Interview Questions to Ask When Hiring a Property Manager

The real estate and property industry is competitive and often experiences high rates of staff turnover. That means you’ll likely find yourself needing to hire, and interview processes can be complicated.

With ITG by your side, the interview process doesn’t need to be a challenge. The truth is, when you’re interviewing, it isn’t just about checking that their skills match what you’re seeking, but also finding the right cultural fit.

With so much to consider, it’s easy to forget what questions you really need to be asking. We’ve broken down the questions you absolutely don’t want to miss out on asking when you’re hiring a property manager for your business.

Legislative and Compliance Knowledge

The Australian market sees frequent legislation and compliance changes, and a good property manager will stay updated with changes to ensure that they perform and develop in their career. Some example questions to ask a prospective property manager in an interview include:

1. How do you stay updated with changes to the Residential Tenancies Act?
2. How do you handle a complex VCAT/NCAT/QCAT dispute?
3. What recent legislative changes have meant you reframed your approach to work?

The ideal candidates will be proactive learners or those seeking professional development, and they will demonstrate the ability to remain updated with changes.

Conflict Resolution and Communication

A lot of the time, property managers are required to handle difficult situations that require communication skills and patience to diffuse. So, one of the core skills you’ll want to look out for is their communication and conflict resolution abilities. Some example questions include: 

1. Tell me about a time that you had to deliver difficult news to a landlord. 
2. How do you handle a tenant who is late on their rental payments but presents valid personal circumstances?
3. How do you manage complaints from a tenant that require immediate attention?

A good property manager will value clear communication and connection with their clients, which allows them to handle their challenges effectively.

Time Management and Tech Proficiency

Property managers need to be able to handle a great deal of responsibilities, as their jobs are often volume-heavy. That’s why time management and tech proficiency are vital to ensuring they succeed in their roles. To understand the candidate’s abilities, you could ask:

1. How do you organise your tasks by urgency? (i.e., maintenance issue, scheduled inspection and a new business lead)
2. What property management software are you most comfortable with, and how does it help your workload?

Growth and Portfolio Retention

At ITG, we focus on helping your business succeed and grow, so we make sure that the candidates we vet are the right people for the job. Property managers typically manage their own portfolios of clients, so you may want to ask questions like: 

1. What strategies do you adopt to manage high landlord retention rates?
2. Tell me about a time that you identified a Business Development opportunity within your existing portfolio.

Resilience and Workplace Culture

As the real estate industry sees high rates of staff turnover, resilience is a core skill that you’ll need your property managers to have. Not only will this ensure that they perform better, but it will also help boost staff morale and improve workplace culture. To understand the candidate’s resilience and culture fit, you could ask the following:

1. How do you manage stress during peak seasons?
2. What kind of team environment do you perform best in?
3. Do you consider yourself a team player?
4. How do you deal with setbacks?

These questions allow you to distinguish between a competent property manager and a competent property manager who will motivate and lead your team to success.

Narrowing Down Your Choice: 

Looking for the right property manager for your business requires seeking all the skills above to ensure that they can effectively manage their portfolios, responsibilities and demonstrate resilience when challenges arise.

So, the interview process needs to question and understand if the candidate checks these boxes. With ITG, you don’t need to navigate the interview process or the hiring process alone. We’ll be with you to ensure that making the right choice for your business is seamless.

If you’re ready to hire, contact our team at ITG for more information, and we’ll get the ball rolling ASAP.