What Is the Best Property Management Company to Work for
Our editors independently research and recommend the best products and services. You can learn more about our independent review process and partners in our advertiser disclosure. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links. Property management companies can help run the day-to-day operations of your commercial or residential properties. From collecting rent and handling maintenance requests to marketing and retaining tenants, these companies can ensure that your properties are running smoothly while increasing your profit and the value of your assets. For this review, we looked at nearly two dozen companies based on industry expertise, reputation, type of properties managed, specialty services, and more. Here are our top picks. Cushman & Wakefield Why We Chose It: Its long history and scalable property management services for clients of any size. What We Like Fully integrated commercial and residential property management. Over 100 years of experience. What We Don't Like Offices in just 21 states and District of Columbia. Doesn't allow clients to use local suppliers. Founded in 1917, Cushman & Wakefield is one of the world's largest real estate service providers, with 400 offices in 60 countries. In March 2020, the company acquired Pinnacle, the third-largest multifamily property management firm in the U.S. Cushman & Wakefield uses a holistic approach to property management by creating integrated teams of property managers, engineers, and accountants who work to minimize operating costs and build strong tenant relationships. The company's commercial management experience spans all types of real estate represented in a 700 million-square-foot management portfolio of commercial properties in the Americas. On the residential management side, Cushman & Wakefield manages more than 169,000 units across 839 properties gained initially in its acquisition of Pinnacle. The company oversees day-to-day property operations, including finances and expenses, property improvements and maintenance, leasing and retention, reporting, and more. Cushman & Wakefield also leverages its deep market experience to help market residential properties. The company also offers a custom property management application that offers convenience for residents and accurate and timely property information for owners. CBRE Why We Chose It: CBRE is the largest commercial real estate services company globally, offering custom property management with skilled professionals and cutting-edge technology. What We Like Largest commercial real estate provider. Offers occupier and investor services. Over 100 years of experience. What We Don't Like Residents complain about bad service. Expensive service fees. Established in 1920, Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE) is the world's largest commercial real estate services provider, with over 500 offices serving more than 2.7 billion square feet of commercial space worldwide. CBRE offers industry-proven best practices and customized technology solutions to help owners streamline operations and reduce costs while providing excellent service to residents. In 2019, several CBRE-managed buildings were recognized for excellence in commercial building management and operations by Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA). In addition to project management, CBRE offers 20 separate commercial property services for owners and residents. These include a web-based management and leasing platform, accounting and financial reporting software, consulting, security planning, tenant relations and retention management, and more. Clients who own a mix of commercial and residential properties can also find what they need from CBRE. The company's offering of residential project management solutions includes concierge programs, customer service, staff training, marketing and advertising, property management software, online and iPad leasing, resident screening, and more. Greystar Real Estate Partners Why We Chose It: Greystar is the world's largest residential real estate service provider, combining international business processes and practices with local market knowledge to provide consistent, high-quality property management. What We Like Largest property management company in the U.S. Invests in many of the properties it manages. Excellent customer service. What We Don't Like Complaints of poor response to service requests. Complaints of poor building maintenance. Greystar was founded in 1993 to deliver high-quality real estate services to residents, property owners, and investors of residential properties. The company serves over 660,000 units in 200 markets around the world. Greystar prides itself on delivering exceptional customer service, employing a Beyond Expectations customer service strategy that teaches team members to think like an owner and take pride in resident satisfaction. Greystar also develops and invests in many of the properties it manages, giving it a more personal connection to its owners and residents. Greystar manages a wide range of residential properties, including high-rise, student living, mixed-use, affordable housing, and senior living properties. Its residential property management services include property operations, business management and administration, financial services, construction management, procurement, IT, marketing and communications, and training and education. The company also employs a holistic business model called The Greystar Advantage, which combines standardized best practices, policies, and procedures with scalable property management services. This includes talent acquisition, property transitions, and performance analytics and technology services. Franklin Street Why We Chose It: Franklin Street offers a full suite of property management services for commercial and residential properties with on-site staff training and career planning. What We Like Offers on-site staff training and support. Manages residential and commercial properties. What We Don't Like Only serves the Southeast region. Established in 2006, Franklin Street has become one of the fastest-growing real estate service firms serving the U.S. Southeast region. The company's dedicated training and support for on-site staff from experienced executives make it our top pick as the best for on-site management. Despite its smaller size, Franklin Street offers a full range of real estate services, including investment sales, insurance services, landlord and tenant representation, property and facilities management, and project management. The company also services multiple real estate types, such as retail, office, multi-family, industrial, mixed-use, and more. Franklin Street's comprehensive property management solutions offer optimized property performance, due diligence assistance, operating assumptions validation, strategic market insight and advice, finances and accounting, tailored performance metrics, and more. Franklin Street also puts a strong emphasis on on-site property management, offering on-site staff training and career path planning from its team of experienced real estate professionals and senior support for on-site staff from the company's executive team. Equity Residential Why We Chose It: Equity Residential focuses on managing urban and high-density suburban residential properties in major U.S. cities. What We Like Focuses on the largest U.S. markets. Over 50 years of experience. What We Don't Like No commercial management services. Tenant complaints of unexpected rental fees. Founded in 1967 to manage student apartment buildings, Equity Residential has grown to