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Property and Real Estate Managers

(D.O.T. 186.117-042, -046, -058, and -062, .167-018, -030,
-038, -042, -046, -062, -066, and -090; 187.167-190;
189.157; 191.117-030 and -042 through -050)

Nature of the Work

Many people own real estate in the form of a home, but, to
businesses and investors, commercial real estate is a source of
income and profit rather than simply a place for shelter.  For them,
real estate including land and structures such as office buildings,
shopping centers, and apartment complexes is a valuable asset that
can produce income and appreciate in value over time if well
managed.  Real estate can be a source of income when it is leased to
others, and a substantial business expense when it is leased from
others.  For this reason, property managers perform an important
function in increasing and maintaining the value of real estate
investments for investors.  Property managers administer
income-producing commercial and residential properties and manage
the communal property and services of condominium and community
associations.  Real estate managers plan and direct the purchase,
development, and disposal of real estate for businesses.

   Most property and real estate managers work in the field of property
management.  When owners of apartments, office buildings, retail and
industrial properties, or condominiums lack the time or expertise to
assume the day- to-day management of their real estate investments,
they often hire a property manager, or contract for one's services
with a real estate management company.  Most property managers
handle several properties simultaneously.  Property managers act as
the owners' agent and adviser for the property.  They market vacant
space to prospective tenants, through the use of a leasing agent,
advertising, or by other means, and establish rental rates in
accordance with prevailing local conditions.  They negotiate and
prepare lease or rental agreements with tenants and collect their
rent payments and other fees.  Property managers also handle the
bookkeeping for the property.  They see to it that rents are
received and make sure that mortgages, taxes, insurance premiums,
payroll, and maintenance bills are paid on time.  They also
supervise the preparation of financial statements and periodically
report to the owners on the status of the property, occupancy rates,
dates of lease expirations, and other matters.

   Property managers negotiate contracts for janitorial, security,
groundskeeping, trash removal, and other services.  When contracts
are awarded competitively, managers must solicit bids from several
contractors and recommend to the owners which bid to accept.  They
monitor the performance of the contractors, and investigate and
resolve complaints from tenants.  Managers also purchase all
supplies and equipment needed for the property, and make
arrangements with specialists for any repairs that cannot be
handled by the regular property maintenance staff.

   Property managers hire the maintenance and on-site management
personnel.  At smaller properties, the property manager might employ
only a building engineer who maintains the building's heating,
ventilation, and air-conditioning systems and performs other routine
maintenance and repair.  Larger properties require a sizable
maintenance staff supervised by a full-time on-site manager, who
works under the direction of the property manager.

   Although some on-site managers oversee large office buildings or
shopping centers, most manage apartments.  They train, supervise,
and assign duties to the maintenance staff and routinely inspect the
grounds, facilities, and equipment, determine what repairs and
maintenance are needed, and assign workers to do them.
Occasionally, outside contractors are required, and the on-site
manager may obtain bids for the work and submit them to the property
manager.  On-site managers schedule routine servicing of the
heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems and ensure that
the work of the maintenance staff and contract workers is up to
standards or contract specifications.  They keep records of
expenditures incurred for operating the property and submit regular
expense reports to the property manager or owners.  They may recruit
maintenance staff, interview job applicants, and make hiring
recommendations to the property manager.

   Tenant relations is an important part of the work of on-site
managers, particularly apartment and condominium managers.  They are
responsible for enforcing rules and lease restrictions, such as pet
restrictions or use of parking areas.  Apartment managers handle
tenants' requests for service or repairs and try to resolve
complaints.  They show vacant apartments to prospective tenants and
explain the occupancy terms.  Property managers must understand the
provisions of legislation such as the Americans With Disabilities
Act and local fair housing laws to be sure they are not being
discriminatory in the renting or advertising of apartments.

