PDA Appeal (JPM)

IREM members reveal how handheld devices make organization and communication a snap

by Janice Rosenberg

The following is an excerpt from the May/Jun 2008 issue (Volume 73, Number 3) of JPM^�, Journal of Property Management.

When Kevin Grail,CPM^�, wakes up each morning, the first thing he does is check his personal digital assistant, more commonly referred to as a PDA.

�I look at the calendar and I�m immediately up to speed,� said Grail, president of Strong Management in Winter Park, Fla. �I dress differently depending on what I�m doing on a particular day, so it�s nice to remind myself first thing where I need to be and how I need to dress.�

Although Grail could have done the same thing with his paper planner, he just plain didn�t. It seems there�s something far more compelling about the pocket-sized, all-in-one digital device that makes property managers sit up and take notice.

Today the PDA, a term most people apply loosely to any type of phone-organizer combo, has emerged as the must-have technology for the 21st century. Property managers and owners view PDAs as electronic replacements for the once ubiquitous Day-Timer^�, clipboard and laptop. They take them everywhere, to scan e-mail, send instant messages, read reports, browse the Internet and to take photos�and swear they�ve increased efficiency and productivity.

But to no one�s surprise, these chocolate-bar-sized miracles have their pros and cons. On one hand PDAs give managers mobility, real-time information and instant communication. On the other hand, PDAs�with their reminder �beeps� and never-ending e-mail access�can demand attention day and night, making managers their slaves.

�PDAs contribute to nonstop work which impacts health and employees� attitudes toward work,� said Todd Hattori, chair of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), in San Francisco, and manager of technology acquisitions services for the Washington State Department of Information Services in Seattle. �Organizations looking to implement the use of PDAs need to address how to train employees to use these resources properly.�

Personal Assistant
Property managers across the country applaud PDAs for their multipurpose value.

�Day-in and day-out it�s on my hip and ready to help me be more effective, and add more value in our property management relationships,� said Bob Hendricks, CPM, of Property Management, Inc. in Lemoyne, Penn. �I almost think they are becoming ubiquitous in the real estate industry.�

PDAs have unchained property managers from their desks, said Merlyn M. Banks, CPM^�, associate broker/property manager at Century 21 Real Estate Team in Fredericksburg, Va. Having access to information in his pocket has been a revolution.

�I was sick of carrying a huge Day-Timer that had all my contacts, my calendar and my reference information that I needed to have with me,� Banks said. �When I saw there was something electronic out there, I thought, �Hey, I gotta get this.��

Saadat M. Keshavjee, CPM^�, managing director, Amhurst Property Management, Ltd., in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, uses his PDA during property inspections. The notes section has replaced his old clipboard and pen.

Back at the office, Keshavjee docks the PDA with his computer and is able to complete and print forms containing the gathered information. As a busy, multitasking property manager, Keshavjee appreciates the hours his PDA has saved him, especially at the end of each month when he makes numerous inspections.

Grail sets his PDA, complete with its list of 600 contacts, to warn him of upcoming appointments 15-to-30 minutes ahead of time.

�Several times I�ve been so caught up in what I was doing, in a meeting or traveling, and the PDA would buzz or vibrate to remind me,� Grail said. �A couple of times it�s saved me from missing an appointment that slipped my mind. I look more professional. I don�t miss appointments and I�m not late for them.�

E-mail and Beyond
Calendars and contact lists aside, in Whitman�s opinion, the ability to receive e-mail 24/7 is the greatest advantage of today�s PDAs.

�Being able to sit on an airplane and pull out my PDA and respond to e-mails is a real timesaver,� Whitman said. �We use e-mail for communication more than anything else. I�d rather have that than a phone call. You don�t have to chit chat, and you get your response right away.�

PDAs, with their e-mail capacity, serve as on-the-road offices. Charlotte B. Strain, CPM^�, senior director of retail at Avalon Bay Communities, Inc. in Alexandria, Va., remembers a day she spent in Chicago viewing a property during a discovery period. She received information from the property owner that a ground floor tenant had moved out. There was a possibility that the continuing presence of this tenant would affect the value of the asset.

In years past, this would have been a time-consuming problem for Strain. However, that day she had the solution at her fingertips.

�It was easy to take a picture of the property with my PDA and e-mail it to everyone to find out if this was an issue,� Strain said. �It�s the speed with which you can communicate that matters. It�s very important to get back to everyone quickly or you can lose the deal.�

Similarly, PDA e-mail has been indispensable for Michael Biggs, CPM^�, regional vice president in the Midwest office of Lincoln Property Co., headquartered in Dallas. Not long ago, in the process of refinancing a building, he received an e-mail from the correspondent who was handling the loan. The correspondent needed six documents immediately. Biggs, who was out of office at the time, was able to forward the e-mail to his office where assistants took care of sending the documents.

�I travel a lot and I use my PDA to keep up with things and address them in a timely fashion, rather than waiting until I get back to the hotel and plugging in my laptop,� Biggs said. �I�m up-to-speed on a real-time basis about most of what�s going on in the business. I can prioritize, delegate and handle issues as they arise.�

PDA benefits go beyond person-to-person communication. Hendricks receives e-mail alerts about the weather at outlying properties. These help him make travel decisions and oversee snow removal. Web-enabled security systems at some of his buildings can alert him if a door has been left ajar, or if someone without access rights is trying to gain access to a building.

�As CPMs, most of us have multiple properties,� Hendricks said. �We have multiple owners and vendors to respond to. PDAs just help us be more efficient in our communication.�

The full article is available in the May/Jun 2008 JPM� issue.

IREM Members have free access to the JPM^� online archives and the �Online Exclusives,� articles that are only available on the IREM Web site. Non-members can subscribe to JPM^� at www.irem.org/jpm.