Photo of Kandise Varvil

Kandise Varvil

Co-Founder - PM PathBuilders & Triple Win Mentor - Second Nature

Kandise Varvil has deep experience across single-family and multifamily property management as both a PM and a BDR. In 2023 she co-founded PM Pathbuilders, a property management consultancy focused on helping businesses scale efficiently. Kandise lives in Arizona and is a Triple Win Mentor.

Task Management Software for Property Managers: Everything You Need to Know

Property management moves fast. Every day involves a long list of tasks, deadlines, and tiny details that absolutely matter. When something gets missed, it creates real problems for residents, owners and our team. This is why the strongest property management companies rely on task management software. They are not leaving their business in the hands of sticky notes or who remembers what. They are organized, accountable, and running with clarity. At PM Pathbuilders, I spend a lot of time helping companies move from “things live in people’s heads” to “things live in a system.” When your processes live in software, your business becomes easier to run. Your team spends less time chasing information and more time doing meaningful work. A good task management software can take everyday, manual work and streamline it to save your team time, money, and headaches. If you are on the cusp of deciding to implement a task management software, it is worth asking: How many hours are lost to tasks that could happen automatically? How many follow ups, reminders, approvals, and repeat steps are eating up your team’s time? If your team is spending even one hour a day on something that should already be automated, that’s: 5 hours a week 20 hours a month 260 hours a year For one person. Multiply that across your entire team and the number gets expensive very fast. Task management software is not a tech upgrade. It is the modern foundation of property management. What is task management software? Task management software is a digital tool that helps your team track, assign, and complete the recurring work that keeps your business running. It exists to make sure every task gets done on time, by the right person, without anyone guessing what comes next. While the functionality varies—more on that later—the overall goal is the same: increased efficiency, decreased mistakes. At a basic level, every system starts as a to-do list. Tools like Trello are built around this idea. You write down tasks. You check them off. Simple. The next level of task management systems goes beyond just a simple checklist, and starts to introduce automation and interactions. Monday.com is a great example of this kind of tool, but there are plenty of them. These systems can trigger actions and hand tasks from one person to another. If one step is complete, the next one appears. If it is not complete, the workflow reacts and adjusts. The highest level of task management software is built specifically for property managers. Platforms like Aptly and LeadSimple take automation further. They connect directly to your property management software to pull in real data, create accountability, and run your core processes automatically. Renewals, delinquency, onboarding, move outs, inspections, and status changes all become organized and trackable. The result is simple. Your team does not have to remember the process. The software remembers it for them. What can task management software do for property managers? Task management software plays two important roles in a property management company. First, it keeps your team organized and on schedule so tasks are completed on time. It also creates a safety net. If something slips, there is a clear recovery step to get it back on track. It is also a powerful systemization tool. Instead of every team member doing things their own way, the software ensures a standardized experience for both owners and residents. That protects your brand and delivers consistent service no matter who handles the task. Task management software also elevates the resident and investor experience. You can build automated touchpoints like renewal reminders and onboarding check-ins that feel high touch and personal, but happen without any extra team effort. Owners receive a higher level of communication and service, and we do not lose time providing it to them. One of my favorite real examples comes from a company that struggled to track homeowner’s insurance policies. They added policy renewal dates into their task management system and automated follow ups to collect updated declarations before expiration. This protects the business from unnecessary risk and gives the owner a clear, elevated experience. As a management company becomes more mature, every step in the client lifecycle is supported by a process in the software. Some include resident or owner communication, like renewals. Others do not, like HOA documentation or licensing requirements. Regardless of the workflow, the right platform can automate it and ensure nothing is left to chance. Key features in task management software There are a lot of options on the market, and it can feel overwhelming trying to figure out what matters most. For property management companies, these are the three must-have features you should evaluate before making a decision. Integration with your property management software Your task management system has to talk to your property management software. Investor names, resident names, addresses, balances, lease expiration dates. All of it needs to sync directly into your workflows. Why it matters: You can automate lease renewals because the system sees upcoming expiration dates. You can automate balance owed notifications because the system sees delinquency. You eliminate double data entry, which is slow, expensive, and creates mistakes. Without a real integration, half of your processes will still live outside the tool, which defeats the purpose. Strong automation capabilities Not all automation is equal. Some tools automate like a checklist. Others automate like an operations engine. Ask