   Property and on-site managers employed by condominium and homeowner
associations must be particularly adept at dealing with people.
Instead of tenants, they must deal on a daily basis with homeowners
members of the community association that employs the manager.
Hired by the volunteer board of directors of the association, the
community association manager administers its daily affairs and
oversees the maintenance of property and facilities that the
homeowners own and use jointly through the association.  Many
community associations are small and cannot afford professional
management, but managers of larger condominiums have many of the
same responsibilities as the managers of large apartment complexes.
Some homeowner associations encompass thousands of homes, and, in
addition to administering the associations' financial records, their
managers may be responsible for the operation of community pools,
golf courses, community centers, and the maintenance of landscaping,
parking areas, and streets.

   Some real estate managers are employed by businesses to locate,
acquire, and develop real estate needed for their operations and to
dispose of property no longer suited to their uses.  These managers
locate desirable sites for factories, retail stores, hotels and
motels, and other business ventures and arrange to purchase or lease
the property.  They select a site based on their assessment of
considerations such as property values, zoning, population growth,
and traffic volume and patterns.  They negotiate contracts for the
purchase or lease of the property, securing the most beneficial
terms for their company.  Real estate managers periodically review
their company's real estate holdings, identifying properties that
are no longer commercially attractive.  They negotiate the sale or
termination of the lease of properties selected for disposal.

   Real estate managers who work for land development companies acquire
land and plan the construction of shopping centers, houses and
apartments, office buildings, or industrial parks.  They negotiate
with representatives of local government, other businesses,
community and public interest groups, and public utilities to
eliminate obstacles to the development of the land and to gain
support for the planned project.  It sometimes takes years to win
approval for a project, and in the process managers may have to
modify the plans for the project many times.  Once they are free to
proceed with a project, managers negotiate short-term loans to
finance the construction of the project, and later negotiate
long-term permanent mortgage loans.  They then contract with
architectural firms to draw up detailed plans, and with construction
companies to build the project.

   Property managers must quickly resolve tenants' complaints.

Working Conditions

Most property and real estate managers work in clean, well-lighted
offices, but many spend a major portion of their time away from
their desks.  Property managers frequently visit the properties they
oversee, sometimes on a daily basis when contractors are doing major
repair or renovation work.  On-site apartment managers may spend a
large portion of their workday away from their office visiting the
building engineer in the boiler room, checking up on the janitorial
and maintenance staff, or investigating a problem reported by a
tenant.  Many real estate managers spend the majority of their time
away from home, traveling to company real estate holdings or
searching for properties that might be acquired.

   Property and real estate managers often must attend meetings in the
evening with property owners, community association boards of
directors, or civic groups.  Not surprisingly, many property and
real estate managers put in long work weeks.  Many apartment
managers are required to live in the apartments where they work so
that they are available to handle any emergency that occurs while
they are off duty.  They usually receive compensatory time off,
however, for working at night or on weekends.  Many apartment
managers receive time off during the week so that they are available
on weekends to show apartments to prospective tenants.

Employment

Property and real estate managers held about 243,000 jobs in 1992.
Most worked for real estate operators and lessors or for property
management firms.  Others worked for real estate development
companies, banks, government agencies that manage public buildings,
and corporations with extensive holdings of commercial properties.
Many were self-employed developers, apartment owner-managers, or
owners of property management or full-service real estate brokerage
firms that manage as well as sell real estate for clients.

Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement

Most employers prefer to hire college graduates for property and
real estate management positions.  Degrees in business
administration, finance, real estate, public administration, or
related fields are preferred, but persons with degrees in the
liberal arts are often accepted.  Good speaking and writing skills
and an ability to deal tactfully with people are essential.  Most
persons enter property and real estate management as on-site
apartment or community association managers, or as assistants to
property managers.  Previous employment as a real estate agent may
be an asset to apartment managers because it provides experience
useful in showing apartments and dealing with people, as well as an
understanding that an attractive, well-maintained property can
command higher rental rates and result in lower turnover among
tenants.  In the past, many persons with backgrounds in building
maintenance have advanced to apartment manager positions on the
strength of their knowledge of building mechanical systems, but this
is becoming uncommon as employers are placing greater emphasis on
administrative and communication abilities for managerial jobs.

