Empirian Property Management Reviews

Pros

Experience, paid the bills and allowed me to exercise my skills for growth and leadership in a difficult environment

Cons

Lack of mentoring, leadership and opportunity to grow and further my credentials

Advice to Senior Management

Provide / promote / support professional growth opportunities. My belief is that the investment would benefit the company immensly.

Pros

Since the company is having financial problems, no one is "breathing down your neck" to perform "miracles".
If I have a Resident complaint, and am following policy, my Supervisor backs me. Which is very important to me.

Cons

As mentioned before, keeping a positive attitude is very difficult, and upper management does not want to hear you have a bad day!

It is extremely difficult to keep a property at it's best when just getting basic supplies, such as paint, a hot water tank or just a garbage disposal may take weeks.

Residents were used to receiving great "perks" for renewing their lease. Now, rents keep increasing regardless of the condition of their apartment or the property.

Because the company needs money, there are high late fees, transfer fees etc, that are never "waived", even for a long term Resident with a good history.

Managers are left to deal with irate businesses waiting to get paid. We can not give them a phone number to call, we can't answer when payment might be made, and have no control because we have no budget. As a result, we lose vendors and are left on our own to deal with some major issues.

Advice to Senior Management

Some of the upper management seems very out of touch with what is really going on at the property level. It would be helpful if EPM would have a face to face meeting with employees. I do not appreciate being "fed to the lions" regarding unpaid bills, open work requests or the condition of the property. If I vent to my Supervisor, she comments on my attitude!

Pay attention to long term employees! The "bonus" programs are bogus! Re-institute the "floating holiday" for an anniversary, appreciate more of the small steps a property makes! This is a very difficult job now!

Pros

Many paid holidays are great.

Cons

Lack of communication between upper managment and the properties is horrible!
Unable to purchase parts and supplies for months on end.
Lots of "policy changes" implemented that never really help.
Property employees left hanging to deal with sreaming vendors and threats of lawsuits.
No improvements to properties. Residents upset over crumbling ashpalt and leaking roofs.
Employees are basically left with no means to do their jobs.

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate!!! Be more honest and upfront about what is actually going on instead of ignoring the HUGE pink elephant in the room.

Try to lay out something to employees about what is being done to resolve the mess that has been going on for years.

Pros

They have tons of paid holidays.

Cons

No money for parts
We don't have a budget to order from, we have to wait for allotments which come every 3-4 months and for a 100 plus unit property the amount is normally $500
District Managers have no idea what they are doing
Vendors never getting paid
If you get their medical benefits there is a $5000.00 deductible plus you are paying $1200.00 a year for it so why bother?
Residents are always mad because we don't have the parts to fix things
They have so many downed units because of mold
Promotions are given on who knows who, not who deserves it
Upper management expects you to keep property A+ condition with no parts or money, we can't order flooring, paint, maintenance parts, wood, drywall, etc.
Computers are so outdated

Advice to Senior Management

Put some money back in to the properties and you will make money. When Equity owned these properties there were never any issues.

Pros

Weekly pay is great
Off on Saturdays
Extreme amount of holidays
Good vacation and personal time off
Easy to learn computer programs

Cons

Poor upper management. Unable to complete work requests without parts (can't get any)

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your employees. They are on the front lines and would really like to take care of their residents.

Pros

Autonomy and the ability to make your own decisions. Love being able to improve the property and keep / make residents happy.

Cons

Limited budget, aging property. Some difficulty getting approval for capital improvement.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop with the cutesy "contests" and "training" which seems out of touch with the field. Put your effort and money into pay, benefits, and property improvements.

Pros

Great District Managers who truly care about the field staff.

Cons

Leadership very poor from Empirian. Vendors not getting paid. Cutting hours across the portfolio to 35 hours per week.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay your bills on time. You will save money in the long run. Don't blame your field staff for economic problems.

Pros

30 days paid vacation is great!

Cons

New company still has to work out the "bugs". The owners don't have a clue about Property Management and make ill logical decisions by trying to micro manage over 300 properties.

Advice to Senior Management

The PO System isn't property friendly; In an emergency the resident is the one who suffers and that leads to a bad name for management.