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SAFE PROPERTIES:

HAPPY TENANTS & OWNERS

As a property manager for a residential community, shopping center, mall, or business park, a big part of your job is ensuring that you have the right security for your location.

That said, understanding what comprises effective security – and finding a security company that will get the job done – is often easier said than done.

More often than not, property managers like you end up struggling to find a security company that will meet the needs of their tenants and the expectations of property owners – even when they’re not on the property.

Here’s what you should be looking for and how to make sure you get your money’s worth.

Security Should Help Property Managers Work Effectively
As a property manager, you must meet the expectations of property owners. That calls for successfully navigating a number of tasks, including:
Rent: You’re often called on to assist with determining the cost of rent. You can also increase the rent by a fixed percentage based on the current market
Tenants: You must also manage tenants. This includes finding and screening tenants, handling move-outs, and dealing with day-to-day tenant concerns like maintenance requests, noise complaints, and evictions.

Supervising responsibilities: You must also supervise all additional employees that help manage the property, including concierge, security personnel, maintenance workers, and vendors.
Maintenance: You must manage the property and its upkeep, keeping it safe, habitable, and approachable for both customers and tenants.

Understanding the laws: You’re often expected to have in-depth knowledge of the state and local laws regarding rental properties. This information is crucial for you to effectively screen tenants, handle security deposits, terminate leases, evict tenants, and comply with safety standards.

Managing the budget: You are often in charge of maintaining the budget and ensuring that every important task is effectively executed within the property owner’s budget and means.

In short, you have a lot on your plate. You should look for a security company that can share the load and help make your job easier.

That means finding a security company that will:
Require little supervision
Effectively address your unique security needs and concerns
Proactively help you with property maintenance and upkeep
Follow state and county laws
Work with tenants to solve their maintenance or security concerns directly
Ensure compliance from maintenance workers and vendors
Provide you with up-to-date reports so you know the status of the property even when you’re not there

Common Problems With Security Companies
That said, finding such a company is often easier said than done, and most property managers run into some common concerns.

Run-Of-The-Mill, Prepackaged Security Solutions
First, many security companies offer a wide range of prepackaged solutions without any significant degree of expertise or nuanced understanding about any of them. This leads to a superficial, cookie-cutter security service that only meets some of your needs and still leaves a lot on your plate.

For example, when it comes to parking lot security service, in particular, many companies offer basic “observe and report” parking lot security that focuses on the most obvious of security needs like parking policy enforcement and trespassing & loitering security. They do not solve other day-to-day concerns or needs that many project managers have, like proactively helping with maintenance or providing up-to-date reports.

This ultimately leads to high cost, low ROI security that offers little transparency or visibility into what’s really going on on the property.

Poor Communication With Both Tenants and Property Managers
Tension is always high when it comes to communication and action between property owners, property managers, and tenants. Tenants often feel that they have to get upset in order to “be heard” when they have a problem. Property managers feel that they’re constantly out of the loop and left putting out fires when something goes wrong – if they ever find out the pertinent information. Property owners get frustrated with property managers when they see a neglected tenant or maintenance concern and they hold them solely responsible for any lack of resolution.

Security companies generally stay out of this narrative. They do not play a hand in any maintenance concerns, they do not provide reports to property managers, and they do not take a proactive approach to any on-site concerns.

The Steadfast Difference
At Steadfast Security, this is all we do.

While other California security companies may offer “observe and report” parking lot security as one of their offerings, we specialize in unparalleled parking lot security and maintenance oversight as our only offerings.

This includes:
A 24/7 Hotline for Tenants
Tenants can call our 24/7 hotline with any concern (ex: panhandler or suspicious vehicle). Steadfast Security will resolve the problem immediately and directly so tenants are satisfied and property managers have one less thing on their plate.

Vendor Monitoring for Property Managers
We ensure that your vendors (maintenance, lighting, etc) are doing their jobs effectively. If there’s an issue, we provide ready-to-forward reports or contact vendors directly so the issue can be resolved immediately.

Tenant Monitoring for Managers and Owners
Are your tenants abiding by rules and the terms of their lease? We provide property managers with consistent, ready-to-forward reports of any violations so they can maintain tenant compliance and effectively manage – even when working remotely.

Ready-to-Forward Reports
When we spot a problem, we provide one-click email reports that can be quickly forwarded to vendors, contractors, or tenants. These include a description, images, and a map locating the problem. Simply press forward to address the concern, and we will follow up with you once the issue is successfully resolved.

When it comes to choosing a security solution as a property manager, this is the kind of expertise and service you should be looking for. It is the only way your property, your tenants, and your relationship with your property owners will thrive.

Give us a call and let us help you.