specific questions: Can it send emails or text messages automatically? Can it assign tasks to the right person at the right time? Can it create calendar events or reminders without someone clicking a button? Can it trigger steps based on real data, like payment status or a new move-out notice? Think about what your business will need over the next two to three years. Not just what you need today. Ease of use in building out the system You are not just using the software. You are building your company inside it. That means the system must be practical to set up and maintain. Consider: Will your team be able to build and update workflows themselves? Do you want a platform with expert support or consulting help available? Do you prefer more flexibility even if it is more complex to configure? Just like your company, your software will need to evolve. Think about how much your processes have changed in the last ten years. They will keep changing. If the software is not updated regularly, it becomes stale and stops supporting the business the way it should. In general, the more the software can do, the more thoughtful the setup needs to be. Choose what your team can realistically manage while still keeping the system fresh and relevant over time. Are you ready for task management software? Another important question is whether your company is actually ready to add a task management system to your tech stack. The software is powerful, but it will only work if a few things are already true in your business. So… how do you know when you’re ready? In my opinion, you’re ready for task management software when a few things are true: You know who’s responsible for what, and who the backup is for each item. Roles and responsibilities are clear. You have clean processes that are relatively systematic, consistent, and ready to be automated. You have someone with enough capacity to act as a dedicated project lead for the software. For example, if you have an owner onboarding process that runs the same way every time, where you add the investor to your PM software, send their onboarding information, confirm their reserve contribution, and send a welcome email, that is something task management software should handle. Once it is mapped and automated, the system carries the weight instead of your people. Are you willing to let go of control? You should not only ask what you need from task management software. You have to ask what you are ready for. Automation requires trust. You need to feel comfortable with the idea that certain tasks will happen without you reviewing every step. You need to be okay with automated text messages and emails being sent at the right moments without you pressing send. You need to be comfortable with workflows automatically scheduling owner review calls or sending reminders when payments are late. These efficiencies move your company forward, but they require letting go of the belief that every communication must pass through your hands to be correct. Consider the business factors At the end of the day, like any other investment, this is about determining what’s the right fit for your company. Here are the two biggest business factors to consider: Company size: More people on your team can mean more capacity to help with implementation, but it also means more people to train and more habits to shift. Think about how much change your team can realistically absorb. Cost: Can your company afford it right now? There is a strong return on investment with task management software because it reduces the time your team spends on routine tasks. However, there is often a sizable upfront investment. If your software is priced per door, the cost will grow as you grow, so make sure that aligns with your long-term plan. Understanding change management Even the best software will fail if your team does not use it. Think about how your team has handled new technology in the past. Will automation feel supportive, or will it feel threatening? Will they embrace it or resist it? Will they default to the old way once things get busy? Team buy-in is not optional. If you launch a system and no one uses it, you will quickly end up with hundreds of overdue tasks and a team frustrated by the entire experience. Once that happens, adoption becomes even harder in the future. As you plan an implementation of this scale, ask yourself how you can lighten the load for the team, emphasize ease of use, and introduce the changes step by step. Look at team capacity, team size, and comfort with technology to determine which roles and processes should go first. Start with changes that genuinely make daily work easier, not harder. Task management is not set it and forget it One thing that often gets overlooked when teams are evaluating task management software is what it takes to keep it updated over time. Task management tools need regular attention. Processes change. Roles shift. Communication style evolves. If your software does not evolve with those changes, it stops supporting the business the way it should. In my opinion, the only thing worse than not having a task management system is having one that is outdated. That is when people get frustrated. The system is wrong, so the team works around it instead of with it. If someone’s role changes, automations must be updated. If your voice or tone changes, the messaging needs a refresh. If a process changes, the workflow should change with it. If your branding changes, email templates should reflect the new look and feel. And if legislation changes, you may need to adjust timelines, notice requirements, and compliance checkpoints. If that does not get updated immediately, it can break the entire workflow and cause real problems. Maintaining the system takes effort, but it is effort worth investing. When your workflows are aligned with how your company actually operates today, your team saves time. They spend more of their day doing meaningful work instead of recreating checklists. And both investors and residents get a better, more consistent experience from your company.

