The goal of utilizing a virtual rent coordinator is to make everything function at a very high level and for you to be able to focus on other ventures while they take care of the necessary ones.
As property owners or managers, your success depends on your ability to improve operations and increase profits. But when you’re dealing with a lot of tenants simultaneously, coordinating tasks like collecting rent and responding to maintenance requests can eat up a significant amount of your time and energy. Thus, resulting in shifting your attention elsewhere. Hiring virtual rent coordinators can help supplement the growth of your property management business by gaining back the opportunity to get back on track and pursue your core goals.
With major shifts in today’s rental property market, there is no better time than to start considering using a virtual rent coordinator. Two reasons:
Over the past few decades, more and more people have been moving back in with their parents. The cost of owning a home has risen so much that it’s becoming hard to afford any kind of real estate investment, let alone a home.
You can credit the COVID-19 crisis for the rental property business boom and the housing market crisis, as many people lost their homes, got divorced or had to relocate for jobs. Since then, there’s been a surge in families becoming renters for the first time. According to iPropertyManagement, 34.6% of occupied housing units are now renter-occupied and is only expected to grow in the next five years.
This is great news if you are in the rental property business or if you’re considering investing in one. Not only will there be plenty of demand, but with the rise in single-family home rentals come more opportunities to make money as a landlord.
To keep up with the demand, companies in the U.S. have started employing virtual assistants through agencies like Rocket Station. This increased by 41% in 2020, as many companies laid off their staff due to the economic restriction periods (COVID-19).
PROPERTY MANAGERS AND OWNERS ARE FINDING IT EASIER AND MORE COST-EFFECTIVE TO OUTSOURCE THEIR RENT MANAGEMENT TASKS.
One of the most common tasks that real estate professionals delegate is rental property management, as it involves a number of repetitive tasks that take hours of the day away from growing their business. The amount of time that can be spent on a single rental property is tremendous, considering all the different aspects of managing them. Thus, delegating these tasks to professional virtual rent coordinators can be a huge time-saver and cost less than a full-time employee.
While there are plenty of virtual assistants who can act as a virtual rent coordinator, the right one will hold a bachelor’s degree, have several years of experience in property management, and is comfortable taking on management projects with little to no supervision.
WHAT IS A VIRTUAL RENT COORDINATOR (VA RENT COORDINATOR)?
They are often referred to as “rental agents” or “rent administrators” because they are hired by property management companies and landlords to help with renting apartments, condos and homes. They have a great deal of experience in locating tenants for properties and will know what type of tenants are looking for which types of rental properties. They also ensure that the property is maintained in a manner that fosters an environment that is comfortable for tenants while enhancing the value of the property. A virtual rent coordinator’s main objective is to act as the primary point of contact for prospective tenants and renters.
Most virtual assistants, even those holding a position of virtual rent coordinator are sometimes misconceptualized as a simple administrative clerk. However, that’s not the case anymore. They are part of the larger field of property management, which involves overseeing and maintaining a property and its occupants. This can be broken down into three major buckets:
- Tenant Screening
- Tenant Management
- Overseeing Maintenance/Repairs and Rent Collection
Which can entail the following responsibilities:
VA rent coordinators allow you to allocate your time to tasks that deserve priority such as the business development, marketing or other strategic activities that can help drive your business forward in the long term. It’s an indispensable role that doesn’t disappoint.
With the technology that exists today, hiring a VA rent coordinator makes it conveniently simple to seamlessly integrate these experts into your regular office operations. The best thing about it is that they can work and function just like any other in-house employee as if they are right there with your team. The advantages of hiring one are endless.
THE VALUE OF A VA RENT COORDINATOR
Landlords and property managers often feel overwhelmed by the tasks associated with renting out their apartments for multiple properties. Simple everyday duties, such as:
- scheduling showings
- writing rental agreements
- Monitoring the move in/move out process of old tenants
These duties can take hours for landlords and property managers to accomplish.
By employing a virtual rental property coordinator, you can streamline all the handling of your rental property transactions. You won’t have to worry about missing important deadlines or incorrect handling of your paperwork either! Everything will be taken care of and processed.
The advantages of hiring a virtual rent coordinator include:
In the past, VA rent coordinators were hired only by large companies. Nowadays, they can be found in start-ups, small businesses, and large corporations alike. This is because these professionals can help you manage all of your property management transactions at every level.
As a result, business process outsourcing companies are emerging in record numbers in recent year, giving you plenty of options for finding reliable, high-quality virtual assistants. With a the right business process outsourcing company by your side you don’t have to allocate your own resources to finding and hiring a VA. You just need to give them your requirements, and then they will take care of everything else.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING COMPANY
Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a method of subcontracting various business-related operations to third-party vendors. The BPO industry has been growing rapidly, with an annual growth rate of 8.5%. It has also become increasingly complex, with different types of processes and functional areas being outsourced.
The most popular BPO services currently are call centers, accounting and payroll functions, transaction processing and customer relationship management. Other services include human resources administration, supply chain management, real estate, property management, logistics and data processing.There are many providers who will offer VA property management services, but not all of those providers are reputable. Consequently, before you partner with a BPO (business process outsourcing) company, a background check on their reputation is required. Do they have clients that are willing to vouch for them? What do customers say about them? Are they happy with the services they receive? For solid feedback start by:
- Reading reviews and testimonials on Google, and Social Media pages i.e. Facebook. These are some of the more popular resources to see what previous and current clients have to say about them. There is nothing better than hearing directly from past customers about their experience with a company or person you are looking into hiring for services.
