We had the pleasure of interviewing Sandra Burkhamer this month, the owner of Burkhamer Property Services in Montesano, WA. With over 30 combined years of experience in the property management and real estate fields, Sandy uses her knowledge and expertise to provide quality service to her owners and tenants. As a member of NARPM®, she has achieved the MPM® (Master Property Manager) designation. She is also a member of the Montesano Chamber of Commerce, EGHC Rotary, NAR, GHAR, NWMLS, REBAC and GH Chamber of Commerce.

How did you get into property management? 

SB: I’ve always liked property management. I’ve been licensed since 1974 to do real estate, and in the state of Washington you need your real estate license to do property management. Property management always interested me, and it was a steady income – with real estate sales, that isn’t always the case. So I always wanted to get into it and I had an opportunity in my office at the time to do so. The company had a small property management department, but for several years in a row they were unable to pass the audit by the state. It got to the point that they needed someone to go in and straighten out the trust account and get things flying right. Since I had owned a real estate company I had a lot of trust account experience, so I took it over and that is how I got started in property management. It’s been a learning experience ever since!

How did you become the owner of your own property management company? 

SB: The little company that I was with was basically a real estate company, and the property management division was like the ugly stepchild at the back of the office. When the company moved into a new building, I got squeezed into a little bitty office. However the property management business was starting to grow because we were doing a very good job and I needed more room. I also needed an assistant and a bookkeeping system, as I was doing everything by the Safeguard system. My broker decided she didn’t want to do those things, so I stepped out, and opened my own office 12 years ago in October of 2001.

I had to leave everything with the other company and start out from scratch, but a lot of my owners came over with me eventually. So it’s been very, very good. Every year I have steady growth, and I’ve gotten to a point where I can be a little bit more selective. In fact, the last two years we’ve been voted Best Property Management Company in the Best of Twin Harbors!

What are some of the challenges that you’ve faced in your business, and how do you effectively deal with those?

SB: Technology is my biggest challenge. I’ve got the programs that I need, and it’s just having the time to implement all of the things that would make my business easier. I have to go outside my office to get the knowledge and people that know what to do to get this done. That’s probably the one biggest challenge that I face. Also just keeping up on the State and Federal rules and regulations governing property management is challenging. I belong to NARPM® and have ever since I got into property management…and thank God for NARPM® because it has kept me abreast on the things that are happening that I need to take care of.

How has HERO PM helped to benefit your business?

SB: HERO has always kept me ahead of my competition. When I opened my office, I had and still have, the best website in our area. The way HERO posts my listings on so many different websites has also helped me immensely. The fact that I was able to get a step up because of HERO has helped me instrumentally in becoming recognized as the best property management company in our area.

What is your advice for someone just entering the property management field?

SB: First of all, if you live in the state of Washington you really need to get your real estate license. Without it all you can really do is show rentals. To be able to adequately work in the property management industry in the state of Washington, getting that real estate license is really instrumental. If you’re in a different state though you may not have to worry about the license.

The second thing is go to work for the best property management company in your area. Do whatever you need to do to get in the door, because that’s where you really learn. The last thing is to join NARPM®. These are the three things I’d say to do if you’re trying to get into the property management field.