Why Every Property Manager Needs a Virtual Assistant by Their Side
If you’re a property manager looking for professional assistance, you’re not alone. Property managers are busier now than ever before!
Experts estimate that there are 870,000 more rental households now than there were in 2020. This increase in rental properties naturally led to a 4.8% increase in professional projects that are managed by property managers — all of which require more support, more savvy management systems, and more resources to grow and maintain.
We have good news, though — the key to your property management success comes in a virtual package. Read on to learn more about what you can gain from a skilled virtual assistant in the property management space.
What Is a Virtual Assistant?
A virtual assistant (or VA) works either as an independent contractor or someone employed by an agency, handling administrative tasks on an hourly or salaried basis. Their daily duties could include scheduling meetings, answering phones, setting up travel, and managing inboxes or customer service chats.
Beyond this scope, VAs can be trained in industry-specific, higher-level tasks — making them an ideal resource for property managers looking for extra support. A virtual assistant for property managers could support with basic logistic and customer support needs, as well as more complex tasks; such as tenant management, paperwork processing, repair schedule management, and more in addition to their regular administrative duties.
If you’re a property manager who feels like the administrative work never ends, consider bringing on a virtual assistant. They can help reduce your administrative workload, empowering you to focus on higher-level tasks, goal management and property growth.
Five Reasons Property Managers Need Virtual Assistants
Ready to hire? Here are a few benefits you can expect when you bring on a property management VA.
- Cost Effective Administrative Support
If you’ve looked at the salaries for in-house support, you might have felt a bit of “sticker shock.” This can be especially common to see if you live in a high-cost-of-living area in the United States, as some states begin setting minimum wages between $16-$20 dollars per hour.
As inflation creeps up, we can expect wages to rise with it. Outsourcing is a clever solution to help you make the most of your budget, getting the support you need at a fraction of the price. For this specific need, many experts recommend outsourcing to property management specialists in the Philippines.
The Philippines is a prime location for outsourcing due to the high level of English proficiency, excellent government support of business process outsourcing (BPO), and the country’s wide range of worker talents and specialties.
According to Staffvirtual, their outsourcing model supported the average onboarded client in achieving a 65% payroll savings. When compounded, that’s a payroll saving of $96 million USD, on average.
- Improved Productivity From The First Working Day
Virtual workers benefit from enhanced flexibility that enables them to maximize their skill sets and their time. In this model, work quality remains high — and you won’t have to be the one to do the management and training, as many staffing companies maintain rigorous instruction and quality assurance practices.
- Simplified, Automated Staffing Support
Let’s face it: Most property management professionals don’t have the time to hire each person individually — and if they do have the time, they’re likely spending more on the hiring on vetting process than they have to. Here’s what we mean.
Experts estimate that the cost of recruiting a new employee is $4,700 on average. If time is money, going to a staffing agency with extensive resources and an already fully vetted and staffed crew of virtual assistants makes it easy to save both. The average hire time for non-technical and technical roles can range between 12-14 days respectively.
Additionally, property management virtual assistants can independently manage the recruiting and hiring side of your operations once they are fully onboarded. They can tackle tasks like resume culling and interview and candidate management.
- Instant Connection To Strategic Support
Do you feel as if your talent pool for certain services might be too small to effectively run your business? Thanks to virtual work and BPO, your access to top-notch candidates has never been wider.
Typically, the average team of virtual assistants per company is comprised of four key members: one project lead and three specialists. Hiring this many qualified candidates would typically put a strain on resources — but it doesn’t have to.
When you outsource these roles to a BPO, you don’t need to set up job listings for the dozen roles you need; the agency already has those people hired on their end. Virtual assistants can take on front-office roles in customer support or back-office like IT, making it easier for you to log off at the end of the day and actually log off.
- Better Communication At Every Step Of The Hiring Process
One drawback of an in-house assistant is that there might be significant blocks of time when they can’t be reached — leaving you without help, or needing to find an employee to take the second, third, or fourth shift for your property management business.
That’s why many appreciate the accessibility and ongoing support that a VA can provide. In most cases, a property manager can count on their team of virtual assistants to be available 24/7 — especially if they outsource to an offshore team who has daytime hours during the property manager’s off-hours.
Let’s say a resident calls about an emergency overflowing sink before the office opens. With a virtual assistant, there’s someone in a different time zone wide awake and happy to take the call and dispatch a plumber immediately. This saves your resident time-spent problem-solving and inconvenience, elevating the property and brand and meeting the resident need in the most efficient way possible.
What Could You Do With More Time In Your Day?
The rental property market is booming. If you’re feeling the stress of the increased workload or want to get ahead of it before it slows you (and your business down), consider outside help.
Having a virtual assistant by your side can make it easier to scale without slowing down and still have time at the end of the day to take care of yourself — not just your properties.
