It is no secret that the construction and real property management industry is booming. The lack of living space in urban areas, in particular, contributes to an increasing need for facility and property managers. In the case of commercial real estate, the opportunities look similarly good. Last but not least, the maintenance of existing buildings is a future-oriented task – the energetic renovation and increasing digitization present owners with challenging tasks. Property managers with the appropriate training are therefore sought-after specialists.
In case you are lucky to have landed a property management job interview, here are the top 30 interview questions and answers.
1. What Is The Purpose Of Property Management?
Property management as a discipline encompasses various areas to ensure and manage the best performance of real estate and its associated services. This is done by the integration of people, spaces, processes, and the technologies of real estate. But it is also the experience and knowledge derived from the management and conservation of buildings and spaces for public use, applied to improving the efficiency, sustainability, and health of buildings and users, and also to improve projects.
In addition to managing the tenants’ property management employees have to take care of the real estate or commercial/ business property and its maintenance. In most cases, it will be the renters themselves who will warn you of any damage to the home or malfunction of the appliances on which you will have to intervene. You do not need to be present every day to check the health of your property, also because your tenants would not appreciate this attitude. However, you can agree with them on the possibility of checking the building once or twice a week. It could be useful to check during periods in which interventions are made, such as cleaning the boiler, where the system’s suitability certification will be issued.
2. What Are The Tasks Of Property Management Employees?
Property managers can be responsible for all areas of building management. This includes technical and commercial aspects. Exactly what tasks you have to do depends on the type of property and the instructions of the owner. The situation is different for large housing associations than for small owner associations or individual owners. property management can expect the following tasks:
- Organize rental
- Check compliance with maintenance obligations when moving out
- Prepare annual accounts
- Plan and convene owners’ meetings
- Monitor the condition of the technical infrastructure
- Planning, commissioning, and supervising necessary repairs or refurbishments
3. Which Hard And Soft Skills Should Property Management Employees Have?
There are several ways to qualify as a property manager. Various universities offer undergraduate courses in facility management and real estate management, which enables you to carry out all tasks as a property manager. In addition, training as a real estate clerk or as a real estate specialist is a suitable basis for the job. Skills that you either acquire through the training or already bring with you include: commercial knowledge, an affinity for numbers, computer skills, technical understanding, organizational and team skills, as well as leadership skills.
4. Has The Job Profile Of Property Managers Changed In Recent Years?
The current megatrends have a major impact on what is required of property managers. Planning processes are becoming more complex and ecological and social aspects are becoming increasingly important. The object of property management today is no longer just “analog” real estate. Data is becoming increasingly relevant, for example for determining building efficiency or user profiles and occupancy concepts. Property managers of the future need basic knowledge, for example on the digital transformation of company-related processes, intelligent building automation as well as on data protection and data security. Depending on their thematic focus, they must also acquire knowledge of energy and resource management, certification of a sustainable building, well building and smart building, as well as changing leadership trends and perspectives.
5. Are Technologies Playing An Increasingly Important Role In The Property Management Field?
Property managers today must have basic interdisciplinary knowledge and acquire digital skills. However, they remain specialists in property management issues and their general conditions. In related subject areas, property managers look at the “big picture” and remain generalists. Property managers that have an understanding of the use of digital technologies, can develop a vision for the digital transformation of the company and its fields of activity and derive digitization strategies. For the implementation of specific applications, they will usually consult IT, experts.
Property managers are still responsible for acquiring, managing, leasing, marketing, and selling property. In doing so, they keep an eye on the owner or investor’s goals as well as new trends. In short: property managers should be equipped with both technical and information technology know-how.
6. What Can Commercial Property Owners Do To Benefit From Their Investment In Less Time?
Thinking in the mind of the tenant has always been a decisive success factor in property management. In earlier decades of a much more medium-sized organization of the property management industry with a much closer relationship between the owner and the owners/ tenants, this was a decisive competitive advantage compared to institutional owners. They settled the tenant support in the contract administration and the analog age by moving trucks, commercial register reports in the regional newspaper or unpaid electricity or water bills learned of planned or unplanned moves.
Qualified asset management has changed that. On the other hand, the business of many users, who earn their money with the property instead of just in the property, is subject to ever shorter cycles. This applies above all to retail and operator properties. The demands for flexibility are also increasing in the office sector. At the same time, increasing technical tenant requirements shorten the economic life cycles on the real estate side. Office properties have also been subject to significant changes, which cannot only be solved by demolishing or installing drywall. Communication-oriented property management must be planned fundamentally differently.
7. Should Real Estate Managers Specialize In A Certain Property Asset?
Residential, commercial and office space relate to types of property management that are offered in different markets and address different target group requirements. It may prove useful for property managers to specialize in selected property types and markets. However, it is important to differentiate further. When focusing on property management, for example, the types of real estate are increasingly converging. The task of property managers is, among other things, to develop intelligent solutions for user-centric, efficient building management in networked buildings – while maintaining user comfort, space availability, and building security.
