In case you’re curious what it’s like to be a Charleston property management company, well, I’m about to tell you! If you have the correct skillset, it’s good. If you don’t well, it will be fraught with aggravation!
Above all, I have done well because I have worked in almost all aspects of the property industry. I have a realtor license, I am a broker in charge, I have bought and flipped houses, I have a contractor license and do all the repairs myself and I own several of my own rental properties in Charleston. All of this has translated into a very thorough understanding of the Charleston property management world.
If you can’t fix simple stuff, it gets very irritating every time a tenant has an issue and you have to diagnose it…
find a couple of contractors to price out a repair and then incur that cost. It sucks. But if you can essentially scope out most problems from just seeing a photo (as I can) the stress of it all but disappears. You’re left with one of the unavoidable issues of owning property and that is, stuff breaks down and needs to be fixed. No big deal really. You accept this as a fact of life.
Now having tenants who are rough on your house and don’t take care of the place accelerates breakdowns. Or if you have a tenant that causes a problem and tries to fix it without telling you. That’s a headache. So a good Charleston property management company has at least one staff member skilled at home repair. In my case, that’s me. And truthfully having those skills feels good compared to having to find someone to do it anytime there’s an issue. But mostly I don’t have to worry about being misled when it comes to a simple repair by a contractor looking to take advantage of me. Man that drives me crazy.
Being a realtor has tuned me into the Charleston market. I lived in Chicago for 9 years and had one rental property. I owned the building which provided me a two bedroom apartment upstairs and a ‘duplex down‘ (as it was known) on the first floor and basement. I was getting really good money renting out the 2 story unit and that was where I learned about tenant relationships.
You really have to understand how protective people are of the place they live even if they don’t own it. Yes you the landlord own the deed but the renter has legal rights (obviously) and there is a kind of detachment you have to have if rental property is going to work out for you. I’ve met my share of people who just got too angry at how tenants acted about a house they didn’t own. One time I had a tenant who refused to let me in despite me having given them the proper legal notice. He had no idea of the law he was violating and it made me furious.
But hey, at the end of the day, rushing to legal action is very risky. People when angered are capable of destructive and vindictive behavior. Which is why I let a few days go by and then texted with the man to try and work it out in a less confrontational way, which we did. Much better than taking him to court and risking an eviction process that dragged on and where no rent was being paid. I mean I’d do that if I had to but so far in 15 years I haven’t had to, knock wood.
Its that old adage about being right versus working towards a compromise. I’m very versed in the Landlord Tenant Act laws of SC so I know what I can and can’t do or what the tenants can and can’t. Getting too heated up to quick and wanting to teach tenants a lesson can be an expensive proposition.
After running a Charleston property management company for 15 years as I have, I know to retreat and meditate on my choices before I make an impulsive move.
My big secret is that I remind myself that everyone is right in their own minds pertinent to their argument. In other words, what a tenant may be doing makes perfect sense to them even if it’s completely far fetched versus reality. I had one tenant who was pregnant and she got very nasty towards me after there was a flood in her unit and I didn’t replace all the carpets. I got it. She was in a heightened state of sensitivity given that she was pregnant.
My research showed me a good carpet steam cleaning was sufficient but she wouldn’t have it. I got a slew of vicious emails that really upset me. So to put an end to it, I cut their rent in half and suggested they move out which they did. I lost a bit of revenue but I regained my peace.
What I’m trying to say is that being a property manager means you have to work with people in times of emotional strain, yours or theirs. We’re dealing with a property that one person owns and feels a certain way about it, and the other lives in it and has strong feelings on their side. You need the skill to be able to have tough conversations without getting too righteous, without antagonizing a landlord or tenant to act vindictively, or being too accommodating to either party and becoming a doormat.
Do I enjoy running my Charleston property management company? I mean, sure, as much as any entrepreneur loves the business they run. I don’t wake up and dance with excitement about the coming day, nor do I linger in bed with dread filled thoughts about what I have to do. I simply hope that what comes in that day is manageable, that the people I have to deal with are reasonable and by God’s grace, I can keep making payroll and live at the standard I want.
At the time I’m writing this, I’m 60 years old. I certainly don’t want to have to find a job at my age and face the challenges of an ‘older’ job prospect. I’ve been earning a decent living running businesses since 2013. I remind myself that I’ve stayed on top of things and adjusted was needed, so I have been able to do pretty well. The same is true of property management. Like when paying the rent online became much more desired by tenants than collecting checks, I quickly made the change. Seems simple but a lot of people get stubborn and don’t want to evolve with the times. What’s the price? A slow attrition of accounts and that’s painful.
So yeah, I like it. I do it well and I really care strongly that tenants are happy where they live and landlords’ properties are well maintained. I know what it means to be a tenant as I was until the age of 44(!) and I know what it means to own a primary home and several rentals. I want to please those who have trusted me. It’s my take on the world, the whole ‘do unto others…’ thing. I believe in it.
Andrew Shykofsky