   On-site managers usually begin at a smaller apartment complex,
condominium, or community association, or as an assistant manager
at a large property, association, or management company.  As they
acquire experience working under the direction of a property
manager, they may advance to positions with greater responsibility
at larger properties.  Persons who excel as on-site managers often
transfer to assistant property manager positions where they can
acquire experience handling a broader range of property management
responsibilities.

   Although most persons who enter jobs as assistant property managers
do so on the strength of on-site management experience, employers
are increasingly hiring inexperienced college graduates with
bachelor's or master's degrees in business administration, finance,
or real estate for these jobs.  Assistants work closely with a
property manager and acquire experience performing a variety of
management tasks, such as preparing the budget, analyzing insurance
coverage and risk options, marketing the property to prospective
tenants, and collecting overdue rent payments.  In time, many
assistants advance to property manager positions.

   The responsibilities and compensation of property managers increase
as they manage larger properties.  Most property managers are
responsible for several properties at a time, and as their careers
advance they are gradually entrusted with properties that are larger
or whose management is more complex.  Many specialize in the
management of one type of property, such as apartments, office
buildings, condominiums and homeowner associations, or retail
properties.  Managers who excel at marketing properties to tenants
may specialize in managing new properties, while those who are
particularly knowledgeable about buildings and their mechanical
systems might specialize in the management of older properties that
require renovation or more frequent repairs.  Some experienced
property and real estate managers open their own property management
or real estate firms.

   Persons most commonly enter real estate manager jobs by transferring
from positions as property managers or real estate brokers.  Real
estate managers must be good negotiators, adept at persuading and
handling people, and good at analyzing data to assess the fair
market value of property or its development potential.
Resourcefulness and creativity in arranging financing are essential
for managers who specialize in land development.  Real estate
managers may be required to hold a real estate broker's license.

   Many property and real estate managers attend short-term formal
training programs conducted by various professional and trade
associations active in the real estate field.  Employers send
managers to these programs to improve their management skills and
expand their knowledge of specialized subjects, such as the
operation and maintenance of building mechanical systems, insurance
and risk management, personnel management, business and real estate
law, communications, and accounting and financial concepts.
Managers also participate in these programs to prepare themselves
for positions of greater responsibility in property and real estate
management.  Completion of these programs, together with meeting job
experience standards and achieving a satisfactory score on a written
examination, leads to certification, or the formal award of a
professional designation, by the sponsoring association.  In
addition to these qualifications, some associations require their
members to adhere to a specific code of ethics.

   Managers of public housing subsidized by the Federal Government are
required to be certified, but many property and real estate managers
who work with all kinds of property choose to earn a professional
designation voluntarily because it represents formal recognition of
their achievements and status in the occupation.  A number of
organizations offer such programs.  The Institute of Real Estate
Management awards the designations Accredited Residential Manager
and Certified Property Manager, while the National Association of
Home Builders awards the designation Registered Apartment Manager.
The National Apartment Association confers the designations
Certified Apartment Manager and Certified Apartment Property
Supervisor.  The Community Associations Institute bestows the
designation Professional Community Association Manager and
Association Management Specialist, while the Building Owners and
Managers Institute International awards the designations Real
Property Administrator and Facilities Management Administrator.  The
International Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives
confers the designations Associate of Corporate Real Estate and
Master of Corporate Real Estate.

Job Outlook

Employment of property and real estate managers is projected to
increase faster than the average for all occupations through the
year 2005.  Despite the rapid growth in demand for these workers,
the vast majority of job openings are expected to occur as property
managers transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force.
Opportunities should be best for persons with college degrees in
business administration and related fields.

