Page 14 - New England Condominium January 2020

14 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM
-JANUARY 2020
NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM
ceptable exclusion—and it’s very hard to quired to hold any particular licensure in
prove. But as millions of American pro-
fessionals over 50 will tell you, finding a requires managers to pursue continu-
new job at their age is nearly impossible.
Interestingly, that bleak fact does not with the firm. “We send our people for
seem to hold true in real estate manage-
ment. Both Wolf and Wollman indicate tions Institute (CAI),” he says. “We expect
that as owner populations become young-
er, with millennials entering the ranks of CAI—any committee they like that inter-
homeowners, experience is valued over ests them.” Wolf believes the policy his
just about anything else when it comes company holds is typical throughout the
to managing multifamily buildings. And industry in New England.
many long-serving managers are embrac-
ing changes in technology and incorpo-
rating them into how they help run their that multifamily property management
client properties.
While they do consider the popula-
tion profile when assigning a manager changing variables to advance their ca-
to a specific property, most management reers? Both Wollman and Wolf say yes.
firms are not specifically considering
age. According to the pros, they’re look-
ing for more of a ‘fit’ that incorporates says Wolf. Many factors affect that deci-
many variables—and though the age of sion, and that’s something that’s been
the manager relative to the population of consistent over time. Management in-
a given client community may sometimes volves long hours—managers are pretty
come into play, the manager’s maturity much on call 24/7—and little apprecia-
and ability to work with any population tion, along with heavy workloads. Wolf
is more a deciding factor than anything points out that “while the number of unit
else.
Educational Requirements
Wollman notes that most people come
to the real estate business—particular-
ly management—by a less-than-direct
route. Up until a few years ago, there
were very few college- or university-level
academic programs that would prepare
a person to enter a career in real estate.
That is beginning to change, but hasn’t
shifted dramatically...yet.
“No one expects post-graduate educa-
tion in our business,” he says. “People who
come into management often have past
work experience or education in architec-
ture, finance, and so forth, and they can
modify their experience to become good
managers. Most importantly, they need to
be good people-persons—and that hasn’t
changed. Truthfully, though, 20 years ago
people did get in with less experience and
a more limited skill set. I learned by do-
ing, and we still do. I believe ours may be
the last industry like this.”
Wolf points out that although Mas-
sachusetts is a non-license state—in that
property managers are not legally re-
order to work in the field—his company
ing education throughout their tenure
courses through the Community Associa-
them to get involved with a committee at
Career Longevity
Pretty much anyone would agree
isn’t the easiest job in the world. So...do
managers stick with it? Do they adapt to
“If you stay in five years or longer,
chances are, you’ll stay in permanently,”
owners that tend to take advantage of a
manager is overall a very small percent-
age of the whole, they can be very dis-
turbing for the manager—so the ‘thank
yous’ the manager gets from the other 97
or so percent make all the difference.”
“Some managers who leave the busi-
ness go on to do project work,” adds Woll-
man, “but the truth is there aren’t a lot of
alternatives. And we do everything we
can to keep good people.”
In the final analysis, real estate man-
agement has certainly changed, but at
the same time what makes the profes-
sion special has stayed the same. Despite
email, text, apps, and other innovations,
it’s still a people business and is likely to
stay that way.
n
A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter with
New England Condominium and a published
novelist.
CONT...
THE EVOLUTION...
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Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey,
and seven other states. Their overall sys-
tem includes many different modules
that support services ranging from docu-
ment delivery to communication with
residents, key security to maintenance
schedules. According to company CEO
Zachary Kestenbaum, communication
on all levels and about all subjects is the
key. Functional, effective management/
security tech should provide “everything
related to operations and daily life at a
property, from work orders to who can
and can’t enter the building. We view ev-
ery building as an individual ecosystem.
BuildingLink is for both building staff
and residents – no more sticky notes.”
The more complex the daily manage-
ment structure of a property, the more
apt managers and residents are to dig
deeper into the features offered by apps
INTRODUCING...
continued from page 1