A PM who currently manages almost 400 properties has said other property managers can follow suit if they nail the basics.
On top of overseeing nine property managers, McGrath Estate Agents Cronulla property manager Bill Basha also manages a portfolio of 390 properties.
Speaking at the upcoming LPMA reGenerate conference, Mr Basha told Residential Property Manager that many PMs struggle to juggle larger management numbers because they fail to do the basics right.
“Property management isn’t a hard job, it is actually a pretty simple job if you do the little things right,” he said.
“It becomes complicated when you deviate from that path and forget what you have promised.”
Mr Basha said too many people become overwhelmed at the idea of a taking on a large number of managements.
“They look at it like ‘oh wow, that is 400 properties, that is huge’,” he said.
“The number is a big number, but a lot of it is in people’s heads thinking, ‘there is no way I could do that’.”
Mr Basha said his portfolio at one stage reached 420 properties, but that he reduced it so he could focus more on being a team leader.
“My part-time assistant used to be two days a week but we have increased her to three days a week, that extra day helps me to focus more on the team management side of things,” he said.
Mr Basha said there is no reason why PMs can’t increase their portfolios from 200 to 300 properties if their office systems are set up effectively and the service level doesn’t drop.
“I am confident in saying that there are probably a lot of property managers out there that are managing 200 or less that have got a day or two free in a week that is not being used to its best ability,” he said.
Mr Basha said PMs need to break through the negative mindset that big numbers are unachievable.
“It was like the four-minute mile – people were saying it was not doable then someone did it and then everyone could do it,” he said, “It then became slow.”