Hiring a Property Manager: Look Beyond Portfolio Numbers.
The number of properties someone has managed tells you only part of the story. Ask about the workload, support and decisions behind that number before judging their experience.
A candidate says they manage 180 properties. Another manages 110.
Those figures tell you little without knowing how each office operates. One person may have leasing, inspection and administration support. The other may handle almost everything themselves.
Before comparing candidates, understand what they were personally responsible for.
What did they actually handle?
Ask candidates to talk you through their role:
Who handled leasing, inspections and renewals?
Who followed up arrears and maintenance?
Who dealt with complaints and difficult owner conversations?
What decisions could they make themselves?
When did their manager step in?
Then ask for a recent example. “Talk me through a maintenance matter you handled from the first report to completion” reveals more than a list of duties.
Listen for what they did, what others handled and how they kept people informed.
How demanding was the portfolio?
Similar portfolio sizes can involve very different work.
Ask about the spread of properties, travel time, maintenance demands, vacancies and frequency of tenant changes. Find out whether they inherited settled managements or spent much of their time sorting out incomplete records and unresolved matters.
This gives you a fairer basis for comparing their experience with your vacancy.
How did they keep control of the work?
Ask how they knew what needed attention each day.
Useful questions include:
How did you track matters waiting on someone else?
What did you review each week?
How did you spot work falling behind?
What happened to your tasks when you took leave?
Look for a method another person could understand and follow. If everything depended on memory, personal notes or staying late, explore how well that would work in your agency.
What happened when the workload became difficult?
Ask for a specific example of a week when they could not get everything done.
What did they prioritise? What could wait? Who did they tell? What support did they request?
A useful answer explains the decisions they made and how they managed the consequences. Be cautious about treating “I just worked longer hours” as proof of capability. Ask what caused the pressure and whether anything changed afterwards.
Can they explain their results?
Give candidates room to describe improvements they made.
They may have brought overdue inspections up to date, resolved a maintenance backlog or improved renewal follow-up. Ask where things started, what they changed and what happened.
Avoid judging them only on outcomes outside their control. The value is in understanding their contribution and judgement.
How does their experience fit your role?
Be equally clear about the portfolio you are offering. Explain the workload, available support, existing problems and level of responsibility.
Someone moving from a supported role into a broader position may need training in tasks they have rarely handled. An experienced manager may still need help learning your systems and procedures.
Record the match, the gaps and the support required. Portfolio size provides context. Your hiring decision needs evidence of how the person manages the work.