How many properties can a property manager manage?Assigning managers the appropriate number of properties to managerequires a mix of intuition and calculation.

The oldest question in the real estate management profession is, "How many properties can a property manager manage?" The answer has always been, "Well, it depends."

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Executive property managers often use their intuition to determine when a property manager has reached the maximum number of properties he or she can manage. However, quantifying the number of properties a property manager can manage can be achieved methodically.

METHOD TO THE MADNESS

Calculating the number of properties a manager can manage first requires evaluating the operations of a company and then rating the management activities of each property. To achieve this, companies should develop a point system taking such factors into consideration.

To develop a point system, the executive property manager must first determine a set of criteria used to evaluate the company's management philosophy, how its operations work and the experience of its property managers. Each property should then be assigned a score based on its management activities as they relate to the determined criteria.

Companies also need to establish a range of points each property manager should be able to handle. They can then assign managers properties with a total point score within that range. Ultimately, the final determination of the number of properties a property manager can manage combines the objectivity of the evaluation process and the executive property manager's intuitive understanding of how his or her company and managers operate.

This process can be used to evaluate a variety of commercial and residential property types. An evaluation form can easily be developed for any property type or a portfolio of mixed-property types.

INVARIABLY COMPLEX

To accurately assess a company, five variables should be taken into account. Each of the variables is used to determine how the property management company operates, which then forms the base for the range of property points within a portfolio that a typical property manager could manage.

The first variable to consider when assessing a company is whether a property management company or division is managing properties owned by the firm or its parent company--known as in-house management--or whether the firm is providing third-party management services.