a tenant piece of mind at 3:00am when the water supply line just ruptured and has flooded the entire home, causing thousands of dollars in damages. Each interaction like this gives property managers an opportunity to demonstrate value to the tenant and the owner. Remember that quick and clear communication are the keys to maintaining positive relationships with both parties.

Although COVID-19 has presented challenges in the short-term, the need for rental properties will continue to exist – not everyone can afford to buy. If you’re a people person with great communication skills and you’ve been pondering a new or first direction for your career in the real estate industry, I would highly encourage you to explore the leasing and property management field.