Nature of work
When owners of homes, apartments, office buildings or industrial properties lack the time or expertise needed for the day-to-day management of their real estate properties, they often hire a property or real estate manager or a community association manager. The main task of those managers is to take care of the many aspects of those residential, commercial, or industrial properties. They make sure the property looks nice, operates smoothly, and preserves its resale value. They Inspect all building facilities, including the grounds and equipment and arrange for new equipment or repairs as needed to keep up the property.Besides, they meet with, and show properties to, prospective renters, discuss the lease and explain the terms of occupancy. They also collect monthly fees from tenants; pay or delegate paying of bills, such as mortgage, taxes, insurance, payroll, and cleaning; and keep records of rental activities. Contracting for trash removal, swimming pool maintenance, landscaping, security, and other services is also part of those managers’ job. Finally, they investigate and settle complaints, disturbances, and violations; and prepare budgets and financial reports.
Environment of work
Real estate, or community association manager should prepare himself to work full time with long working hours. In this job, he will spend a large part of his day away from office. Onsite managers, in particular, spend their working day outdoors visiting the building engineer, showing apartments, checking on the janitorial and maintenance staff, or investigating problems reported by residents. Real estate asset managers may spend time away from home while traveling to company real estate holdings or searching for properties to buy. So, hopefully he likes being on the move and working outdoors.Another point he needs to know is that property, real estate, and community association managers often must attend evening meetings with residents, property owners, community association boards of directors, or civic groups. An apartment manager may even needs to live in the apartment complexes where he works, so that he is available to handle emergencies, even when he is off duty.
He can get time off during the week so that he will be able to work on weekends to show apartments to prospective renters.
Professional life
Here are some examples of occupational specialties: Property and real estate managers: they oversee the operation of income-producing and ensure that real estate investments achieve their expected revenues.
Community association managers manage the communal property and services of condominiums, cooperatives, and planned communities through their homeowner or community associations. They collect monthly fees, prepare financial statements/budgets, negotiate with contractors, and resolve complaints.
Onsite property managers are responsible for the day-to-day operation of a single property (an apartment complex or a shopping center). They inspect grounds, facilities and equipment to ensure the property is safe and properly maintained.
Real estate asset managers direct the purchase, sale, and development of real estate properties. They focus on long-term strategic financial planning.
The median monthly wage of property, real estate, and community association managers is 65000 SYP
Getting the job
Employment priority is given to those who have a university degree. Employers tend to choose college graduates for property management positions, offsite positions in particular, for they will be dealing with finances or contract management. College graduates are also preferred when it comes to managing commercial properties, especially those who have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Real Estate, or Public Administration. Once you enter this domain without having much practical experience, you will realize how important and helpful it is to have a degree in one of the above-mentioned majors. However, it might be enough to have a high school diploma or equivalent for some jobs only. Some property, real estate, and community association managers has vocational training. Knowledge of property management is required.As an onsite manager, it would be important to have a good background in real estate sales due to the fact that real estate sales people also show properties to prospective tenants or buyers.
Skills
Along with the academic qualifications, a property, real estate, and community association manager needs to have certain skills in order to be successful in this job. For example, he should have customer-service skills because a he must provide excellent customer service to keep existing clients and expand business with new ones. Besides, He interacts with people on a daily basis, so it is essential to have good interpersonal skills. Good speaking skills are also required in this domain because, a property and real estate manager must understand leasing or renting contracts and be able to clearly explain and answer any questions a tenant may have. Negotiating skills is another thing he needs to cultivate. Real estate asset managers must be adept at persuading and working with people and good at analyzing data to assess the value of potential future value of a property.As a manager, it is obvious that he must have organizational skills. He should be able to plan, coordinate, and direct multiple contractors at the same time, often for multiple properties.
Finally, the need for mediating disputes or legal issues between resident, homeowners, or board members as part of the job makes it essential to be a tactful person.
Sources and references
If you need any further information on what is included in this file, you can visit the following websites: www.realestate.sy, Syrian realestate portal
www.irem.org, The Institute of Real Estate Management
Arab Standard Classification of Occupations, 2008, Ed. Arab Labor Organization.