A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Property
. . . an industry veteran's perspective

With the end of June 2005, I realized I had passed a milestone - twenty years of involvement in property management. A job that started out typing leases in 1985 for a large apartment community in Richmond, Virginia has brought me to a Vice Presidency in 2005 for Community Group, an Associa Member Company. Although the completion of twenty years of anything in this day and age is remarkable (I must admit that my involvement with property management outlasted my first marriage), in my estimation, what is even more remarkable is the fact that this “job” turned into a career that has provided many opportunities for growth and personal maturity.

If I were to be philosophical about it (and I guess I am and will be), I would have to admit that I don't believe many of us plan our lives to be property managers or community association managers. It was certainly never a major offered at any colleges that I was aware of when I walked those academic halls twenty five to twenty-nine years ago. (I have heard rumors that Virginia Tech offers this major, but I haven't bothered to confirm whether or not those rumors are true.) The truth is that most of us fall into property management one way or the other during our lives and we either hate it and leave quickly or we grow to accept it during the ups and downs of the day by day process.

As I have taken on more responsibility with the hiring of managers, it has become increasingly important to me to be able to pick out those managers who will complete training and will become members of the fairly elite community of managers with perseverance – those who will stick with the job and flourish. In the last seven months, our company has hired seven new managers and there have truly been a flurry of interviews, new manager training, reference follow up, late night thinking, and early morning planning. I have been pleased with the responses and work ethic of these seven new managers for Community Group. What has impressed me even more so, has been the fact that several of these new managers had done their homework about Community Group and had actually stated their desire to work for our company. Imagine that! In spite of the negativity often surrounding our industry, there are people out there who want to be association managers; they want to serve community associations with their time and talents! It has been somewhat of a revelation to me (as a person who “fell” into property management) that there are people who would choose this industry as a career. In short, their enthusiasm has impacted me and made me more enthusiastic about my own career.

I should have worked in a funeral home according to the job potential surveys I completed in high school. In fact, the test that I took as part of the application process at Community Group indicated that I would not make a good manager. I actually pursued a career in child and family counseling in a church setting, but did not complete that degree after the unexpected birth of twin girls forced me to leave seminary and start working in the real world. That was when I went to work typing leases and you know the rest of that story already. I am not sure what my experiences say about testing, but I am convinced that the personal skills that I developed in college and life have gone a long way toward making me successful in association management (even if it is not a funeral home and I was hired anyway!)

What I have come to realize about our industry is that we really do make a difference in the world that we touch. We are property managers and that is really the simplest part of our jobs. Property management relies on a fairly finite knowledge base and a fairly simple set of processes that for the most part haven't changed a whole lot in the last twenty years. We still replace roofs and seal driveways in very similar ways to what we did twenty years ago. We still use many of the same contractors and rely on many of the same experts for advice. We still network localities and cultivate our relationships with developers and builders. We know how to secure gutters and modify drainage and we know whom to call when the elevator breaks down. What makes our jobs more difficult and much more unpredictable are the people – the association piece, the communication piece, the education piece that call for sensitivity, patience, understanding, listening skills, patience, a calming countenance, patience (you get the message, I am sure!) It is the people part of this industry that creates most of the demands and most of the difficulties!

Most of us have our nightmare stories about Board meetings gone awry and annual meetings that resembled lynching mobs, but what really makes the difference for me in this industry is those daily, ongoing success stories that truly motivate me to get up and come to work every day. I am once again talking about the people part – the time we helped an elderly resident carry groceries in just because we were in the neighborhood; the time we consoled the downstairs resident whose home stood in six inches of water from Tropical Storm Gaston; the time we finally made a breakthrough with a difficult Board member; the day when we eventually earned another person's respect and praise after weeks of follow up and resolution to a long standing problem; the day we took the time to send a sympathy card when a long standing resident of the community passed away. Those are some of the good “people” practices of which we can be proud – the instances of accomplishment that prove to the world that we don't just manage property but are a key part in the associations that bind Boards of Directors to their community and homeowners to their homes. We are listening ears and helping hands in a community that needs more of both of those. We have the ability to engage and accommodate and provide positive reinforcement to the other voice on the end of the phone line or the interruption in the midst of our day.

Yes, property management does have its rewards. It has its perks and prideful moments. Twenty years of anything indicates commitment, reciprocity, and perseverance. It is great to look back and realize that we do make a difference in this world – not so much by the roofs we replace and the houses we paint, but the way we treat people each and every day. I challenge you to engage in a fresh perspective toward the way you spend your days. You just might take a moment out to be grateful for this demanding, difficult challenge that is our career and for the fact that you do make a difference in this world! Make it a positive one – a service-oriented perspective for helping people! You just might find yourself twenty years later reminiscing about how a job became a career and how property management is mostly people management. A funny thing happened on the way to the property – I realized how valuable my attitude about my career has come to be and just how important a patient, caring touch is for our fellow employees, our association members, and our daily contacts!

Philip Adams, CMCA®, PCAM®
Vice President and Director of Management Operations
Community Group
Richmond, VA