“Few rich men own their property; their property owns them.“

Robert Green Ingersoll, Lawyer

Pros and Cons of Working as a Property Manager

You consider becoming a property manager but want to get some additional information before making your final career choice?

Great! Stick with me since I will show you all the pros and cons of being a property manager in the following chapters.

Property Manager Job Profile

Advantages of Working as a Property Manager

1. Property managers can work with many different people
2. Property managers know when properties are vacant
3. You can work for many different companies
4. You can start your own property management business
5. Property manager learn a lot about real estate
6. You can start your own online presence as a side hustle
7. You can find underpriced real estate and build a portfolio
8. Working as a property manager is not that stressful
9. You usually don’t work on weekends or holidays
10. Good work-life balance for property managers
11. Property managers can make decent money
12. You can help out your family and friends
13. Property managers can work indoors most of the time
14. You can avoid heavy physical work
15. Property managers have decent job security
16. Good future job prospects for property managers
17. Relatively easy to switch fields

Property managers can work with many different people

One advantage of being a property manager is that you can work with many different people every day.

In fact, you will have to coordinate a lot of stuff regarding the properties you are responsible for. Almost every day will someone call you who has something to fix.

While this can be annoying and exhausting, it also gives you the opportunity to talk a lot during your workday and you can not only talk about things related to the property, but you may also be able to do some small talk or also talk about latest things that bother you in politics and so on.

Hence, your day may become much more interesting since you will hear many different opinions about certain things and this gives you the opportunity to see the world from many different perspectives.

Moreover, if you have good people skills, you can also make many important connections from your work as a property manager.

For instance, since you will be in touch with many tradesmen, chances are that you will also be able to get some discounts in case you need support from those people for your own home.

Property managers know when properties are vacant

As a property manager, similar to real estate agents, you will also be one of the first people who will know that a property is vacant and this gives you a great chance to rent this vacant flat or house yourself or also to hand over this information to your family and friends so that they can rent this place.

Especially in difficult housing markets, this can be a big plus from your job as a property manager since you will often be able to give your loved ones the chance to rent a property at a rather low price.

You can work for many different companies

Another upside to becoming a property manager is that you can also work for many different companies.

In fact, there is almost an endless number of property management companies out there and many of them search for qualified staff to employ.

In turn, this means that you will have a great level of freedom regarding whom you want to work for.

Consequently, if you work for a company you don’t like and where working conditions are rather poor, you can just sign a contract with a different company and quit your older job.

You can start your own property management business

You also don’t have to work in property management as an employee forever.

In fact, if you have the entrepreneurial spirit and are willing to work hard, you will also have the option to start your own property management business sooner or later.

Sure, you should still work as an employed property manager for a few years to gain some experience and to save up some money.

However, after a few years, you will often be ready to take the next step and to fulfill your dream of owning a business.

Sure, this will not be easy and you will also have to deal with many different problems.

Yet, if you really want to be your own boss, you can definitely do so in the property management field.

Property manager learn a lot about real estate

Your job as a property manager will also enable you to learn a lot about real estate.

While this may not sound interesting or valuable to you, it is indeed really valuable for your future life.

In fact, if you become really good at understanding the real estate market, you will soon be able to make profitable investments in this field.

In turn, you may be able to become financially independent quite soon in your life and while many other people will have to work 30+ years in their jobs, you may be able to quit your job as a property manager after only 10 years and live from the returns of your real estate investments.

Sure, not everyone will succeed by doing so.

Yet, the real estate market is still an area where you can make lots of money in a rather short period of time, at least if you know what you are doing and you will definitely learn to avoid many costly mistakes as a property manager.

You can start your own online presence as a side hustle

Thanks to your knowledge you can gain from working in property management, you will also be able to build your own online presence and your personal brand through social media.

While not many property managers leverage those channels to their full potential, I definitely recommend you do so since you will miss out on many free promotion opportunities instead.

In fact, those social media channels are great to acquire new customers and to position yourself as a real expert in your field.

While those social media channels can be helpful for succeeding in property management, they can also help you to make some additional money from the side.

For instance, you may want to start a YouTube channel where you talk about real estate topics and build a large audience.

