A condo property manager needs specific skills to provide excellent service to their clients. As many tasks fall under their responsibilities, finding the time to learn new skills can be challenging. 

Investing time in improving your qualities can help you achieve your career goals. It can also help you attract new clients and build stronger relationships with your current ones. 

This article covers 4 essential skills that every condo property manager should have to do their job successfully. 

What are the responsibilities of a condo property manager?

A condo property manager is in charge of overseeing the daily operations of a condominium. One of their primary responsibilities is managing common areas, amenities, and maintenance activities. Another duty is to overview the financial and legal aspects of the condominium. They make sure rules are enforced, and funds are properly tracked. Dealing with different service providers such as landscaping companies or inspection specialists is also part of their job. 

They work hand in hand with condo board members, guiding them on different topics such as communication, conflict resolution, tech tools, and more. 

4 Skills every Condo Property manager should have

1 Effective communication

As a condo property manager, you deal with many stakeholders. You are in touch with service providers, board members, residents, and staff. To collaborate effectively with all these people, you need to communicate well. Otherwise, you will spend most of your time clearing up misunderstandings instead of doing your job. 

This study shows that board members across the country complain about how hard it is to reach their community association manager. This is a clear example of poor communication. The solution for this problem isn’t to be available all the time. That would wear you down very quickly. On the contrary, you need to develop your communication skills and implement a strategy. 

Here’s how you can do it:

• Enroll in a communication course
• Participate in webinars that cover communication skills
• Read books, ebooks, or blog articles on the topic
• Ask for tips from colleagues and friends who are great communicators

Good communication can help you save time and increase transparency and trust. If you work in a community association management company, team communication is also essential. This image shows 6 ways you can improve communication in the workplace:

2 Mastering Time-Management

Managing a condominium association involves a lot of different activities. On top of that, condo property managers are often on the go, as they have to visit different properties. That’s why many of them struggle to perform their duty on time. 

Smart time management enables you to divide your time efficiently between different activities to get more done in less time. 

As a condo property manager, you need to learn how to keep up with time. Otherwise, you will quickly feel overwhelmed, and that can be detrimental to your health in the long term.

Here are a few things you can do to use your time wisely:

• Do a time audit to identify which tasks take more time than others
• Delegate tasks, you don’t have to do everything on your own
• Avoid distractions such as repetitive notifications 
• Use technology to automate tasks and save time 
• Break down big projects to make them more manageable
• Use your dead time wisely, when waiting for a client to join a meeting, you can send a quick email, for example
• Manage your perfectionism, good can be better than perfect (if perfect takes you too much time)
• You could use Eisenhower’s principle and split tasks into important, and urgent

3 Proactive management instead of reactive management

Condo property managers overview financial and maintenance activities in the buildings they look after. 

When it comes to finances and maintenance, it is preferable to be proactive rather than reactive. For example, condos that do regular building inspections are more likely to spot and fix issues quickly. It can also help them prepare financially for major infrastructure projects. Most importantly, it keeps residents safer by reducing the risks of hazards and financial distress. 

Proactive management is when you anticipate any needs or challenges your condo association may face. Whereas reactive management is when you address problems as they arise. 

In the long term, being proactive will save you time, money, and worry. 

Here’s how you can be more proactive concerning condo association management:

• Do regular community inspections
• Perform reserve studies
• Conduct surveys to get opinions from the board and residents 
• Plan ahead and take action 
• Attend a webinar to learn more about preventive maintenance

4 Know how to use technology

Technology can be your best ally in communicating effectively, managing your time, and being more proactive. 

Many digital tools can help you with your day-to-day tasks. Nowadays, you can find solutions specially designed for condo property managers. They allow you to tackle specific challenges you may face and help you collaborate with different stakeholders. 

If you know enough about technology you can easily help condo residents transition to digital tools. Every community needs a champion in times of change, and that person could be you. 

Being tech-savvy could help you stand out from the crowd. It can also be reassuring for your clients. A lot of condo boards aren’t very familiar with condo management software. They often wonder how secure these platforms are. Knowing about software and apps can help you test solutions beforehand and suggest the best ones to your clients. 

Here’s what you can do to become tech-savvy:

• Check online how-to videos 
• Attend webinars on the topic
• Look for apps or software on the net and do a free trial or demo
• Learn by doing 

Final points on Condo Property Managers

Excellent condo property managers develop their skills over time. Keep in mind that you can learn any skill. Some might be harder to learn than others, but you can do it with the right mindset and motivation. Set some time apart during your week to work on your qualities, and you will see incredible results in your professional and private life. 

To find out more about successful property and community management, you can download our ebook.