Learning Property Management the hard way
Ailo
01 September 2023
Denice Sorono joined Ray White Rural Warwick with no real estate experience at all. Rural agencies often have trouble finding experienced candidates given the smaller populations, so hiring fresh and training from scratch is common.
But becoming a property manager from scratch can be challenging - it’s not an easy job to learn! For Denice, usually confident and capable when using new technology, getting to grips with the legacy property management systems was the hardest part of her training.
“It just got very confusing at times with all the different tabs and everything,” she said. “The jobs tab, the inspections tab, the properties tab. Everything was so… everything was everywhere.”
It’s easy to think the solution is more training. The reality is - it’s actually the overcomplicated systems that are the problem. The tools you use are supposed to support the job and aid learning, not make it harder. It’s a symptom of unintuitive software, not an under-trained team.
Change and change again
Despite the complicated systems, Denice managed to get herself trained up. Then, one day, the agency decided it was time for a change. “Our business owner, Sally, thought this is a really good time to bring Ailo to Warwick,” said Denice.
They were thinking about updating their systems, so Denice was asked to attend a workshop in Brisbane to find out more about this new kind of property management system that everyone was talking about and report back to the office.
Heading into the workshop, having just spent all this time learning the first system, Denice certainly had her doubts about changing to another one.
But as the day unfolded, as she saw a version of her job without all the trust accounting getting in the way, she changed her mind.
A world without trust accounting
“Seeing the rent payments being made as soon as possible… you didn't have to wait and do the bank reconciliation,” said Denice, in disbelief. “If someone was in arrears and then they paid on that day, it disappeared, which was amazing.”
The idea that rent could flow in, fees be deducted, and disbursements flow out – all in a single, automated motion with no administration – takes a minute to sink in. “No receipting rent payments,” she said. “No end-of-month; it’s just done for us.”
Then Denice saw something she wished she’d had as a new property manager: projects in Ailo.
“When I saw the projects tab, it outlined everything that you needed to do. I just felt like I needed this when I first started in a property management role from the beginning.”
— Denise Sorono, Ray White Warwick
It gives property managers everything they need to be great relationship managers, simplifying all their workflows and communication in one place. And, best of all, it gives people like Denice the clarity they need to learn and develop.
“It just had all your tasks outlined, what you need to do for this particular thing,” said Denice. “I think if anyone was starting the business now and was to go straight to Ailo, it would just be so beneficial for them to have everything so streamlined.”
Denice came back to the office with a new perspective. “‘This is really, really great’ I told her,” said Denice. “And pretty much from then we transitioned over.”
A change for the better
Since moving to Ailo and seeing a world without trust accounting at the core of their jobs, the team at Ray White Rural Warwick has been finding things much easier.
“I'll be honest, I feel like we've been on Ailo from the very beginning with just how smooth it's all going,” said Denice. “We've just had a receptionist start at the beginning of the year and she actually just made a comment today saying ‘I don't know how you ever used your old property management system because Ailo is so easy!’”
Denice is now better equipped to deliver a great service and continue developing as a property manager. She has all the information she needs to communicate with her rural customers and get her work done without headaches.
And it looks good, too.
“It's so much more aesthetically pleasing… I was thinking about this yesterday actually. In our old system, for your routine reports, to physically go back and have a look at the previous one you have to go to a whole different tab and search for it manually,” explained Denice.
“In Ailo, you just type in the property and everything is there. You can find all the information you need on one screen. It really is amazing.”
— Denise Sorono, Ray White Warwick
Are you glad you became a property manager?
“Yeah! It has definitely been a learning experience. A lot of hurdles that I've had to cross, but I'm glad I became a property manager. And I'm glad I get to use Ailo, too,” she laughed. “It's really good!”
Our pleasure Denice! We love seeing the future of the industry learning and growing 💪