Calendar icon December 11, 2025

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Ancillary Services in Property Management: How to Expand Your Value Without Losing Your Focus

More and more, property management professionals and property management companies are looking for services that they can add to their offerings in order to capture more business without adding too much overhead. These ancillary services can increase net operating income and help you elevate your business. Let’s take a look at what kinds of ancillary services are available to property managers, the factors you should be considering as you look to add them to your offering, and how you can add them without stretching your team too far. Examples of ancillary services There are plenty of examples of ancillary services that property managers can offer, some more popular than others. When you step back and look at the expertise you already have, it becomes pretty clear: you’re sitting on a goldmine of services owners need. Here are some of my favorite (and profitable) ancillary service opportunities I see PM companies offering: Real estate sales: This is one of the most common ancillary services I see offered. Property manager professionals, and especially leasing agents, often have the sales and people skills that selling homes requires, making it a logical service to add for investors. If an owner is going to sell, they should be selling with you, not disappearing into another agent’s pipeline. Resident buying services: Another real estate sales angle is to help your residents on the path to homeownership. Teaching your residents about how to purchase properties, what down payment assistance options are available, and what to expect through the process can help build a sense of trust and ultimately choose to purchase a home with your help. Rental brokering: Another great opportunity for leasing agents, many property management professionals act as resident brokers for properties that are outside their own portfolio. This can be a bit market dependent, but in more competitive or luxury markets, this is a premium experience that residents are willing to pay for when the stakes are high. Insurance shopping: Some property managers offer to shop for homeowner’s insurance for their clients. It is a quick value-add. Help owners shop policies and save money, while positioning your business as the trusted advisor who looks at the whole investment, not just the rent roll. Appraisal coordination: One service that I find more property management companies offering in-house is the appraisal process. PMs will help find and schedule an appraiser on behalf of their investor, then meet the appraiser at the property on the day. Appraisals often help investors for processes like refinancing a mortgage or acquiring a HELOC to expand their portfolio, but a recent appraisal can also help the PM themselves more accurately set rent prices. Managing large maintenance projects: More and more property managers are starting to serve more as asset managers, which often includes providing advice and project management on things like large repairs, remodels, or additions that will add value to properties. You already have the vendor relationships, scheduling oversight, and cost awareness, so charge for it. This is where PMs start moving into true asset management. Managing evictions: Evictions are one of the worst parts of the job for most property managers, but for those who are particularly good at it, it can be a very in-demand skill. Your PMC can manage evictions for non-clients as an additional service, adding extra business on a flexible basis using expertise you already have in-house. Consulting eviction managers typically file the necessary legal paperwork, go to court, execute the eviction, and file any necessary collections, providing a complete end-to-end service. Appearing as an expert witness: When they’re involved in legal proceedings, real estate investors often need to call expert witnesses to speak to the facts of a case. They help juries or judges better understand the facts of the case. Experienced PMs are uniquely qualified — and this can be extremely lucrative with the right positioning. If your company is already doing the hard part (running properties well), there’s no reason not to package that expertise into additional services that deepen relationships, drive retention, and unlock new revenue streams. Finding time for ancillary services The key to adding ancillary services is making sure that they: Make sense for your business financially Fit with the skills and capacity of your current team Won’t detract from the core services you offer to your investor clients Even though these added services can be great for your bottom line, you can never prioritize them over the core of your management business. Your PMA is the scope of work you’re promising you’ll do for a client and should always take precedent. That said, most property management businesses have seasons where operations are running smoothly and there is additional capacity. When that happens, you may look for ways to grow without simply stacking more doors into the portfolio. Strategic ancillary services can help you increase revenue, create deeper client relationships, and build a more resilient business model during those windows of opportunity. Run the numbers The first step is making sure that whatever additional services you’re considering adding make financial sense for your company. In particular, if you’re going to need to add additional headcount to be successful, there’s some math to be done. How much money do you need to charge for an ancillary service in order to justify bringing on an additional team member to manage it? Do you have the lead flow to make this a viable part of your offering? How long will it take to recoup any investment you’re making? Ancillary services can help you go beyond just adding more and more doors as your only lever of growth, but you need to make sure the numbers add up before you dive in. Examine current capacity The next factor to consider is what kind of capacity your team currently has. There’s only so much that an individual team member can do. You don’t want to stretch people so thin that they become unhappy in their roles, or you’ll quickly find yourself losing staff. Consider the skills that you currently have in-house—oftentimes your existing staff are capable of doing these things, but you have to look at whether they have time. Ask yourself, is there anyone who’s currently not at maximum capacity? They might be able to take on additional services. Even more importantly, is there anyone whose capacity is highly seasonal? Seasonality presents opportunity There are many property management roles that are highly seasonal, and leasing agents are the perfect example. They’re super busy during the busiest times of year and not busy during the slower seasons. Seasonality leaves you with a couple of different options to optimize your business. First off, you can adjust processes to try to balance their work. If you know that, from May to September, your leasing agents will be swamped, how do you plan ahead for October to April? Maybe you can break the inspection cycle apart from the leasing cycle so that they’re performing inspections in the slow season, giving them a more balanced schedule year-round. The other option is to take advantage of the slower months to give them ancillary work. If they have capacity to focus on real estate sales or coaching residents on homebuying skills, you can leverage these added services without needing to increase payroll. Know thy market Remember, like everything in property management, there will be variation based on your local market. I already mentioned that different markets have differing levels of demand for things like renter brokers, but there’s also the question of regulation. Regulations and licensing play a big role in how many of these ancillary services you can provide, and you need to make sure you’re protected legally. Some roles, like real estate sales, require licensing in almost all jurisdictions. In some areas, insurance shopping may or may not be considered insurance brokering, which also requires a license. Other functions might not require licensing, but do have certification requirements or training requirements. The good news is that these requirements can be a strategic advantage rather than a barrier. Certifications and licenses create professional development opportunities for your team, helping them grow while strengthening your company’s competency. They also become a differentiator in a competitive market. When you are the company that understands property management and insurance better than anyone else, your value becomes far more obvious to investors. Knowing your market keeps you compliant, profitable, and positioned as the expert worth partnering with. Getting started is more important than being perfect Growth in property management rarely comes from giant leaps. It comes from small, intentional moves that build capability and confidence over time. Start with what you can execute well today, then refine and expand once you’ve proven demand and established the right systems. One way to start is by looking at bigger, more established companies for ideas, and determining how you can adapt those ideas on a smaller scale. If the enterprise company in your market has an entire maintenance business on the side, you don’t have to do the same thing, but you can pull one team member to take on outside vendor work part-time. Focus on a realistic starting point and define how you will measure success before growing the initiative. When companies try to launch at full scale right out of the gate, they tend to overwhelm their team and dilute what already works. Getting started, learning, and adapting will take you much further than trying to be perfect before you begin.

