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When Eddie Montes returned to Panama City last year to take over the city’s largest property management operation, he knew what he was getting into. In his last job in Florida, he managed 14 different apartment and condominium communities with more than 1,500 homes. He understands the complexities and challenges of managing the investments of hundreds of property owners.

“Property management can be a tough, thankless business,” Eddie says, when asked about the mechanics of the business. “The stress levels of property managers are generally elevated.”

At Punta Pacifica Realty, Eddie brings his 20 years of business and property experience to oversee every aspect of the property management operation, from providing state-of-the-art security for clients to making sure the maids show up on time. PPR manages more than 200 apartments in Punta Pacifica and Eddie has established new systems for efficiency, clear communication with owners and tenants, and the highest standards for customer service.

For Eddie, the opportunity at PPR was a homecoming. He lived in Panama City as a teenager and graduated from Balboa High School. When he left Panama, he attended the Massachusetts  Maritime Academy, where he earned his degree in Marine Transportation, and later served as a  Merchant marine officer aboard various types of ocean going vessels.

More with Eddie:

 What are the keys to making property management work?

 The daily service activities can be overwhelming, if you don’t have the right people and  right systems in place. It starts with well-trained personnel who understand how to  service both owners and tenants. But you also need a well thought out management plan  which includes written instructions of what is expected from both the management agent  and the owner. Communication and transparency are essential. So you also need a  written explanation of tenant rights and responsibilities to avoid unnecessary conflict  resulting from the daily operations of the property.

But, most importantly, the property management staff must be a friendly and completely  focused on customer service. They must handle the issues of the customers regardless of  the circumstances. We want to earn referrals.

What are your biggest challenges in the day-to-day operation?

I know what’s important to me. I always want to make sure we’re on top of both emergency maintenance calls and preventive maintenance. A lot of people overlook the long-term upkeep and they pay for the negligence. I also want to make sure we’re achieving the highest standards for preparing apartments for occupancy and that means a rigorous quality control plan. And, first and foremost, I want to keep every member of the staff focused on the customer service experience.

How has your maritime background affected your professional life?

My maritime background has proven to be a blessing for the property management business. Everything that I learned as a Merchant Marine officer has some correlation to property management. Apart from the obvious leadership skills acquired from leading a crew through the operations and safety of a maritime operation, a ship is a mobile structure with many moving parts. Being responsible for a ship’s safe passage across oceans entails skills comparable to a facilities manager. Systems and procedures are elemental in the proper operation of both a ship and a building. Honing the skills acquired at sea really helped facilitate my transition to terrestrial based management.

The way I see it, is that a ship is a horizontal building with redundant systems similar to those found in a residential tower. Fire systems, electrical systems, plumbing systems, structural systems—there are many similarities between the two.

What kind of initiatives are you working on to improve service?

Currently I am working on producing a policies and procedures manual for all of the departments within the Property Management component of our business.  It’s a tedious task, but it’s important. With this long overdue manual we will be able to not only educate our staff on what is expected of them during their daily operations, but allow us to monitor and enforce any violations.

We are also working on conducting thorough inspections of all of our units to determine the status of components that are now going on 5 years of use. These inspections will conclude with a punch-out list of items we feel will improve the viability of the rental units and the ability to command higher rental rates.

In addition, we recently hired two additional team members. one for quality control and the other for customer service. These new hires will be working directly with our customers in order to improve service to both owners and tenants.

What advice would you offer an apartment owner thinking about renting their apartment?

I’m biased, but I think we have the largest and best trained property management team in the city at Punta Pacifica Realty. So my advice would be to come by our offices so we can show you how PPR is different and what it means to commit to our clients. Our relationship with many of the multinational companies and the relocation companies in Panama City offers a real benefit to owners. We have a pipeline to the best executive tenants.

I’m also proud of our standards at PPR. It is essential to maintain properties in the best possible condition if an owner wants to achieve the best ROI. I know the property management business. What owners want is peace of mind that you get from a quality tenant, tight security and the the knowledge that your property is in the best hands possible.

What is your favorite part of living in Panama City?

My favorite part is the diversity. There are people from all over the world living here. Their presence influences the culture of the city in many ways. We have many restaurants to appeal to the many culinary tastes found not only in Latin America but from Europe and Asia as well. That diversity, as well as the ease of living a healthy lifestyle, are what I find most appealing.