   Growth in the demand for office buildings and retail establishments
will spur employment of property and real estate managers.  Nearly 9
of every 10 new jobs that will be created over the 1992-2005 period
are expected to be in wholesale and retail trade; finance,
insurance, and real estate; and service industries.  Because
establishments in these industries are the primary tenants of
commercial properties, expansion of these industries is expected to
require growth in the Nation's supply of office and retail space.
Although development in this area is slow now, it is expected to
pick up within several years.  Some growth will come from adding on
to existing buildings.  Although some of these additions will be
handled by the property manager already on the site, other additions
will require the hiring of additional property managers.  More
complex responsibilities combined with larger facilities may lead to
the hiring of more property managers per building.

   In addition, the expected faster than average employment growth in
some retail trade industries should require greater numbers of real
estate managers to acquire and develop properties for expanding
restaurant, food, apparel, and specialized merchandise chains.  owth
in the Nation's stock of apartments and houses also should require
more property and real estate managers.  Although the rate of new
household formation is expected to slow somewhat over the 1992-2005
period, the high cost of purchasing a home is expected to force an
increasing proportion of individuals to delay leaving rental
housing.  In addition, developments of new homes are increasingly
being organized with community or homeowner associations that
provide community services and oversee jointly owned common areas,
requiring professional management.

   A growing proportion of commercial and multiunit residential
property owners are expected to entrust the management of their
properties to a professional manager.  Recent changes to income tax
laws have greatly limited the tax benefits that property owners and
investors can derive from unprofitable apartments and commercial
properties.  To help properties become more profitable, more owners
are expected to place their investments in the hands of property and
real estate managers.

Earnings

Median earnings of all property and real estate managers were
$21,800 a year in 1992.  The middle 50 percent earned between
$14,600 and $33,600.  Ten percent earned less than $10,300 and 10
percent earned more than $47,300 annually.

   Earnings of property and real estate managers vary widely by level
of responsibility.  Those who are certified in their field tend to
earn a higher salary than those who are not.  A survey conducted by
Huntress Real Estate Executive Search Inc.  found that the middle
third of the on-site apartment managers surveyed had annual salaries
averaging $33,000 in 1992.  Property managers had considerably
higher earnings, with the middle third of property managers
responsible for multiple apartment properties averaging $67,200.  Of
property managers responsible for regional shopping malls, the
middle third earned $72,700; of those who managed office buildings,
the middle third earned $75,200.

   Earnings of corporate real estate managers were generally comparable
to those of property managers, according to the same survey.  Among
those employed by fast-food and restaurant chains, the middle third
of the lease negotiators and site selection representatives averaged
$62,300 annually, while the middle third of real estate directors
earned $68,900.  Among real estate managers employed by retail
apparel chains, the middle third of the lease negotiators and site
selection representatives averaged $64,700 and the middle third of
real estate directors had an average annual salary of $64,500,

   Community association managers received compensation comparable to
on-site and property managers employed by other types of properties.
Many resident apartment managers receive the use of an apartment as
part of their compensation package.  Property and real estate
managers often are given the use of a company automobile, and
managers employed in land development often receive a small
percentage of ownership in projects that they develop.

Related Occupations

Property and real estate managers plan, organize, staff, and manage
the real estate operations of businesses.  Workers who perform
similar functions in other fields include restaurant and food
service managers, hotel and resort managers and assistants, health
services managers, education administrators, and city managers.

Sources of Additional Information

   General information about careers in property and real estate
management and programs leading to the award of a professional
designation in the field is available from:

   Apartment Owners and Managers Association of America, 65 Cherry
Plaza, Watertown, CT 06795-0238.

   Building Owners and Managers Institute International, 1521 Ritchie
Hwy., Arnold, MD 21012.

   Community Associations Institute, 1630 Duke St., Alexandria, VA
22314.

   Institute of Real Estate Management, 430 N.  Michigan Ave., Chicago
IL 60611.

   International Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives, 440
Columbia Dr., Suite 100, West Palm Beach, FL 33409.

   National Apartment Association, 1111 14th St.  NW., Suite 900,
Washington, DC 20005.

   National Association of Home Builders, 15th & M Sts.  NW.,
Washington, DC 20005.