Calendar icon December 2, 2025

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Turning Resident Feedback into Retention

When I work with property management companies looking to improve their sales and operations, resident retention is one of the top priorities. Property managers have to ask themselves, “how can we make the resident experience a positive one so that residents will want to renew their lease time and time again?” The key? Listening. Hear what your residents are saying, communicate proactively, and make changes to your processes to deliver a top-tier experience. Reviews are one key type of feedback, but they’re only one piece of the puzzle. You have to be leading with a great experience, teasing out feedback from all of your communications, and actively soliciting input. The result will be fewer vacancies and a boost to your bottom line. Communication is core to your resident relationships If you want to understand resident feedback, deliver a better experience, and increase retention, you need to invest in communication—and that doesn’t just mean automated rent due date reminders and maintenance notifications. Start by shifting your thinking. Most property managers are communicating to their residents, but they’re not really listening to the communications they get back. You need to start by opening a proactive communication loop, especially around any interaction that could potentially be a negative one. Think about mid-lease inspections, preventative maintenance work, or changes to your processes. You need to not only communicate these out, but also be open to the responses that your residents have. The more positive interactions you have with your residents, the less likely they are to jump to the defensive when you reach out. You don’t want them to have a pavlovian stress response any time they see your name in their inbox. Instead, you want to build a genuine rapport with positive communications and updates, so that your residents are actually happy to see an email or text from you. When you have that open communication loop, residents are more likely to contact you when there’s something wrong with the property. Residents aren’t afraid they’re going to get in trouble; they know they’ll be appreciated for bringing things to your attention early. Plus, it means residents aren’t turning to public reviews as a way of communicating with you, which we’ll talk about in a little bit. Communicate through the good and the bad It’s important to be ready to communicate through both the good times and the bad. If you perform a mid-lease inspection, something that can be disruptive and stressful for residents, follow up by letting them know how everything went, and thanking them for the great care they’re taking of your property. This can be automated pretty easily, but it still feels like a very personal touch that helps build trust with your residents. And if something negative happens—say a resident pays late—use it as a reset moment. Once they’re caught up, close the loop with a quick, friendly message. Let them know you appreciate them taking care of it and that you’re moving forward on good terms. That’s how you turn tough moments into trust-building opportunities. Prepare for the worst Part of maintaining positive communication is also being prepared for worst-case scenarios. No matter how rare, emergencies are an inevitable part of property management. It is essential to have the infrastructure to respond quickly and clearly communicate updates to your resident, give them reassurance that you’re resolving the issue, and make them as comfortable as possible through the process. A huge part of this is having a team that’s not constantly burned out. If your team has a reasonably sized workload, they’re more capable of jumping into action when something big happens. That’s true across companies of all sizes. It doesn’t matter how many doors you’re managing, it matters how much work you’re putting on each team member. Don’t be afraid of feedback Building an open line of communication is invaluable, but there are times when you also need direct feedback from your residents. Maybe you’re trying to get more information on something that went wrong, or maybe you’re trying to quantify how well a process is working. Whatever the reason, sometimes soliciting feedback is important. At PM PathBuilders, we definitely recommend requesting feedback after key resident interactions like maintenance or inspections. Did a resident get a pet mid-lease and you had to get their pet registered, take a pet deposit, or set up a pet portal? Ask them how it’s working out 30 or 60 days later! Did a resident have a lease violation that you had to address? Ask for input on how you handled it! I’m also a huge advocate for task management software and automating communications where possible. For that reason, I’d definitely recommend automating requests for feedback after these kinds of events. That said, the second you get negative feedback, you should be prepared to jump in with manual intervention. No one wants to send an email or leave a voicemail saying they’re upset or something went wrong, only to receive an automated response that doesn’t help with anything. Not only does it frustrate your residents, it also tends to leave them thinking, “How many people do you have that are upset with me that you don’t even have the time to talk to me?” And hopefully that isn’t the case. Reviews don’t exist in a vacuum If you’re running an effective communication cycle and actively soliciting feedback, hopefully residents aren’t turning to reviews as a way to get your attention. A lot of management companies will say that if you’re getting bad reviews, you’re doing your job right. I wholeheartedly disagree. I say that if you’re doing your job right, you’re communicating with your residents, setting clear expectations, and handling their problems before they feel the need to leave a bad review. It’s important to remember that reviews are almost always associated with something else that went wrong with the property. A resident doesn’t just wake up one morning and decide to leave an angry review for their property manager. It usually stems from an unaddressed or repeated issue. Almost every negative review you get comes from a process that broke down somewhere along the way. Address the review and connect with the resident to see how you can resolve things, but also take a look inward. See where your team dropped the ball and make changes to your process to prevent the same thing from happening in the future. Reviews are some of the clearest, least filtered feedback you’re going to get. Make sure you’re listening. Listening goes a long way Regardless of how the feedback comes in, listening to it is the most important part. What’s the point in soliciting feedback if you’re just going to ignore it? Sometimes the best way to avoid vacancy is just listening sooner. Sometimes that means hearing out your resident’s question or complaint, but being transparent about why certain policies are in place (especially if those policies are tied to laws or regulations). Listening always includes owning your mistakes and being better in the future. It means owning mistakes from your team and from your vendors. Most of the time it means checking your ego at the door. Don’t get defensive, just hear out your residents and see how you can help. It always makes a difference. One important note: Taking abuse is not listening. Getting yelled at shouldn’t be part of the job. If someone’s being rude, aggressive, or abusive, you’re not going to have a productive conversation, so feel free to hang up the phone and protect your mental health. If the resident wants to communicate like an adult, they can call back later. Final thoughts Hearing and acting on feedback doesn’t happen overnight; but then again, neither does building a great property management business. You’re in this for the long haul. We don’t brush our teeth because we think they’ll fall out tomorrow - we brush them because we still want to have them in 40 years. The same goes for your feedback loops. Building better feedback loops is a long-term play, and it’s a vote of confidence in ourselves and our business. It’s making the conscious decision that you’re still going to be around and doing this for a long time. If you’re going to have a company that you want to be your legacy, why wouldn’t you set yourself up for success now?

