Written by Joshua Tandy, Principal Broker for Blue Sky Property Management
6:27 AM – My first alarm goes off, as loud as it is, it only stirs me a bit
6:28 AM – My second alarms begins screaming at me – I try to ignore it
6:29 AM – Third alarm goes off – I know I can no longer ignore them but still defiantly try to sleep through it.
6:30 AM – You guessed it, alarm number four sounds. I roll over turn off the remaining 16 alarms, all set 1 minute apart. What can I say, I have never been a morning person. I force myself out of bed and somehow make it to the kitchen to make my first cup of coffee.
6:32 AM – I sit in my chair and begin sipping my coffee, As I do this I begin scrolling through my phone, reading any emails or text messages I received over night. I get a couple notices that rents have been paid through my online system, a non-urgent maintenance request, and an inquiry about a recent vacancy I have listed. I know that the maintenance request and showing request will be a priority for me in the morning. I look at my calendar and see I have a meeting and a showing on my calendar this afternoon. Its going to be a fun day, I make one more cup of coffee and begin getting ready for the day.
8:00 AM – I am all dressed and ready to go, I grab my laptop bag and head out the door. Time for my long commute to the office.
8:05 AM – That was a brutal commute, got caught at the only red light on my drive to work again. Anyway, I grab my bag and head into my office. I get my laptop set up on my desk, my phone hooked up to the charger and start my day.
8:15 AM – I start handling the maintenance request I received over night, I call one of my contractors and get them set up to go see what is going on. I call the tenant back and let them know who is coming and when they will be there.
8:30 AM – I call the person that had sent an inquiry about the recent vacancy. No answer, I leave a voice mail and make a note to try again later in the day
8:35 AM – 9:30 Am – I jump back into my car and head to the post office to check the PO box I receive rent checks in. I get two check in the mail. I take a photo of each one and log the info into my phone. I then drive across the street to deposit the checks in my escrow account.
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM – I get back to the office and fire up my lap top, its time for the most boring part of my day, accounting. I review online rent payment received from the previous day, log all received checks into my property management system, verify my escrow account and records match, log any expenses that are paid, etc.
11:30 – 12:30 – I have finished all my morning accounting and rent collection, time for lunch. I head back home and make myself something to eat and take a few minutes to relax before heading back. As I am taking the first bite of my lunch my phone starts ringing. I quickly choke it down and answer. It was the person that I had tried to call earlier about the unit for rent. Luckily I am able to schedule this one right after my other showing.
12:35 PM – I get back to the office, I have about 30 minutes to prepare for a 1 o’clock meeting. I am meeting an owner who is looking for a new property manager. I have already research their properties and have a good property management plan together for them. I get my notes together and make sure my office is tidied up.
1:00 PM – Meeting time, I sit down with the prospective new client and begin. We talk about the property, the owners goals/strategy, and my approach to managing the property. Overall the meeting went great, Looks like we are getting some new properties to manage.
2:00 PM – With my meeting finished I now need to get headed out to my showings. I grab some applications and hit the road.
2:30 PM – I get to the property, no sign of the people I am meeting to show, I give them a quick call, they are running late. I get a bit worried, I don’t want both of my showings to happen at the same time. I go inside the unit, Turn on all the lights and make sure its ready to show.
2:43 PM – My first showing arrives, They look through the unit and decide they want to put in an application. I give them an application to fill out and walk them through our leasing process. I get their filled out application and make a note to submit their info for screening when I get back to the office.
3:00 PM – No sign of my second showing. I try to call them but don’t get an answer. Hopefully this one isn’t a no show.
3:15 PM – Still no sign of my second showing. I try to call one last time with no luck. I secure the unit, turn off all of the lights and head back to the office.
3:45 PM – I get back to the office and start putting in the info needed to screen the prospective tenants. I send them over emails with a link to begin the screening. Typically it takes one to two days to complete all the screening. I add a note to my calendar to follow up in tomorrow If it is not finished.
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM – I finish wrapping up any office work I needed to finish and return any emails or messages I’ve missed. Then I get my surprise for the day, the screening has come back already for the people I just showed the unit to. I go through the reports and verify that all the info is within our criteria, it is! I pick up my phone and call my new tenants to give them the news. They are happy they got it and are coming into the office tomorrow to sign a lease and pay their deposit. I have always enjoyed those phone calls, It is very rewarding to see people getting excited for their new home.
4:30 PM – 5:00 PM – I go ahead and get the new lease ready to sign tomorrow, and get everything ready in my system to accept their deposit and collect their rent.
5:00 PM – Time to face rush hour traffic. I grab my stuff, jump in my car and start the perilous journey home.
5:05 PM – I make it home, set down my stuff and take some time to unwind from the day. Typically I will sit in silence for 20 to 30 minutes, I use this time to reflect on the day and start thinking about what I will need to do tomorrow.
6:00 PM – I start making my dinner, tonight it is grilled chicken and salad. I start prepping my food, but as a real estate professional, my phone is never far away.
6:18 PM – As I am cooking my phone starts ringing, I promptly grab it and answer. Then I hear the words…. The words that always seem to always seek you out and find you, “Hi I am calling about your vehicles extended warranty” . I promptly hang up and return to cooking dinner
7:00 PM – I finish my dinner and sit down on my couch to relax. I realize my phone hasn’t gone off in over an hour… Odd I think, But at least I am getting to enjoy a quiet evening.
7:02 PM – My phone rings, its on of my tenants telling me their AC is not working. I call my AC contractor and get them lined up to go out there to fix the problem. I knew the words “quiet evening” was sure fire way to get my phone to ring. I settle back into my couch and resume watching some TV, my phone nearby just in case.
9:00 PM – I start getting tired. I go ahead and head to bed, time to rest up and do it all again tomorrow.