- Asking friends, family members, and colleagues for referrals. If they have used the services of a VA rent coordinator before, they will certainly be willing to refer someone they believe in.
- Checking how the company screens virtual assistants. Most companies will include criminal background checks before offering them an agreement for your property.
- And of course checking out their website. If there aren’t many details available on the company, it’s probably because the company has nothing to be proud of – avoid them at all costs.
After you partner with a dependable BPO company, and start assessing potential candidates, there are many things to consider when choosing your right fit.
HOW TO SELECT A VA RENT COORDINATOR
You’re not alone if you’re worried about how to find an established VA rent coordinator. What if you hire the wrong one? As with any other profession, there are good and bad rent coordinators out there.
Choosing the right person is so important because it directly affects your:
By doing some research on their experience and qualifications beforehand you can evade needless mistakes or issues. Below are some key points to look for in a VA rent coordinator:
- Organization. Whatever you need your VA to do, if they don’t have good organizational skills, then you’d better start looking elsewhere. A good virtual assistant should be able to effectively organize and manage their time so that they can complete tasks on time and without reminders or follow-ups from you. They should also be able to organize the items that they’ve completed so that they’re easily accessible whenever you (or your clients) need them.
- Attention To Detail. Whether it’s making sure that no typos or grammatical errors slipped through in an article, fact-checking information before posting online, or ensuring everything is properly formatted before sending you files, attention to detail is definitely one quality all good VAs possess.
- Communication Skills. Since communication will be done mostly via email, Skype or phone, look for someone who has excellent English communication skills (both written and verbal).
- Education. BPO companies like Rocket Station only work with VA’s who are college degree holders. A college degree or certification may be essential especially if the position requires specific skills or expertise. Through these BPO companies, filtering the right VA to suit your business needs becomes simplified.
- Experience. Hiring an experienced VA in the real estate and property management industry can save you time, money, and energy. They already know the ins and outs of being an effective rent coordinator, plus they also know how to provide services that are specific to your industry.
- Personality. Working with a virtual assistant can be challenging due to the distance between you and your employee. You need someone self-motivated, flexible and able to deal with problems independently even if he/she does not have direct supervision from you all the time.
These factors are crucial when selecting your VA rent coordinator. After all, this is someone you’d be looking to keep as part of your team, so it’s best to find somebody who can do a great job for you, both now and in the future.
WORKING WITH A VA RENT COORDINATOR
Virtual rent coordinators exist to ease your tensions in this competitive industry. They have the capacity to enhance the efficiency of your business and improve client relations. Since many of their responsibilities are time-consuming, they need to be done as efficiently as possible with minimal supervision. Here are five ways you can ensure your VA will work to their highest potential so that you get the best outcome for your business:
If you want something done right, it’s important to be specific about what you need and how you want it done.
Business process mapping can be used as a communications and coordination tool to keep everyone focused on the big picture, know the steps required to achieve a company’s goals, and ensure the whole organization is working together toward the same objectives.
Otherwise, vague instructions or ambiguous requests leave too much room for error.
EXPLAIN WHY YOU HAVE THEM DO CERTAIN TASKS INSTEAD OF GIVING THEM ORDERS.
Just like any regular in house employee they want to know why they’re doing the things they do — and this doesn’t just apply to new VAs; it also applies to VAs who have worked with you for years. It helps them understand how their work fits into the bigger picture and gives them context beyond “do this because I said so.”
SCHEDULE TIME TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR VIRTUAL ASSISTANT.
Make sure you set aside time each day or week to communicate with your VA rent coordinator about projects you have for them. Your VA rent coordinator may have questions about your requests, and it’s helpful if they can reach out to you in real-time and get clarification as needed.
SET UP SYSTEMS.
A system is a set of instructions or rules for doing something. We all have systems in our lives – from making coffee in the morning through to checking emails or driving a car. A system is simply the steps we follow each time we take on a task.
Proper systems help your virtual rent coordinator get started straight away without having to wait for you to provide the resources they need. Rocket Station helps you set up systems and processes from day one so there’s no delay in getting started when hiring our virtual assistants.
MOTIVATE THEM.
Many entrepreneurs fail when it comes to working with a VA because they don’t have realistic expectations. It’s important to remember that just as no two businesses are alike, neither are two VAs. They are an extension to your business and you should treat them as such.
In an ideal world, all your tenants would pay their rent on time and in full every month. But in reality, that just isn’t the case. A virtual rent coordinator speeds up the process of growing your portfolio by:
- ensuring manageable rental income each month
- and by creating an efficient system to deal with rental situations that come up
They offer a “tenant experience” that will make your residents feel like your company is doing everything possible to help them out.
In the virtual world anything is possible especially for those who are held back from pursuing their business objectives due to the limitations of their budget. There are tons of property management and real estate virtual experts available for all sorts of positions. For example, if you are in need of virtual professionals who solely focus on ensuring that your buildings are properly maintained and that equipment is operating correctly, then consider virtual maintenance coordinators.
Are you wondering how they can maintain and uphold your properties according to your expectations virtually? Here’s an informative guide on all things maintenance coordinator.
The property management is a fast growing industry so if you’ve been thinking about getting into the business, now is a great time to get started — but remember, you don’t have to do it alone!
Your virtual assistant is a human being with a personality and emotions (just like you!) and your role as the one who leads them is to make sure they are motivated. It is important for your business because it keeps your employee engaged and willing to perform better work for you.