Calendar icon October 9, 2025

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Planning for Vacancies Starts at Lease Signing

Most property managers start planning for renewals and vacancies around the 60 or 90 day mark, as the existing lease starts coming to a close and it’s getting toward decision time. But great property managers start planning as soon as the resident signs a lease. As a strategic property manager, you need to start resident relationships off on the right foot, and then keep that momentum throughout the entire lease. From day one, you’re either setting yourself up for a renewal… or you’re setting yourself up for a vacancy. Every touchpoint, every bit of communication, and every process you run builds toward one of those outcomes. Lease signing sets the tone Lease signing is more than paperwork—it’s your first big impression. The way you run the process, the way you communicate, and even the way you choose residents shapes their opinion of you. And whether they’re likely to stick with you for the long haul… From the very first interaction, you should be conducting and presenting yourself in a way that shows you care about renewal. Residents can tell when we’re just trying to fill a vacancy or when we’re actually invested in building a lasting relationship. A huge part of this is just making sure you’re signing the right residents. I’m a big advocate for the first-come, first-served system (assuming your marketing and screening process is solid). The right-fit resident is often also the one who’s easy to work with and more likely to renew. No matter your selection method, the goal is to show professionalism and care from the very beginning. The “Raving Fans” phase I like to call the first 90–120 days after move-in the Raving Fans phase—because your job is to turn new residents into people who love working with you. Practicing unreasonable hospitality You should be setting check-ins, calls, letters, gifts… anything you can do to delight your residents. While that might sound like a huge undertaking, it actually doesn’t require a ton of money, and sometimes you can even bill some of the expenses back to the owner. As a property owner myself, I approve an annual gift budget because I know that it’s a strong investment in the future. And here’s the thing: a lot of this can be automated. I’ve used third-party services that handwrite and mail cards for us, based on messages we send them. Residents get a personal touch, but your team doesn’t get buried in busywork. We call this approach “unreasonable hospitality.” The goal is to help build a positive association with your company. You don’t want residents to see an email, text, or piece of mail from you and assume that something’s wrong. Instead, you want them to be excited to hear from you. Remember, these don’t have to be incredibly personalized gifts. That’s great if you can do it, but it’s often not realistic with how busy your team is. Don’t put off sending gifts because you want to personalize them. Perfect is the enemy of good. Find a gift level that makes sense for your margins and your market, and stick with it. Educating and setting expectations The Raving Fans phase isn’t just about “feel-good” touches. For example, you should provide clear instructions on understanding the maintenance portal, submitting a maintenance request, and what your company considers an emergency. The goal is to educate them, get on the same page, and create consistent expectations. You’re identifying potential points of contention and resolving them before they even happen. All of that drives a better resident experience and increases the likelihood of a renewal when the time comes. I think that too many property managers assume a level of knowledge that residents don’t necessarily have. We’re so involved in our businesses every day that we forget our residents might not have the same knowledge that we do. For example, what is or isn’t an emergency? When should something be reported in order to prevent future damage? What’s the property manager’s responsibility and what should be reported to an HOA? Helping residents understand these things early makes them more confident, more comfortable with our management style, and more likely to have a positive experience. Before wrapping up the Raving Fans phase, let them know exactly when they will hear from you next. Share a simple outline of your upcoming communications, including when you typically start renewal conversations, so they know what to expect and keep that positive association when your name appears in their inbox. The day-to-day management phase Once the Raving Fans phase ends, we enter what I call the day-to-day management phase. This is where things are typically pretty quiet, unless one of the following pops up: Lease violations HOA violations Delinquencies Maintenance requests None of these are “fun” for residents. The key is to handle them with empathy and clarity—and to frame things in a way that feels protective, not punitive. If you have a six-month inspection in your process, it will also fall in this phase. While it is not as negative as a delinquency or major repair, it is still a disruption. For us, inspections are routine, but for residents they can feel intrusive. Keep it positive by being transparent. Explain that the purpose is to check for anything that could affect their health, safety, or comfort, not to look for violations. Give clear notice, outline how long it will take, and explain if photos will be taken and why. When handled well, inspections can build trust instead of damaging it. The rest of the day-to-day management phase is just staying the course and maintaining a high quality of work. That means maintaining clear communications, working with the right vendors, and delivering fast resolutions to any resident concerns. Start renewal conversations early As the day-to-day management phase goes on, you’ll want to communicate as early as possible about a renewal. You’re not making a commitment to renew, but you’re asking what their plans are and whether they’re interested in renewing. I think it’s completely reasonable to do this 150 to 120 days before lease end. While that might seem a little bit extreme, getting buy-in early and being as prepared as possible is hugely beneficial. This isn’t just about the resident, either. You should be having similar conversations with the property owners. It’s so, so valuable to gauge interest in a renewal from both sides. You might get insight on whether an owner wants to renew, or if they’re potentially considering selling the property. On the other side, you might find out that a resident is planning on relocating or buying a property. Of course, if you have a sales arm of your business, that can tee up an easy sale. There have also been times when an owner planned to sell but a resident wanted to renew, and the guarantee of that renewal meant that the owner was willing to hold off for another year. Not only did it secure management fees and reduce my customer churn, it also set the owner up for better returns the next year when the market was in a better spot. The earlier you do this, the more you can establish peace of mind for both your clients and your residents. As property managers, we’re the only people in the equation who really have the power to do that, so we should wield that power responsibly. Final thoughts Renewals aren’t decided in the last 60 days of a lease. They’re decided over the course of an entire tenancy—through every single interaction, big or small. If residents see you as a helpful partner who makes their life easier, they’ll want to stay. If they see you as just a rent collector or rule enforcer, they won’t. Set the tone at lease signing, nurture the relationship, and educate your residents along the way. That’s how you minimize vacancies and keep renewal rates high.

