Originally published April 26, 2022.
A property management virtual assistant can support far more than general administrative work. As property management companies grow, remote team members can take on specialized roles built around recurring workflows and clearly defined responsibilities.
Depending on where your team needs additional capacity, a remote team member can support maintenance coordination, leasing, accounting, property marketing, resident communication, onboarding, and other areas of your operation. The key is identifying the right role for your business and building it around the work that needs consistent ownership.
What Can a Property Management Virtual Assistant Do?
A property management virtual assistant can support specialized roles across maintenance, leasing, accounting, marketing, resident communication, onboarding, and day-to-day operations. Rather than assigning miscellaneous tasks as they come up, property management companies can build remote roles around recurring workflows that need consistent ownership.
The right role depends on your company's workflows, current bottlenecks, team structure, and growth needs. By looking at where work is backing up or where experienced team members are spending too much time on repeatable tasks, you can identify where a remote team member could add the most meaningful value.
10 Property Management Virtual Assistant Roles to Consider
Remote team members can support specialized functions throughout a property management company. The right role depends on where your team needs additional support and which recurring workflows could benefit from clearer ownership.
1. Maintenance Coordinator
A remote maintenance coordinator can help keep maintenance workflows moving by communicating with vendors, scheduling repairs, following up on work orders, and keeping residents updated. They can also document progress and update your property management system so your team has clear visibility into open and completed requests.
2. Leasing Assistant
A remote leasing assistant can support the leasing process by responding to prospect inquiries, following up with leads, coordinating showings, and assisting with applications. They can also keep leasing records and workflows organized so prospects continue moving through the process without unnecessary delays.
3. Assistant Property Manager
A remote assistant property manager can support day-to-day portfolio operations by handling resident communication, renewals, documentation, and recurring administrative workflows. With these responsibilities clearly assigned, they can help keep routine processes moving while property managers focus on issues that require their direct attention.
4. Bookkeeping or Property Accounting Assistant
A remote bookkeeping or property accounting assistant can support routine financial workflows such as processing transactions, managing invoices, completing reconciliations, and preparing reports. With the appropriate oversight and clearly defined responsibilities, they can help keep financial records organized and accounting processes on schedule.
5. Property Marketing Assistant
A remote property marketing assistant can help create and update property listings, coordinate marketing activities, organize digital assets, and support email or social media efforts when needed. They can help keep property marketing tasks moving so available rentals are promoted consistently across the appropriate channels.
6. Resident Services Coordinator
A remote resident services coordinator can handle routine resident inquiries, provide follow-ups and updates, route requests to the appropriate team member, and document important communication. This creates a clear point of contact for residents while helping your team stay organized and responsive.
7. Turnover Coordinator
A remote turnover coordinator can help manage the process between move-out and the next resident by scheduling vendors, coordinating make-ready work, and tracking repairs. They can also keep tasks and timelines updated so units are ready for remarketing and the next stage of the leasing process.
8. New Property Onboarding Coordinator
A remote new property onboarding coordinator can help collect owner and property information, organize documents, complete system setup, and coordinate tasks across your team. They can keep each step moving so new properties are added to your portfolio efficiently.
9. Business Development or Sales Assistant
A remote business development or sales assistant can support growth by qualifying leads, managing CRM records, following up with prospects, and scheduling appointments. They can also help keep your pipeline organized so opportunities continue moving forward and your sales team knows where to focus its attention.
10. Administrative or Operations Assistant
A remote administrative or operations assistant can support recurring workflows such as data entry, inbox and calendar management, documentation, reporting, and CRM or property management system updates. The role can be tailored around the processes your team needs help managing consistently as your portfolio grows.
How to Choose the Right Role for Your Remote Team
The right remote hire starts with understanding where your team needs additional capacity. Look at where work consistently backs up, which recurring responsibilities are taking experienced team members away from higher-level work, and which workflows can be clearly documented and standardized.
From there, you can define a role around the responsibilities with the greatest operational impact. If you're deciding where to start, learn how to identify the right first remote hire for your property management company.
Frequently Asked Questions About Property Management Virtual Assistants
What does a property management virtual assistant do?
A property management virtual assistant supports recurring workflows within a property management company from a remote location. Depending on the role, they may support leasing, maintenance, resident communication, accounting, marketing, onboarding, administrative operations, or other clearly defined areas of the business.
What tasks can a property management virtual assistant handle?
A property management virtual assistant can handle a wide range of clearly defined, repeatable tasks, including resident and prospect communication, scheduling, work-order follow-up, data entry, document management, CRM and PMS updates, reporting support, and other recurring operational workflows.
What is the best role for a property management virtual assistant?
The best role depends on where your property management company needs additional capacity. Look for recurring workflows that consistently back up, take too much time from experienced team members, or can be clearly documented and assigned to a dedicated remote team member.
Can a virtual assistant help with leasing and maintenance?
Yes. A property management virtual assistant can support leasing workflows such as prospect follow-up, showing coordination, and application support, as well as maintenance workflows such as vendor communication, scheduling, work-order follow-up, and resident updates.
How do I decide which property management tasks to delegate?
Start by identifying recurring tasks that can be clearly documented, standardized, and measured. Prioritize workflows that regularly take time away from your team's core responsibilities or need more consistent ownership, then build the remote role around those specific needs.
Build Your Remote Team With VPM Solutions
Once you know where your team needs the most support, the next step is finding the right person for the role and building a system that supports their success. VPM Solutions helps property management companies identify, hire, train, pay, and manage remote team members based on their specific operational needs.
Whether you're making your first remote hire or expanding an existing team, build your remote team with VPM Solutions and find the specialized talent you need to add capacity across your property management operation.
