NAAEI Career Map

The NAAEI Career Map is a strategic tool for professionals entering or currently in the residential property management industry. Plan your career and navigate your professional growth by identifying the skills and experience needed to become a key player at every level. With information on compensation, credentials and industry resources, you'll have the tools you need to make informed career decisions and take proactive steps towards your goals.
 
This information is provided by NAAEI, NAA Research and industry volunteers. Get the most relevant information directly from the source.

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Choose your career path to follow the map to success.

Leasing

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bubbles with the following text overlaid: "marketing specialist, leasing, assistant community manager, multi-site leasing"

Responsibilities:

  • Using technology to generate traffic​

  • Monitoring and managing your community’s reputation​

  • Modeling a relationship sales process and evaluating personal sales performance

Credential Education

- ​Building relationships with residents and creating a sense of community

- ​Shopping the competition while building relationships with competitors

- Applying fair housing laws and communicating rental criteria

- Creating effective marketing plans

- ​Qualifying prospective residents according to the rental policy

Skills

1. General Sales Skills – Connecting and identifying the needs of the prospect to match them to the right rental home.

2. Customer Service – Assisting all internal and external customers with their needs within the rental community

3. Marketing Strategy & Techniques – Identifying and using social media, traditional marketing and technology software to promote the community.

4. Property Management – Demonstrating a general understanding of legal guidelines and day-to-day leasing operations of a rental community.

5. Communication – Effectively conveying information-in multiple forms to residents, team members and management.

Compensation

Leasing Compensation

  • Median Base Salary: $39,000
  • 75th Percentile Base Salary: $48,800

Assistant Manager Compensation

  • Median Base Salary: $49,200
  • 75th Percentile Base Salary: $59,400

Types of Communities

  • Conventional Housing or Affordable Housing
  • Build to Rent
  • Student Housing
  • Military Housing
  • Active Adult Housing

Maintenance

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bubbles with the following text overlaid: "multisite maintenance tech, porter, maintenance tech, groundskeeper, maintenance tech II, turn maintenance"

Responsibilities:

  • Processing work orders correctly in a timely fashion, and to residents' satisfaction​

  • Managing electrical services and repairs​

  • Implementing preventive maintenance schedules​

  • Making repair and replacement decisions​

Maintenance Plus

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bubbles with the following text overlaid: "multisite maintenance tech, porter, maintenance tech, groundskeeper, maintenance tech II, turn maintenance"

Responsibilities:

  • ​Effectively implementing changes and securing buy-in from your staff​

  • Working with staff and residents to resolve conflicts​

  • Properly identifying and utilizing all available resources

Responsibilities:

  • Incorporating energy efficiency measures in occupied & vacant apartment homes and common areas.
  • Identifying the benefits and impacts of energy efficiency for multiple stakeholders--on-site managers, owners/investors, maintenance teams and residents
  • Installing and monitoring energy efficient products​

  • Evaluating the effectiveness of energy efficiency performance and upgrades over time​

Credential Education

- Processing work orders correctly, in a timely fashion, and to residents' satisfaction

- Performing HVAC services and repairs

- Complying with Fair Housing regulation

- Reporting and documenting maintenance activities, in compliance with company policy and regulation

- Establishing procedures for maintaining recreational facilities and common areas

- Engaging in clear and respectful communication with residents, team members, contractors and suppliers

- Performing HVAC services and repairs

- Reporting and documenting maintenance activities in compliance with company policy and regulation

- Ensuring curb appeal, property inspection, and routine daily maintenance

- Establishing procedures for maintaining recreational facilities and common areas

- Making decisions on when to repair and replace assets

- Demonstrating professional behavior patterns, communication skills, and appearance

- Engaging in clear and respectful communication with residents, team members, and contractors

Skills

1. HVAC – Servicing and repairing multiple types of HVAC systems on the community.

2. Facility Management & Maintenance – Managing a community and a team: Including mechanical function, appearance and record keeping.

3. Plumbing – Assessing and repairing plumbing issues that may arise.​​

4. Construction Painting – Demonstrating proficiency in painting with different paint finishes.

5. Regulation & Legal Compliance – Understanding all legal regulations and codes supplied by governing bodies.

1. Initiative and Leadership - Training, coaching and mentoring team members to meet expected outcomes.​​

2. HVAC – Servicing and repairing multiple types of HVAC systems on the community.

3. Customer Service – Communicating with residents, suppliers and management teams with clear thoughts and ideas.

4. Facility Management & Maintenance – Managing a community and a team: Including mechanical function, appearance and record keeping.

