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What Does a Building Manager Do?

Kristie Lorette
Kristie Lorette

A building manager is responsible for managing, operating and repairing the building or set of buildings that fall under their management. Builder manager duties can vary from building to building, but can range from anything from collecting the rent payments from the tenants to handling the maintenance calls from tenants.

A manager of a building may be responsible for a residential property. In this case, it is typically an apartment building or complex. The manager should be responsible for identifying maintenance issues in common areas of the complex before they become issues. In addition, the building manager manages the maintenance team for the property to assign maintenance and repair calls that come in from the tenants to the maintenance people or contractors they need to bring in to fix the items.

A property's building manager is generally responsible for handling the maintenance calls from the building's tenants.
A property's building manager is generally responsible for handling the maintenance calls from the building's tenants.

Commercial properties are typically managed by a building manager. In these cases, the tenants are usually businesses and organizations rather than individual tenants or families. Duties in these situations are similar to that of residential — the primary difference is the type of clients the building manager is working with.

Managing and supervising the employees of the property is another role that the manager of a building plays. This includes everything from determining the types of employees that need to be hired to work on-site, either part-time or full-time. It also includes determining which type of work may be contracted out instead of hiring employees on the payroll to manage the building. For example, the manager may have a full-time handyman working on the property and on call. If the problem is plumbing related, however, the building manager may decide to contract a plumber rather than to have a full-time plumber on staff.

Apartment managers handle daily responsibilities related to repairs, maintenance, leasing and other matters.
Apartment managers handle daily responsibilities related to repairs, maintenance, leasing and other matters.

Recording, managing and storing accurate records is also another major role the manager of a building plays. The manager needs to know which units are occupied and which are vacant. The manager of a building also needs to market and promote the vacant properties in order to fill them with occupants. In addition, the manager must keep track of the collection rent payments and manage the collection process if payments are late or tenants must be evicted.

Building managers may look for businesses to fill vacant storefronts they own.
Building managers may look for businesses to fill vacant storefronts they own.

Finally, the manager of a building needs to research and analyze the rental market for the type of property they are managing. This allows the building manager to evaluate current rental rates and whether or not the rental rates need adjusting based on the current rental market situation.

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    • A property's building manager is generally responsible for handling the maintenance calls from the building's tenants.
      By: nuklr.dave
      A property's building manager is generally responsible for handling the maintenance calls from the building's tenants.
    • Apartment managers handle daily responsibilities related to repairs, maintenance, leasing and other matters.
      By: ManuelHurtado
      Apartment managers handle daily responsibilities related to repairs, maintenance, leasing and other matters.
    • Building managers may look for businesses to fill vacant storefronts they own.
      By: michelaubryphoto
      Building managers may look for businesses to fill vacant storefronts they own.
    • Building managers perform minor repairs throughout the building.
      By: Karen Roach
      Building managers perform minor repairs throughout the building.