8. On The Practice Check: What Challenges Are Property Managers Facing?
It is necessary to internalize the complex, economic, social, ecological, and technical connections between property, companies, and markets. A successful property manager should practice the industry-related specialist knowledge and transfer it into practice using concrete questions from the property industry in a national and international context. Within the scope of their work, a focus can be placed on property management, facility management, corporate real estate management, and real estate consulting.
9. What Does Customer And Service Orientation Mean To You In The Property Management Business?
It is important to take the interested party and their ideas and needs seriously. Especially when it comes to high-priced objects, unusual requests, such as late-hour check-ups and repairs, should also be fulfilled. In addition, my priority is to make the customer satisfied and happy and to advise them. Then you also have the chance to be recommended. It is of no use to the company if it only sells, but does not result in long-term customer loyalty.
10. What Do You Need To Bring With You To Work In Property Management?
For the work to work well in our team, a high degree of independence and initiative is required of everyone. You should be actively involved and be able to communicate well and understandably. It is also important to work with care and precision, as we deal with numbers a lot and they always have to be right. A certain amount of creativity is also required when formulating the exposés. In general, however, you should have a lot of fun working in a team, with contractors, clients, and brokers.
11. Why Should The New Design And New Architecture Integrate Property Management?
Modernization has accelerated changes, such as teleworking to reduce mobility, with less pollution and more hours to reconcile work and personal life. It has shown that design and architecture are of special importance for the fulfilment of sustainability objectives. Property management is a discipline that was associated with the management of services that did not constitute the core business of companies and evolved to the comprehensive management of the operation of buildings and public areas. Currently, it is also a factor for readapting spaces to the new environmental and health conditions. The typologies of spaces have necessarily become hybrid, flexible, adaptable and healthy. In this sense, achieving interaction between all the agents of the design process requires that the classic suppliers evolve. This synergy requires companies to become an expert platform that prescribes services, solutions and content in a much broader sense.
12. One Of The Characteristics Of Property Management Is Multidisciplinarity. What Specialities Does It Feed On?
All the professionals and industrialists that intervene in the design, execution and management of spaces and buildings. This includes the designers, manufacturers and prescribers of continent and content elements, those responsible for heritage, finance, HR, management, ICT, security, PRL, etc. … Property management as a discipline and experience must contemplate its intervention at the different intensity in all stages of the life cycle of the assets, from the initial strategic plan to its demolition, transformation or termination of the contract, in the case of rental or concession.
13. In Which Sectors Are The Property Management Applied?
Property management today is applicable in all sectors that have buildings and spaces for public use, offices, hotels, hospitals, retail, industry, and logistics. It also includes real estate developments that include management such as Built to Rent. In general, in any organization or community that requires the advantages of proper management of real estate, own or rental assets.
14. What Aspects Would The Workplace Of The Future Have To Consider?
I prefer to speak of “Life place” since any space that forms part of our daily scenarios must be analyzed in the same way as the workplace, which has transcended the office and its design has been exported to different sectors and types of buildings, including the residential sphere. In this case, I am very keen on the concept of a “workplace everywhere”. In this context, everything must be more precise when designing any space with all the information, including that of property management. Of course, always thinking about how to inhabit them with the most appropriate ethics and habits for our close and global community. In the end, achieving sustainable development goals is as much a community issue as it is an individual one.
15. Why Is Property Management An Accelerated Trip To The Future With The Knowledge Acquired In The Past And Present?
The change in the way of living during the last years has facilitated a thorough review of the design, operation and conditions of use of workspaces, homes, schools, residences, hotels, cultural centres and leisure spaces. We have had to redefine aspects related to the physical and mental health of users, outdoor spaces and space ventilation, monitoring of sustainability parameters, etc. The importance of property management has been highlighted not only in the management and adaptation of spaces and facilities but also in the need to transfer the experience of property management throughout the life cycle to the initial moment of the project. This is an exercise in foresight and, therefore, a virtual trip to the future.
16. What Are The Future Challenges For Property Management?
The property management staff must be trained in the comprehensive management of buildings and urbanizations. Then, in new technologies that allow compliance with the sustainable development goals to be controlled, in new materials and energy models that allow decarbonization, in systems that increase efficiency and lower demand, etc. The built spaces are complex systems. The property manager must know all the professionals who intervene from the project to the operation. The life cycle and management are also key to the new design and the new architecture in the “century of sustainability”.
17. Tell Us About The Importance Of Property Management Tasks For The Proper Functioning Of The Facilities. To What Extent Does Good Maintenance Extend The Useful Life Of Installed Equipment?
