Property Management Companies face unique operational challenges during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We have evolved or improved our business practices in response to these changes. When the COVID-19 pandemic started to significantly affect daily life in the spring of 2020, Globe Trotter Properties (GTP) had already been working for 5 years with a business model that allowed it to handle the hurdles from the pandemic.
Embracing technology: From the beginning, GTP has embraced teleworking. Most employees already teleworked from the time the company started, and continued to do so during the pandemic. Monthly company meetings were carried out remotely even from 2018. All legal documents are signed remotely (we use docusign), and payments and client notifications are done via our Property Management Platform (Buildium) and also by email. With much of our processes, payments and communications being already remote, we were well-positioned to implement further changes to adapt to the new pandemic paradigm. We transitioned quickly to remote home inspections, which as an added bonus allow homeowners to know what is happening with their property. Many of our property listings now include video tours, and we include the option of virtual property showings as well. Smaller team meetings that used to be held in-person are now held online as well.
Respect for Local Regulations, work hand in hand with local authorities: News about the current COVID-19 regulations in the DMV area are at the top of our internal website so employees know what information they should transmit to homeowners, vendors and tenants. In our office space, masks and temperature checks are required. We have also learned from government policy changes like those in DCRA, which has transitioned to doing mostly virtual residential inspections and plans to continue to do so even after the pandemic.
Flexibility and Communication: We work with tenants and homeowners to assure that their concerns are met. We provide ample notification when a contractor needs to visit a residence and proactively communicate with tenants so they can plan accordingly and so we can make any protocol modifications due to tenant health concerns. Trying to make sure we can keep residents in their home while simultaneously protecting the homeowners interests, we have helped homeowners and tenants get together to develop payment plans for tenants experiencing financial hardship.
COVID-19 has made the value of property management more evident and in-demand. GTP has had the capacity to change and innovate in response to the challenges that emerged in 2020; and this has made us more confident in our capacities as Property Managers and in the future growth of our businesses.
Let the professionals take care of your property! Contact Globe Trotter Properties for more information about property management at info@globetrotterproperties.com.
About the author: Mario Ordonez is a licensed Property Manager in Washington, DC. He is currently a Training, Compliance, and Media Specialist at GTP.
Contact: mario@globetrotterproperties.com