become the 14th-largest apartment property management provider in the U.S. The company manages approximately 310 properties consisting of over 78,000 apartment units in major cities like Boston, New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, and Washington, D.C., making it our top choice for large-market properties. Equity Residential combines the resources of a large company with local management expertise to provide custom property management solutions for owners. The company invests heavily in training its employees in project management and was one of the top 100 U.S. companies to work for in 2019, according to Glassdoor. As part of its commitment to providing clients with top-of-the-line property management, Equity Residential offers several leadership development and education programs. The company also offers a 14-week maintenance apprenticeship program that introduces Equity Residential employees to the company's concepts and practices through on-the-job training and classroom courses. Employees also get rent discounts on Equity Residential apartment homes, helping them experience the company's property management process firsthand. JLL Why We Chose It: JLL manages over 4.6 billion square feet of commercial real estate worldwide, including amusement parks, self-storage facilities, marinas, sports stadiums, and more. What We Like Manages a wide variety of specialty properties. Scalable property management services. Uses smart technology for property management. What We Don't Like Tenant complaints about bad service. Doesn't manage residential properties. Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) was founded in 1999 and uses advanced technology and processes to track and assess every facet of building management. The company was also one of only four real estate service providers in 2020 to be recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. JLL uses a proprietary, end-to-end facilities management platform called Corrigo to automate many property and facility management tasks. Corrigo allows property owners to route service requests to the right technicians and vendors automatically. Users also get real-time data that lets them review other available vendors, compare how much they're spending to other property managers, and find ways to save on operating costs. The company allows its clients to choose specific property management services based on their needs. These include access to a digital marketplace of repair and maintenance vendors offering negotiated rates, green building services, and shared or dedicated mobile resources to help manage plumbing, lighting, electrical services, and more. Property management companies can help alleviate the responsibility of day-to-day management of residential or commercial properties, and it can often be difficult to choose the best one for your needs. You might consider starting with one of the world's largest real estate service providers, Cushman & Wakefield, our choice for the best property management company overall due to its deep industry expertise and holistic approach to property management. CBRE is our pick as the best for commercial properties due to its recognition for excellence in commercial building management and wide range of management services, while Greystar Real Estate Partners is the best for residential properties because of its holistic business model and investment in many of its managed properties. Franklin Street's commitment to training on-site staff, including senior support from the company's executive team, makes it our choice as the best for on-site management. Those who manage properties in large metropolitan areas like Boston and New York will want to look at Equity Residential, our pick as the best for large market properties because of its custom property management solutions for owners in those markets. Finally, JLL wins the best for specialty properties spot due to its experience in managing a diversity of commercial properties, including sports venues, amusement parks, and marinas, using cutting-edge technology solutions. The first step to choosing a property management company is seeing how much experience they have with your property type. A company with extensive commercial management experience, for instance, may not be a good choice if you own an apartment building. Next, you'll want to ask specific questions about how they handle certain services, such as collecting rent, completing repairs and maintenance, screening tenants, and marketing your property. Finally, you'll want to consider cost. A property management company that's too expensive or offers more services than you need can significantly cut into your profit before seeing any returns. Property management companies can handle as many or as few aspects of running your residential or commercial property as you want. This can be anything from collecting rent and handling tenant-maintenance requests to helping you manage your accounting and increase your occupancy. Many property management companies also offer consulting services to help you make your properties more energy efficient, improve and upgrade your properties, invest and insure new properties, and more. If you're having trouble filling vacancies in your property or retaining tenants, you may want to consider hiring a property management company. Not only can they help you market your property, they can also help you find reliable vendors and maintenance processes that will keep your tenants renewing their leases year after year. Because the needs of each property owner are unique, we were unable to get quotes from any of the property management companies we reviewed. Traditionally, though, you can expect to pay 8% to 12% of the collective monthly rent of your properties in management fees, with prices varying based on the local real estate market as well. Some companies also charge a setup fee, which can be up to $500. We looked at nearly two dozen property management companies for this review. Our first task was to find companies with a strong reputation and deep expertise in the types of properties they manage. Because commercial and residential properties have differing management needs, we also wanted to find companies that specialized in each real estate sector. We then drilled down into each company to see which services they excelled in, such as on-site management, large market properties, and specialty properties. All of the companies we selected had deep industry expertise, high industry ratings, offered a full range of property management services, and provided unique features suited to the needs of specific property owners. Best Property Management Companies in 2021
Best Overall : Cushman & Wakefield
Best for Commercial Properties : CBRE
Best for Residential Properties : Greystar Real Estate Partners
Best for On-Site Management : Franklin Street
Best for Large Market Properties : Equity Residential
Best for Specialty Properties : JLL
Final Verdict
Compare Providers
Company Why We Picked It Notable Features Cushman & Wakefield Best Overall Fully integrated commercial and residential property management CBRE Best for Commercial Properties Offers 20 separate commercial property services Greystar Real Estate Partners Best for Residential Properties Invests in many of the properties it manages Franklin Street Best for On-Site Management Offers on-site staff training and support Equity Residential Best for Large Market Properties Focuses on the largest U.S. urban markets JLL Best for Specialty Properties Scalable services for a variety of specialty properties Frequently Asked Questions
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