Over the years, we have been asked this very question – What is the difference between a Resident Manager and a Property Manager?
Essentially, the Resident Manager is hired by the Property Manager to manage one of his/her buildings within their portfolio of many building projects. The Resident Manager position is a more physical, hands on position often including renting suites, collecting rents, janitorial, minor repairs and maintenance and often requires the manager to live on-site. The Property Manager is a more corporate management position where they oversee a portfolio of buildings along with the budgeting and financials for each building and the hiring and managing of the staff including the resident managers, maintenance/janitorial staff and trades.
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Below is a brief description of each position along with some of the duties involved as well as the requirements, wages and benefits offered.
We hope this information will assist you in determining the right career choice.
RESIDENT MANAGER
Also known as Apartment Manager, Condominium Manager, Caretaker, and On-site Manager. The Resident Manager usually lives on site however, in some rental and/or strata buildings there are opportunities to live off site. This depends on the requirements of the employer and the scope of the work.
Some employers will require a single manager, and some will require a couple. It depends very much on the size of the building, the duties involved, the amount of time required to perform those duties and the requirements of the employer. If a couple is required, then both individuals must be paid.
The type of duties consists of the following, however you may not be required to perform all of them in every situation. As an example, compared to a rental building there may be more physical work involved than administration work in a condominium/strata building, but not necessarily.
Duties & Responsibilities:
- Placing ads for vacant suites
- Prepare suites for showing
- Scheduling & showing suites
- Credit checks and reference checks
- Collecting rents, banking and reporting revenues
- Collecting security deposits
- Maintaining an active database and complete files of all suites
- Conduct regular suite inspections
- Rent arrears and follow ups
- File and attend Residential Tenancy Branch hearings
- Manage evictions and arbitrations
- Move-in & move out inspections
- Janitorial work in/out of building
- Landscaping & Snow Removal (seasonal)
- Issue purchase orders for all work and/or supplies
- Coordinate and managing trades/contractors
- Perform daily building walkthroughs and report any deficiencies
- Enforce rental building and strata building policies
- Dealing with tenant related issues
- Basic maintenance and repairs as required
- Distributing minutes (strata’s) and notices (rentals) as required
- Scheduling use of amenity rooms
- Attending to any emergency issues
- Locking and unlocking public areas
- Prepare detailed Incident reports related to accidents, etc.
- Supervise assistant and/or relief managers
- Daily maintenance of pool, spa and jacuzzi – only in buildings with these facilities
RMTI offers an online Certified Swimming Pool Operators course for those looking to manage a building with these facilities.
Note: Maintenance, janitorial and landscaping – Some employers have in-house maintenance, cleaning and landscaping staff to perform these duties, others contract it out and others require their managers to perform these duties.
Qualifications & Requirements (often requested):
- Good all round people skills
- Strong knowledge of the Residential Tenancy Act
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Able to handle conflicts tactfully
- Able to read, write and speak English
- Basic operations of a computer
- Completion of the RMTI course
- Previous experience and/or related work skills/training
Wages & Benefits Provided:
Remuneration is paid based on the number of suites in the building you are employed in as well as the duties and responsibilities required for the building.
On average, a single person can earn $4,500+ per month and a couple $7,500+ per month. In addition to these wages, many RMTI graduates receive excellent rent reductions; most commonly 50% off market rent is provided often including hydro, cable and a free parking stall – in some cases free rent is offered. Often a mobile phone is provided for work purposes as well as a mileage/gas allowance. Extended health insurance including medical, dental and vision care and pension benefits are also offered by some employers.
You can often earn extra income by providing additional services such as suite turnover, painting, cleaning suites as well as landscaping/gardening and additional maintenance and repairs above and beyond your daily scope of work.
You will find detailed information on the current Employment Standards/Minimum Wage for Resident Caretakers as well as our recent Wage Benefit Survey on our website at Industry News.
PROPERTY MANAGER
May have a portfolio of residential, commercial, retail, industrial or a combination of all or just one. Usually requires someone who has in-depth knowledge and experience with budgeting and financials as this will be a key part of the role. A team player who ideally has leadership experience. Must be licensed under the Real Estate Act of BC (rental and strata requirements) and prefer an individual with a university degree and a minimum of 3 years practical experience working as a property manager in the area of expertise required by the employer.
Duties & Responsibilities:
- Manage a portfolio of 5, 10, 15 or more building projects.
- Manage annual budgets of each property and completing the financial reporting.
- Develop an annual plan for upgrades to residential buildings.
- General accounting; prepare financial statements, balance sheets, income statement (revenue and expense, operating or profit and loss statement).
- Prepare corporate financial statements using accounting software.
- Prepare the operating budget, capital budget and monthly operating statement.
- Enforce bylaws and rules, prepare legal proceedings, and handle gross and net Leases and prepare Lease Documents where applicable.
- Oversee monthly rent increases, manage the rent increase process and work with building managers to notify tenants.
- Manage all advertising and promotions to rent available and vacant suites and work with building manager to post ads.
- Work with building managers to conduct market surveys and determine rental rates.
- Conduct weekly site visits to each property and regularly inspects the physical state of all properties.
- Consult with building managers regarding tenant issues and acts as the point of contact for building managers and tenants.
- Ensure tenant issues are resolved, arrange for, and coordinate schedules related to the maintenance and repairs of the properties.
- Approve all invoices related to the buildings.
- Work closely with the back office to manage all documentation and rent collections, follow up on arrears rent and ensures full collection, on time.
- Respond to after hour emergencies and must be available to work some weekends and evenings (more weekend and evening work in strata’s than rentals).
- Strata’s require you to attend evening meetings usually monthly for each building in your portfolio.
- Manage a team of Building Managers, maintenance/janitorial staff and trades.
Qualifications & Requirements (often requested):
- High school diploma, GED, or equivalent
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
- 3-5 years’ experience in real estate management
- Solid knowledge of office software such as Microsoft Outlook, Excel, and Word
- Must have a strata, rental or both management licenses from the Real Estate Board of BC
- Have at least 3 years of practical experience in rental and/or strata management
- Have exceptional work ethics
- Self-motivated and able to take initiative
- Well organized and detail oriented
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Able to work independently and work well under direction
- Demonstrate superior customer service skills and utmost professionalism.
- Must have a valid Driver’s License and a reliable vehicle.
Wages & Benefits Provided:
Remuneration is paid based on the type and size of portfolio being managed along with the educational and practical experience of the individual but will range starting from $50,000 plus/year. Benefits may include mileage/gas allowance, extended health insurance including medical, dental, vision care and pension benefits.