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Property Management Career Building
Property Management Career Building
One of the most commonly touted reasons property management professionals provide for working in this industry is diversity. Not only is each and every day different from the one before but, also, property managers have the unique opportunity to put a wide range of different skills and talents into practice.
With this in mind, there are several different avenues that may lead one to a property management career. Perhaps your background is in real estate, finance, law, or marketing. You may apply any of the professional skills learned in these areas to property management. Or you may simply find yourself wanting to utilize certain qualities or characteristics, such as dealing with people on a consistent basis, problem solving, or multi-tasking. In the property management field elements of all of these professional areas and personal skill sets will come into play. While you don’t have to be a master of all of them (or any of them, for that matter), you do have to possess the willingness to learn certain specific tasks. For example, you don’t have to be a finance whiz to be a property manager, but you do have to perform accounting functions; likewise, you don’t have to have a law degree, but you must have a solid grasp on local, state, and federal laws and regulations to ensure your property is always in compliance.
Do you know you want to get into property management but don’t know what your options are? Property management positions come in all shapes and sizes. You can be a self-employed property manager handling only your own property or you can oversee multiple units for a third party. You can be an operations manager, maintenance supervisor, or regional portfolio engineer. When it comes to finding a job in the property management sector, the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) offers a great industry hub. Job listings at IREMJobs.org include everything from basic property management positions to business systems analysis work.
With all of this diversity, where do you actually go to learn about property management and arm yourself with the skills necessary to enter into the field? Here are a couple of our favorite resources for starting your property management career on the right foot.
IREM: Institute of Real Estate Management
Although property managers are not required to obtain any sort of specific licensing, obtaining industry-specific knowledge is a great way to market yourself to potential customers and, also, to ensure that you have a solid education and grasp on the field. IREM offers a robust catalog of classes that include everything from professional ethics to on-site maintenance to fair housing. A wide variety of online offerings allows you to take these classes from the comfort of your own home.
BOMA: Building Owners and Managers Association International
BOMA offers both new and seasoned property management professionals the opportunity to build both basic foundational knowledge and area-specific expertise. Whether you’re looking to learn about the basics of real estate management or to educate yourself on cutting-edge energy efficiency programs, BOMA has you covered. Like IREM, they have online offerings as well as audio seminars, which can be attended by phone.
Property management is one of the few fields that allows professionals to use a wide variety of skill sets, keeping work interesting on a day-to-day basis. If you think property management might just be for you, the resources above are a great place to start.