After a few years, your audience may have grown to a point where you can make a living by just monetizing your channel with ads.

You could even offer your own advice and offer some consulting services to your fan base.

As you can see, there are several ways how you can make money from those online activities and you may therefore be able to quit your day job rather soon and make a full-time income from your online presence instead.

You can find underpriced real estate and build a portfolio

Another benefit of working as a property manager is that you will also be one of the first people who will know when someone has to sell a home.

This can give you a great advantage in case you want to invest in real estate yourself since you will be able to negotiate with the seller long before other people will know about this opportunity.

Hence, quite often, you will be able to make a good deal since other people will have no opportunity to bid for those pieces of property and if you know what you are doing, you can buy many underpriced properties through those “secret sales”.

Working as a property manager is not that stressful

As a property manager, you will also have a rather relaxed workday.

Sure, there will be times when clients can be annoying or when you have to handle many things at the same time.

However, most of your workday will not be that stressful and compared to many other jobs, you will just have a rather relaxed time at work since you will just not experience the same level of time pressure.

Instead, you will be able to take care of the properties you are responsible for in a proper manner and will still have some time to take some breaks.

You usually don’t work on weekends or holidays

Another advantage of becoming a property manager is that you will also not have to work on holidays or weekends.

While many other people who work in public transport, as waiters or in many additional occupations often have to work during those times, you will have the luxury to spend this time with your loved ones.

You will also be able to make some nice weekend trips with your favorite people.

Good work-life balance for property managers

In general, property managers also enjoy a pretty decent work-life balance.

Not only will you have free weekends and holidays, but you will also have free evenings most of the time as a property manager.

This gives you the opportunity to meet up with your friends after work and you will also have lots of leisure to spend on your hobbies or other things you like even more than work.

Thus, while many other people out there are rather unsatisfied with their work-life balance, most property managers are rather content in this regard.

Property managers can make decent money

You should also not underestimate the amounts of money you can make in property management.

If you have many properties you are responsible for and also work self-employed, you will often be able to make a six-figure income, especially in real estate markets where property prices are quite high and homeowners are willing to spend lots of money for good property managers.

You can help out your family and friends

Due to your knowledge that you will require during your property management career, you will also be able to help out your family and friends when it comes to all questions around real estate.

Not only will you be able to clarify terms that your loved ones have never heard of before, but you will also be able to recommend good craftsmen to them who can do all sorts of repairs for a fair price.

Property managers can work indoors most of the time

As a property manager, you will also have the privilege to be able to work indoors most of your workday.

While you might take this for granted, you shouldn’t!

There are still many people out there who have to work under extreme conditions outdoors.

Hence, while other people have to work in the cold, you will be able to enjoy a rather cozy working environment and can even enjoy some coffee or tea to make your workday even more convenient.

You can avoid heavy physical work

Another benefit of working in property management is that you will also not have to do heavy physical work.

In fact, if significant repairs are needed at a property you are responsible for, you will just call your team of tradesmen and they will do the work for you.

As a property manager, you will be the coordinator rather than the executor.

Consequently, while many other people have to do heavy physical work, you will be the one who can sit in a nice cozy office and rather work with your head instead of your muscles.

Property managers have decent job security

You will also be able to enjoy good job security as a property manager.

If you are good at what you are doing, you will not have to fear losing your job since even if this happens one day, you will still be able to work for many other property management companies.

Good property managers are always needed and if you know how to promote your business properly, you will often have more prospective clients than you could even handle.

Good future job prospects for property managers

Not only are your job prospects as a property manager pretty good right now, but they will likely also be pretty decent in the future.

In fact, many people out there struggle to find good property managers and if you have a good track record and extensive knowledge in the area of real estate, chances are that you will have a secure job for quite a long time in the future.

Relatively easy to switch fields

Since you will learn a lot about real estate as a property manager, it will also be pretty easy for you to quit your job as a property manager and to work as a real estate agent or a real estate investor instead.

As you can see, there are many advantages to a career in property management.

Yet, we should also talk about the downsides that come along with it to give you a more objective view of what a career as a property manager really looks like.