Installation maintenance tasks are essential to be able to provide a good service and to prevent and extend the life of its components. Without good maintenance, the useful life of the machines, spare parts and other elements would be substantially shortened.
Furthermore, it is an important aspect to achieve an optimal level of comfort in any commercial premises, office, etc. In addition, it is also essential to avoid health problems that can cause facilities that do not have an adequate maintenance service contracted.
18. What Types Of Property Management Are There?
Many types of property management can be carried out, based on the facility to be cared for and the elements that make it up. The type of maintenance is according to the investment that the client is willing to make. Starting from a minimum that comes to be what the regulation of installations in buildings marks, of operations to be carried out. From there, it depends on the type of installation. There are facilities that, due to their characteristics, require more maintenance than others and a greater number of visits. A factor to take into account is the location of the installation: normally in shopping malls, there are optimal air conditioning conditions and the equipment and machines “suffer” less, while a place located on the street is not as protected.
19. In Which Business Sectors Should Companies Make A Greater Effort Regarding Property Management?
There is the case of SMEs since many of them still do not have a conception of the future and the benefits that this tool provides. I think it is a worthwhile investment because, in the long run, you see the utility and customer satisfaction thanks to the facilities provided by this system. Especially in terms of information flow and the optimization of the management of your resources.
20. How Can Property Management Be Used During The Construction Phases?
Property management can cover all aspects of construction. As a result, it can provide comprehensive assessment, supervision and inspection of all construction projects, regardless of size or location. Property management in building inspection can help:
- Ensure that your building project meets the structural, safety, fire protection, energy saving and accessibility requirements of the country in which you operate
- Ensure compliance with necessary building regulations and standards, and obtain legal certification of the building
- Limit technical risks and prevent construction errors with the technical assistance of our experts
- Control budgets and keep the construction project on schedule, with comprehensive supervision at all stages of your project
21. Why Did You Choose Property Management?
I find it exciting to reconcile the wishes of tenants or future homeowners with what is realistically possible. Property management objects are so different and unique that the work always remains interesting and varied. I get the chance to collaborate with many people and solve different problems.
22. How Do You Behave In The Event Of A Conflict With A Customer?
I stay calm and relaxed and first try to understand the customer’s problem better. For example, if they are not satisfied with the selection of a property, I discuss the reasons for this with them. I make it clear that we will find a solution.
23. What Does Working Independently Mean To You?
It means planning, organizing and structuring work on one’s responsibility and without explicit instructions from superiors. For me, independent decisions are also part of it. When in doubt, I seek the help I need and am willing to accept the consequences of wrong actions.
24. How Do You Respond To Email Inquiries From Interested Customers?
Depending on the urgency of the request, I either reply by email or call the customer directly. Sometimes it is clear that a prospective buyer wants to buy a property as soon as possible. If I see potential, I ask for the most important information in advance, either in writing or by telephone. In this way, I make sure that I only make an appointment for a consultation or viewing with seriously interested parties.
25. Which Skill Do You Think Is Particularly Crucial In Contract Negotiation For Property Management?
I think it is crucial to respond to the customer’s needs especially. Only when they feel comfortable can persuasion skills take hold. To do this, you should be able to respond to objections. You should also be able to ask the prospective buyer questions that lure him out of his reserve.
26. What Experiences Have You Already Gained?
I am trained property management and real estate agent and have worked for my previous company for around two years. There I gained experience in financing, property management, technology, tenant support and accounting. I have worked on my hard and soft skills, and I am ready to go one step further.
27. How Do You Stay Motivated After An Unsuccessful Day?
Just the thought of new ways of making people happy with their dream property or apartment keeps me motivated. Even if a negative experience weighs me down, I try to direct my thoughts straight back to the positive, to new customers and new appointments. It gives me a lot of energy and strength to keep going.
28. What Are Your Strengths And Weaknesses?
My strength is that I can make complicated things easy to understand for clients. I am also a good salesman. Highlighting the advantages and benefits of products is in my blood. I am less able to handle it when I have to do ten different things at the same time. Then my patience breaks. But it has not happened that often and I am doing my best to change that.
29. What Is Your Motivation Kick?
When I get positive feedback from a client! For example, if I hear that I have written a particularly nice exposé or that something worked quickly and well, I am very happy about it. This motivates me to continue to do my best and thus contribute to successful management. All sides benefit from good cooperation.
30. What Is Your Biggest Success?
That was the renovation of a huge apartment building last year. A block of flats with 64 apartments needed renovation. In addition to the value of the property, we have managed to increase the well-being of the residents.
Conclusion
Of course, no two job interviews are the same. The focus differs depending on the industry and potential position. Either way, there are types of questions that are used again and again in property management job interviews.
So that you can conduct successful job interviews in the future, we have gathered typical questions and clever example answers to help you prove you are the right person for the job.