Disaster Preparedness in Business: 10 Tips for Property Managers

Business owners, including property managers, usually start their ventures quite optimistically. They may understand that there are risks and threats to their business, but they seem abstract and distant – not something that requires active preparation.

As you gain more experience as an entrepreneur, you’ll quickly realize just how important disaster preparedness is. But why exactly is disaster preparedness so valuable? And how can property managers specifically benefit from it?

The Importance of Disaster Preparedness in Business

First, understand that disaster preparedness in business serves many goals simultaneously.

Primarily, disaster preparedness is a way of financially protecting yourself. If you anticipate and guard against disasters, you’ll minimize losses associated with said disasters. You can also protect yourself from potential liability issues, ultimately protecting your business and your personal assets as well.

Additionally, proper disaster preparedness has the potential to save lives and prevent harm. In the world of property management, this usually means protecting the lives and health of your tenants.

On top of that, properly addressing disaster preparedness issues helps build trust with your tenants and partners, ultimately increasing morale and retention.

Tips for Property Managers

Property managers face unique pressures in the field of disaster preparedness. They may have multiple properties to deal with, each in an area with a different risk profile. They’ll also need to think about how to protect and help tenants who might be in the crossfire of natural disasters.

These are some of the best strategies to be prepared:

1.   Save up an emergency fund. You can start by saving up an emergency fund. An emergency fund is basically a pile of cash that you can use to manage any emergency situation, rather than tapping into long-term savings or taking out costly loans. If you have at least several thousand dollars on hand, you can get through most disaster scenarios without taking on new debt or compromising your other financial goals.
2.   Look at your insurance policy. Hopefully, you already have a property insurance policy in place for each of your rental properties. If you don’t, now is the time to get one. Review your policies carefully to make sure you have adequate coverage for every conceivable disaster. Not every property insurance policy covers every type of damage your property could face. If you elect to forgo certain types of coverage, understand the increased risks that you face as a result. And if you’re not sure exactly what your policy covers, consider contacting your insurance agent or a representative from your insurance company to find out more.
3.   Adhere to all local laws and regulations. Local laws and regulations like building codes are designed to keep properties and tenants safe. As a property owner or manager, it’s your responsibility to adhere to all local laws and regulations. Consider consulting an attorney and hiring a property inspector to make sure you’ve done everything necessary to protect your properties from potential disasters.
4.   Consider making property upgrades. In some cases, it pays to make property upgrades. For example, you may need to pursue remodeling to add a new emergency exit, or you may want to rewire the building to reduce the risk of a fire breaking out. Upgrades like these can be costly, but they can pay for themselves if they prevent even a single disastrous event.
5.   Create an evacuation plan. Ideally, your property will have a formal evacuation plan in place. This may be necessary for certain types of structures, like apartment buildings. Make sure your tenants know how to leave safely in the event of a disaster.
6.   Advise tenants of emergency contacts. You should also make sure your tenants know who to contact in the event of an emergency. They should contact you directly if there’s any problem with the property, but they should also have access to phone numbers for firefighters, police, and other responders.
7.   Provide alternate contact info. What if a tenant can’t reach you in an emergency situation? Consider providing alternative contact information so there’s always a path to communicating with you (or your organization).
8.   Create a list of your own emergency contacts. It’s also a good idea to create a list of emergency contacts for your own reference. In addition to standard emergency numbers, you should make a list of professional contacts, so you can have access to plumbers, electricians, HVAC professionals, and other skilled experts when you need them.
9.   Meet with residents at least annually to discuss safety and preparedness. It pays to meet with your tenants periodically to discuss safety and disaster preparedness. During these meetings, you can talk about the most common and most devastating types of disasters in the area and discuss strategies for how to mitigate damage associated with them. Encourage all your tenants to have renter’s insurance policies in place.
10.   Send out advisements when necessary. Build rapport with your tenants and keep them safe at the same time by sending out advisements whenever necessary. For example, you can warn them of an upcoming winter storm and remind them what to do in an emergency situation.

Disaster preparedness isn’t exactly complicated, but it’s not always straightforward either. If you want to maximize your chances of success, keep your tenants safe, and protect your properties, you’ll need at least some kind of formal disaster preparedness strategy in place.