Calendar icon August 19, 2025

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The Costs of Marketing a Property Too Early

Many property managers, especially those feeling pressure from their investor clients, might be tempted to list properties as early as possible. Instead of waiting until 30 or 45 days before a vacancy, they list it four to six months in advance. The idea is that the longer a property is listed, the more opportunity you’ll have of finding a qualified resident. In reality, there’s almost no benefit to listing a property far in advance, and it comes with a lot of hidden cost. Whenever possible, property managers should wait until a property has been turned and is rent-ready before listing, so that the listing is accurate, fresh, and appealing, and showings present the best property possible. In this article, I’ll walk through why you should wait to list properties, the costs—both financial and reputational—of listing too soon, and how to work with owners who want to push properties to market ASAP, potentially to the detriment of their bottom line. Keep it fresh: preventing stale listings One of the biggest risks in posting a listing too early is that, in the eyes of prospective residents, it will turn stale quickly. Even with great photos and accurate details, a long-standing post raises red flags for potential renters. Most renters aren’t looking several months ahead; many don’t even know if they’re renewing their current lease. Meaning, by the time most qualified residents start looking at your listing, it’s already been up for weeks or months. The two thoughts residents have when they see a stale listing are: “Did someone forget to remove this? It’s probably been rented already. Maybe it’s a ghost listing,” or “Why has it been available so long? Something must be wrong with it.” In both cases, we have lost the attention of a potential renter due to no fault of the property. The bottom line? If you don’t have a set move-out date for the current resident, or the available date isn’t in the next 60 days, it’s probably too soon to list. Update your description every time When it does come time to post a listing, make sure you’re revisiting the content. You should never be reposting a listing with the exact same description that you used during the last vacancy. Reread it and update it, even if you haven’t done any major renovations to the property. Even small things may have changed; “fresh paint” might now be “two-year old paint,” and even though it seems like a small difference, applicants will notice. Rewriting listings from time to time also helps algorithms recognize that it’s a fresh listing and not spam, which can help increase the number of views your listings get on sites like Zillow or Apartments.com. It also shows repeat viewers that the listing has been updated, making it feel current rather than outdated or stale. Choose photos wisely Some listing agents swear by taking new photos every time a unit is listed. Others will use the same pictures for a decade or more. My advice is to fall somewhere in between. If you have older photos that are high quality and still accurately reflect the current state of the property, feel free to use them. Just make sure that they present the property fairly, both the good and the bad. If something big has changed since the last time the property was made available—like flooring, paint, countertops, or fixtures—update the photos so prospective residents know exactly what they’re applying for. Protect your reputation A big part of waiting to list a vacant property is protecting your reputation, among both current and future residents. Showing an occupied property is particularly risky, because it can irritate the current resident and make a less-than-stellar impression on the applicant. Among current residents Showing an occupied home is sometimes necessary, but it can create friction. I recognize that it’s unavoidable in some markets, and that’s okay. But if you have the option to wait until the unit is empty, you should. Residents who feel imposed on are going to be much more inclined to leave a negative review. In fact, even if they’ve had a great year, or two, or even three, if you cause disruption and frustration at the end of their stay, it will reflect poorly on you, thanks to the peak-end rule. The peak-end rule states that, in any experience, we tend to remember two parts: the most intense point (good or bad) and the ending. How an experience ends has a disproportionate impact on how we rate that experience, so making life difficult for a resident at the end of their lease is going to leave a bad taste in their mouth. And, of course, we all know that people are more likely to leave negative reviews than positive ones, so creating a negative experience at the end of a lease cycle is just encouraging bad reviews. It can also make a resident more likely to try to fight a move-out charge or a deduction from their security deposit, even if it’s completely justified. The end of a lease is already a high-touch period for our residents, so adding more to the pile only increases the risk of a negative interaction. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. And when you fall into one of those exceptions, the most important thing to do is communicate clearly. For example, if you know well in advance that a resident is not renewing due to a job change, life change, or home purchase, then you can have a conversation with them about when and how you’ll be showing the property. You might decide to list the property a month in advance and begin showing it while it’s still occupied, but only schedule showings for qualified people who have already applied, in order to minimize disruptions. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the resident (who’s probably already stressed about preparing for a move) and do whatever you can to make their life easier. Among future residents Even if you’ve communicated effectively and your current resident is okay with showings, you still have the future resident to consider. Occupied properties are rarely show-ready. Clutter, odors, and personal belongings can turn off applicants instantly. And remember—every photo and detail in your listing reflects on your reputation. If the property doesn’t look its best, why take the chance? Besides, the whole time they’re looking at the property, they’re already going to be wondering, “well, if I live here, am I going to have to deal with people coming to see my house before I move out?” Consider the financial impact A listing that sits for months creates more work: extra showings, additional cleanings, more calls to answer, and more negotiations with applicants. Add to that the time spent fielding calls or inquiries about it, especially from potential applicants just asking “Is this still available?” (Remember, stale listings tend to raise more questions.) Older listings often weaken your rent position, putting you on the defensive in discussions. Meanwhile, your team is tied up managing this property instead of focusing on other priorities. Market conditions change quickly The last major issue with marketing a property too early is just that a whole lot can change between listing and move-in day. Whether it’s economic factors changing rents in your market or your new resident’s life circumstances, you can end up in a very different situation than you expected. Getting rent right Making sure that rent is fair and competitive is always a challenge in this industry. You have an obligation to get the best possible outcome for your client, but you also have to find a number that will attract qualified applicants. In many markets, property managers are required to rerun rent comps every 90 days, but in some markets there can be big shifts in as little as two or three weeks. If you’re listing a property six months in advance, it’s nearly impossible to assess a competitive rent price. Seasonality is huge here: listing a May vacancy in December makes it harder to justify peak-season rates. Tracking rent trends allows you to show owners the data: waiting often means higher returns. Your company should be tracking how rents rise and fall throughout the year. This not only helps you predict future adjustments but also gives you the hard data to tell investors, “We shouldn’t list this six months early—if we wait until 30 days before move-in, you’ll likely get a much better price.” Tracking trends and timing listings strategically often means higher returns and stronger owner trust. Life circumstances can change Beyond just economics, people’s life circumstances change. Someone might get a new job or lose their current one. They might decide that they want to move in with a partner instead of renting on their own place. The more time there is between signing a lease and moving in, the greater the chance that life events will derail the plan. In other cases, new properties hit the market closer to their move date, and your applicant gets cold feet or finds something they like better. That can put you in the awkward position of dealing with a cancellation request and starting the process all over again. Final thoughts Owners may push for early listings to minimize vacancy loss, but in practice, it often backfires—creating tight turns for vendors, missed rent opportunities, and avoidable stress for your team. Use your data and market knowledge to help owners see that patience isn’t just about avoiding problems - it’s about maximizing profit in the long run.

Calendar icon August 14, 2025

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Why Vendor Relationships are the Key to Efficient Turns

