Morning ARFCOM buddies!

I have wanted to relocate to Arizona since I first visited in 2003.  Really love it there, but haven't been able to find a decent job.  Now that I have some good experience as a Property Manager, I'm trying my luck again.  It appears the economy is bouncing back, as I've applied to literally probably 15-20 jobs out there, but as of yet, no calls.  I'm willing to bet its because they realize I'm not local.  If you don't mind, I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction to a company that may be actively hiring Property Managers?

My only concern are high electric bills in the summer and having a Central A/C that's up to the task on a 115 degree day to keep both of my 4-legged children cool.

In a perfect world, I'd love to have my own land to shoot on, in an area where the property taxes are actually affordable.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.  You can post here or call me directly if you like @ 219.364.6229.

Thanks,
Erick

Enough land to shoot on anywhere near an area with a good economy and job options is an extremely tough nut to crack in AZ.  If you're looking at being a property manager for apartments and want to shoot on your own land expect a looooooong commute.  Phoenix metro and to a much lesser extent Tucson metro are the economic drivers in AZ and 1/2 acre lots are considered large in most of both metro areas.

Thanks for your reply!  Like I said, in a "perfect world".  I know I probably won't be able to have it, but if not, close to a decent range like Ben Avery would be ideal.  Love that place.  Last I was there, the range officers were super cool and friendly.  Miss AZ like you wouldn't believe...

If that were a problem then there would not be millions of people living in the desert.

Reason I mentioned that, I have family in Tucson, and in July, their electric bill peaks at about $400.

That's not abnormal, depending on how cool you keep your house.  I keep mine around 72 and my house is about 1600 square feet, east- west facing and my June-August electric bills are in the 300s.  I have acquaintances that have larger 2 story homes and $500 - $600 bills are average for the summer months.

Newer homes tend to be more energy-efficient and cheaper to keep cool.

That's also relevant to their home size, how well it's maintained, their usage, is everything electric (no gas), etc?  My ex had a 3000+sq ft house in Queen Creek with a pool and two teenagers (read they don't turn shit off lol) and peak summer bill was $270/month.

That sounds about right. You're gonna have to pay for it unless you want to sweat your balls off all summer.

Are you trying to find a property mgr position for residential or multifamily? You'll have to go through the fun of a real estate license for most residential companies to talk to you.

The multifamily or HOA "community managers", AACM is our big professional organization out here. https://www.aacm.com/. If you scroll through the vendor/member list, that might give you a few other options to look at. Most of them don't require a RE license, but they use AACM certs and their own training programs to "certify" property managers.

All of our property managers started off as tenants that were offered jobs for maintenance. If you can't fix anything, then we don't want you running the properties.

OP, look for places to live and talk with the owners. That's how you're going to get management or assistant manager because most if not all places want you living on site to fix any emergencies and for security reasons.

Thank you to everyone for your replies.  It is much appreciated!  Please keep them coming.  Although I love Indiana, it is getting a tad bit boring.  It is just now starting to warm up, but then got cold again.  Seems winter is getting longer and longer. In 2007, I just had enough of Illinois bullshit, and Indiana was a breath of fresh air.  The lake effect snow is killing me.

My wife is in real estate, she said she'd keep an eye out for any property manager openings.

Dude - THANK YOU! I appreciate this very much.  219.364.6229.

- Erick

Local utility companies have plans that allow you to "balance" your bill through out the year.  Essentially, you have pretty much the same payment every month.  You basically "bank" money in the lower demand months to use toward your bill in the higher ones..  Keeps the bill shock down in the summer....

SRP does that after you've been there for a year. It's pretty slick. I don't think APS does, though.

That reminds me, I need to get on the phone with APS to pick which peak rate plan I want. I have a feeling I'm going to get fucked over no matter which plan I choose.

yup.

We have a 3/2, 1240sqft, house, we keep it at 76.  Our bill is $115/mo year round.  They will adjust quarterly if needed.

Yeah, you probably will.  My total energy bill peaked at $250 for heating in December and it just about killed me.  In the summer, its right around $100 or so.  I guess I'm spoiled, but you can't have everything you want in life though...

I keep my AC at 72. I use more energy during winters because the heaters are electric...and my bills have yet to be higher than 70 dollars with the lowest being 39 dollars.

APS too.

I love Prescott

Last month my bill was $26.

Solar panels?

I'm interested as well. My last bill was about $65, but more than $26 of it was just service charges.

I’ll ask my wife if she knows anything. She’s a property manager in tucson

Nah, just don't use much electricity outside of the summer months.  I started running the AC this month so it will go up a lot but $150 doesn't bother me much when it's less than $30 for most of the winter.

Rex_Allen,

Thank you SO MUCH!  It blows me away how much people on this forum are coming together to help me out.  You guys are all awesome.  I very much appreciate everything.

Erick

Property manager are a dime a dozen around here. Most of them don't do a good job, don't care about tenants, just want their money every month.

Do the owners know about it? The regional managers either? Our owner and regional will fire those types without even blinking.

They also have a policy for the properties: can't pay and the tenant isn't lying why, they get offered to work it off and is given a chance. When the owner has bought properties, he's had to can all the management because they were skimming, preying on who they felt like, and other scoundrel things. Those are the ones who only care about the money and do shit jobs.

Yes, I'm familiar with those types of Management companies.  They are all over the place.  I know exactly what you are talking about.  Its cool to take over challenging portfolios with a constant state of resident turnover and just overall filth, and get it to where occupancy is stabilized, reduced crime, and have people who actually pay their rent and WANT to live there.

My most recent job was a mix of tax subsidy (section 8 and section 42) plus Market rate.  The subsidized side was a mess.  I've been doing Property Management since 2011, and never in my life have I seen a place that was such a mess.  I never want to work at a tax subsidized/low income place ever again if I can help it.  Constant police activity, property damage, drug use, crime....for the area it was in, it was unusual to have that kind of criminal activity.  I would consider the area semi-rural, but you have people coming from bigger cities to live there (they will go anywhere they can live for free or at a SUBSTANTIAL discount)!  it was bad.  The Market side had a metal gate separating the two areas (if that tells you anything).  I was getting TONS of complaints about the subsidized side, and I decided to do something about it.  I put the troublemakers on notice, and if behavior didn't improve, or they didn't bring their account current, I either gave them a 30 day notice or evicted them.  My boss didn't like this (because the subsidized side was guaranteed income), and I was let go.  We have a waiting list of over 2 years to get in the subsidized side, so those vacant units were full within 1-2 weeks.  Of course, there was also costs incurred to rehab these units (which they would have never collected).  In my defense, however, the property was getting cleaned up, the overall amount of calls for police service were reduced, Market tenants were happy that there wasn't trash all over the place, things were getting quieter, and just an overall tenant experience was getting better.

Occupancy and Accounts Receivable was monitored on a daily basis -- likely the reason used to let me go.  Based on the resident feedback that I have received since my departure, I am convinced I did the right thing, regardless of what the Company says.  I have my own rental properties myself, and I don't tolerate drug or criminal activity, period.

So, yes, USMCMP, you are right.  Sometimes it is all about the almighty dollar.  Shameful, but that's the way things can go sometimes.

Thanks for contributing.

GREAT NEWS!!!! I finally got a call yesterday for an Assostant Property Manager gig in Scottsdale!!!! Hope everything comes together and that the pay is decent. He said it’s a Market Rate community so no more low income problems/crime!!! It’s Scottsdale, so I’m presuming it’s at least a semi-upscale community....

Thanks everyone for all your help. I truly appreciate all your insight.

Erick