Disadvantages of a Property Manager Career

1. You need good coordination skills as a property manager
2. Clients can be difficult
3. Property managers may be liable for mistakes
4. Teleworking may not be possible
5. Many property management companies require a degree
6. Student loan debt may become an issue
7. You will not get rich as a property manager
8. You may get bored of property management in the long run
9. Property managers are responsible for many unpleasant tasks
10. You will have to do lots of paperwork
11. There may be better careers in the real estate field

You need good coordination skills as a property manager

One disadvantage of being a property manager is that you will need to coordinate multiple things at the same time.

There are always people who will phone or text you that something is broken and needs to be fixed.

While it is just part of your job, this can be really annoying and exhausting in the long run and may take away lots of fun from working in this field.

Clients can be difficult

You should also not expect that all clients you work for will be nice.

Sure, some of them will appreciate your work.

Yet, a certain fraction of people will just be frustrated and hurting inside and those people will often try everything to bring you down, even though you might have done a good job.

Hence, also make sure that you are willing to deal with these difficult people before you decide for a career as a property manager.

Property managers may be liable for mistakes

Another problem with being a property manager is that you may also be liable for mistakes you make.

For instance, if you hear of problems around a property you are responsible for and forget to provide a good solution for it, you may be responsible for consequential damage that may occur.

Hence, you should definitely make sure that you have proper insurance in this regard so that you are covered in case of emergency.

Teleworking may not be possible

While some property management companies may offer the option of teleworking to their clients, the majority of those companies will not do so right now and you will also have certain appointments where you have to be present in person to see damages and other issues yourself.

Consequently, while digital marketers and many other people enjoy working from home and all the benefits that come along with it, you will not have the same level of flexibility as a property manager.

Many property management companies require a degree

You may also need a college degree for becoming a property manager.

While some companies will be fine with a high school diploma, it will still be better for you to have further education in the field of real estate since you will just be more likely to get employed.

In turn, this means that you will have to spend many years on education before you can actually make real money in property management.

Student loan debt may become an issue

For going to college and getting a degree, you will also have to pay huge tuition costs.

If you don’t have wealthy parents, you may have to take on student loans to cover those expenses and this can lead to serious financial trouble since you will have to pay back those student loans later in your life.

You will not get rich as a property manager

While you can make decent money as a property manager, you will still not get rich from your job.

Hence, if money and luxury are really important to you and an average living standard is just not enough, you should rather go for a different career path instead.

You may get bored of property management in the long run

Another downside to becoming a property manager is that you may also become bored sooner or later.

While some people really love working in this field, others are just in for the money and don’t care about the actual work too much.

If you belong to the second group of people, you will likely not get happy in the long run since your work will never turn into your passion.

Property managers are responsible for many unpleasant tasks

As a property manager, you will be responsible that everything works in the properties you are responsible for.

Hence, this also includes doing many unpleasant and annoying tasks and you can simply not outsource all of them to third parties but rather have to do some of those tasks yourself.

You will have to do lots of paperwork

As a property manager, you will also have to deal with lots of paperwork.

Quite often, you will have to do documentation work and this can be really annoying and frustrating since you will often have to write many pages of text just to make sure that everything is documented well without providing any real value from those things.

There may be better careers in the real estate field

Last but not least, you may also just find better jobs in the real estate sector.

For instance, many real estate agents make more money than property managers and you can also just go into the investment business and let other people work for you instead.

Top 10 Being a Property Manager Pros & Cons – Summary List

Should You Become A Property Manager?

As you can see from the previous discussion, there are many advantages and disadvantages of being a property manager.

In the end, you have to decide for yourself whether you still want to aspire to a career in property management or if you want to go for other job options instead.

If you still want to become a property manager, you should also get detailed information on salaries, job prospects, future outlook, work-life balance, educational requirements, duties and job satisfaction of property managers.

Also make sure to check out the following articles:

Advantages and disadvantages of a career as a plumber

Advantages and disadvantages of a career as a loan officer

Advantages and disadvantages of a career as an insurance agent

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_management

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040248/property-management-market-size-usa/

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world. In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.

This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of how a fulfilling career could look like. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics. However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.

Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.

I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.

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