Keeping the Circle Tight: Broker-Property Manager Relationships

As the economy keeps doing what it is doing (no need for explanation here, I am quite sure), relationships and trust within business circles become more and more critical. Investors need - more than ever - to be able trust in their broker's ability to navigate them through the daunting world of short sales, REOs, broken condo auctions, etc. Investors with access to hard cash have the upper hand and have become very adept to shopping their interests across multiple agencies to get the best "deal". Brokers, in turn, have had to step up their marketing and monitoring of existing relationships in efforts to keep long time clients from listing with the lowest bidder. And what better way keep up with an investor than by using the people with whom they talk with the most?

As residential property managers, we have contact with the Owner or Managing Partner(s) on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis. We discuss options in regards budgets, market rents, evictions, vacancies, repairs, upgrades - you name it - and we talk bout it. In doing so, property managers are able to gain some useful insight as to what the Owner is thinking in regards to his/her property. More often than not, the property management company is the first to know that an Owner is thinking about selling, refinancing or converting their multi family investment. We know this because they ask us to begin substantial curbside improvements; or ask us to meet with an appraiser at the property; or maybe tell us raise rents across the board...Either way we find out quickly - and at times much faster than the industry will. We are always happy to pass good news on; especially to professionals of whom we have done business with.

The Broker-Property Manager relationship is very easy to initiate. All a broker needs to do is to refer the Owner to a property management company he/she trusts. In return for the referral the property management will company inform the Broker of any updates in the Owners investment strategy. A good property management company will always respect a Broker referral and make sure that the Broker's client is treated exemplary. For us, referrals are 75% of our new business and are always in tune to giving back the referral in kind.

Does anyone have any other experiences with the Broker-Property Manager Relationship? I would love to hear them (good or bad, of course).

-TH

Reposted from our Apartment Experts Blog