We all know that turns can be one of the most expensive parts of property management. But what I don’t see talked about very often is what a vital role your vendors play in minimizing the time and expenses of turns. I like to challenge the way that property management companies look at hiring vendors. Vendors bring a tremendous value to your company if you build the right relationships with them. In this article, I’ll outline why vendors are a key part of your team, how to build stronger relationships with them, and how communicating turns to your vendors proactively can save you money, time, and relationships. Your vendors are your team Property managers tend to see vendors as a necessary tool in their belts, but in reality vendors are as critical to our team as any employee; and should be approached with the same mentality. When they’re doing work for you, they’re functionally an extension of your team. The quality of their work reflects on your company, not theirs, so it is imperative that you set them up for success just like you would an employee. This all starts with vendor selection. When you hire a vendor, you should be vetting them just like an employee. Ask yourself: Are they qualified? Do they have the necessary relationship skills to work with you? Do they understand the expectations you set for your company? When you start to think of vendors as part of your company, you quickly realize that it’s not the vendor’s responsibility to turn a property sufficiently, it’s the management company’s. If the vendor falls short, it's not fair to shift the blame. Just as you wouldn’t call out an employee to a client, you shouldn’t throw a vendor under the bus. If the work wasn’t up to standard, that’s still on us as we made the decision to hire them. Building strong vendor relationships Shifting your thinking about vendors can also help you start to build important relationships with them. Vendors don’t want to feel like they’re being hired for one job and then discarded. Not only do they want to feel valued, but they also want recurring work. In most situations, vendors value relationships with property management companies because of the consistency of work, especially in competitive markets. It means they’re getting more business on a regular basis. I know of some maintenance companies who really only took off because of the relationships they built with property managers and the steady stream of work that came from those partnerships. As you build better relationships with vendors, you can become a preferred client, making it easier to bring vendors in for unexpected maintenance items or shorter turn times. You may also get favorable pricing or payment terms, which can add up in the long run. Creating a vendor handbook The other huge advantage of building vendor relationships and sticking with the same teams is that they start to learn how your company works and, importantly, what your expectations of them are. I’m a big advocate of using a vendor handbook, just like you would have an owner handbook or an employee handbook. It helps establish expectations for the relationship upfront, and sets the tone for how you’re going to work together moving forward. It also makes the vendor feel more comfortable and get to know your company, policies, and standards. Here’s some of what I recommend including in a vendor handbook and the questions they should answer: A company description: Who are you? What geography and unit types do you serve? Key contacts and company structure: Who will be their main point of contact? Who should they go to with questions during the work day or after hours? Mission, vision, and values: What are the company’s values? How should they be emulating those values when they’re working at one of your properties? Expectations: When the vendor walks into one of your properties, what’s expected of them? What condition are they leaving it in? How are they getting access and locking up? Vendor portal instructions: What do you use a portal for and where can they find it? Include a QR code with a link and an image that shows what it looks like. Vendor questionnaire: What information do you need from the vendor that you might not already have? By giving your vendors the same clarity and structure you offer residents and owners, you’re setting everyone up for success. A well-designed vendor handbook not only prevents confusion but also fosters accountability and builds a stronger, more professional partnership. Getting ahead of turns I’m a strong believer in using task management software. At PM PathBuilders, it's one of the most impactful tools we help companies implement. They’re tremendously helpful in helping your team be more proactive about things like vacancies. But automation alone isn’t enough. If your workflow only kicks in 30 days before a move-out, you’re already behind. There’s a lot more you can be doing outside of an automated workflow that starts 30 days before move-out. For example, during renewal inspections or pre-move-out inspections, your team should be documenting what work is needed and creating a clear, detailed list that’s ready to go as soon as that unit is vacant. You can even have residents do this themselves. If your state regulations allow it, consider having residents take inspection photos themselves while they’re still occupying the unit. You can even incentivize them to do so by letting them know they’ll get their security deposit back sooner to encourage participation. You should also be tracking the age of items like carpets that have a defined life span. You should know well in advance of a vacancy whether you should be calling someone to clean the carpets or replace them. The goal is simple: gather as much information as possible before the move-out. That gives you time to line up vendors, order materials, and cut down turn time. It pays to be proactive Getting ahead in the game isn’t just about saving time. The more proactive you can be, the less likely you are to run into rush fees or have to find alternate vendors because your preferred vendors are already booked up. Plus, you get the added bonus of being able to give owners more lead time so they can plan for expenses, rather than feeling like it’s being sprung on them. It also allows you to be extremely clear with your vendors about what specific work needs to be done during each turn. You shouldn’t be relying on your vendors to give you the checklist of what needs to be done. That’s like taking your car to a mechanic and asking, “what’s wrong with it?” and providing no additional information. They’ll find a laundry list of (very expensive) things they need to fix. Instead, you already know what needs to be done and on what timeline. Sure, the vendor might suggest additional work, but then the choice is yours whether you take that to your owner as an optional service. Besides, your vendors should already know what your standards are and how to uphold them, so you should already be on the same page. One strategy I’ve found incredibly helpful is gathering general pricing information from vendors upfront. During the vetting or onboarding process, I recommend sending out a vendor pricing sheet that includes the most common services you regularly need: like smoke detector servicing, repairing or replacing blinds, carpet cleaning, interior painting, or annual HVAC tuneups. Each vendor gives their best estimate for a price range, and now you have the information you need to select a vendor and give your owner an accurate estimate ahead of time. With enough practice, you’ll be able to calculate roughly what all your combined turnover maintenance will cost before the current resident even moves out. Aligning your team One last thought: your entire team must be aligned when it comes to vendor relationships. Everyone should clearly understand: Who your preferred vendors are and why they were chosen When it’s appropriate to gather competitive bids The process for submitting and tracking work orders Consistency is key. Ideally, vendor communication should run through a centralized process with a single point of contact responsible for coordination. This prevents confusion, keeps timelines on track, and ensures vendors know exactly who to communicate with. What you want to avoid is this: one property manager having one preferred vendor while another PM has a different preferred vendor for the same work. You also don’t want multiple PMs competing for the attention of the same vendor. I once had a vendor fail to turn a property of mine because they had a closer relationship with a different PM on my team, and they had a property they needed turned. This kind of breakdown leads to delays, inconsistent results, and ultimately, a poor experience for your owners. Make alignment a priority. When your team speaks with one voice, your processes stay intact and your vendor partnerships get stronger. Looking for ways to delight your residents and encourage them to stay longer? Join Second Nature’s upcoming RBP workshop to see how you can improve the resident experience.

Calendar icon July 22, 2025

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