5. Plumbing – Assessing and repairing plumbing issues that may arise.

Compensation

Maintenance Tech Compensation

  • Median Base Salary: $45,200
  • 75th Percentile Base Salary: $51,000

Maintenance Supervisor Compensation

  • Median Base Salary: $63,000
  • 75th Percentile Base Salary: $74,800

Types of Communities

  • Conventional Housing or Affordable Housing
  • Build to Rent
  • Student Housing
  • Military Housing

Management

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bubbles with the following text overlaid: "multi-site manager, district/area manager, regional manager, regional marketing specialist, community manager, multi-site ACM, assistant community manager"

Responsibilities:

  • Monitoring property maintenance
  • Engaging in human resources
  • Creating effective marketing/leasing and finance plans

Responsibilities:

  • Managing risk through inspections, follow-up procedures and incident reporting compliance
  • Monitoring property maintenance
  • Engaging in human resources
  • Creating effective marketing/leasing and finance plans

Responsibilities:

  • Understanding key differences between managing traditional rental housing and student housing
  • Monitoring property maintenance​

  • Engaging in human resources ​

  • Creating effective marketing/leasing and finance plans​

  • Utilizing risk management

Credential Education

- Recruiting high-performing employees​

- Managing employee performance, engagement, and retention​

- Minimizing conflict through stakeholder communications​​

- Managing risk through inspections, follow-up procedures, and incident reporting compliance​​

- Exhibiting awareness of regulatory agency oversight of assisted housing​

- Evaluating and reporting property performance using key performance indicators

- Sales team management and product readiness​

- Equitable treatment of current and potential residents​

- Enforcement of company policy, in compliance with laws and regulations​

- Property inspections​

- Recruitment, hiring, orientation and training of high-caliber employees​​

- Maximizing net operating income​

- Reporting property performance honestly and accurately​

Skills

1. Initiative & Leadership – Providing training, coaching and goal setting to multiple teams within a portfolio. ​

2. Property Management – Overseeing the overall operations of multiple communities: including but not limited to Financials, Community Condition and overall function of the Community. ​

3. Customer Service – Handling the most extreme cases of internal and external customer issues. ​

4. Communication – Demonstrating the ability to express clear thoughts and ideas to multiple levels of stakeholders. Reporting on community performance on various platforms.

5. Personal Attributes – Working independently and as a part of the team and modeling the ability to be a problem solver to achieve the desired outcomes of the owners and management company.

1. Property Management – Providing complete oversight of the day-to-day operations of the community including financial, regulatory and consumer management. ​

2. Marketing Strategy and Techniques – Providing team members guidance for the marketing efforts of the community. ​

3. Customer Service – Making sure both internal and external relationships thrive, including but not limited to teams, suppliers and residents are maintained professionally. ​

4. Initiative and Leadership – Providing guidance and coaching to team members; helping to achieve maximum productivity of the community.​

5. Communication – Demonstrating the ability to communicate to multiple levels of stakeholders within the organization.

Compensation

Manager Compensation (CAM & CAM+SH)

  • Median Base Salary: $70,900
  • 75th Percentile Base Salary: $82,600

Regional Manager Compensation (CAPS)

  • Median Base Salary: $136,500
  • 75th Percentile Base Salary: $163,800

Types of Communities

  • Conventional Housing or Affordable Housing
  • Build to Rent
  • Student Housing
  • Military Housing
  • Active Adult Living

Suppliers

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bubbles with the following text overlaid: "resident services, exterior management, waste solutions, software solutions, maintenance suppliers, financial services, security, construction services, utility management, surveys/reputation management"

Responsibilities:

  • Understanding how economic conditions have impacted the rental housing industry
  • Defining various types of rental housing
  • Understanding the impact of pricing and lease management on a property’s financial performance

Enhanced Skills

- Understanding how economic conditions have impacted the apartment industry​

- Defining various types of multifamily housing​

- Understanding the impact of pricing and lease management on a property’s financial performance​

- Understanding the inner structure of the apartment associations​

- Communicating using industry terms and acronyms​

- Reviewing property and company organizational charts​

- Recognizing business resources to maximize selling opportunities​

- Learning methods for positioning products/services based on the goals of an apartment community​