Vilmarie Colon never thought she would find herself in an office work environment, let alone property management. Starting out with no relevant experience or background, she quickly learned the ins-and-outs of how to lease, Fair Housing laws and regulations, and how to best serve and assist residents. During her time as a Property Manager of an affordable housing company, she kept hearing her close friend, Willmarie Rivera, rave about her time as Property Manager at Princeton Orchards Apartments, a Westover-owned property. It was around this time that Vilmarie decided to take her passion and joy for helping new residents move into their new apartment home to the Westover Companies. She joined Willmarie at Princeton Orchards Apartments and now serves as Assistant Property Manager.
In order to learn more about the Assistant Property Manager role, we sat down with Vilmarie and got the inside scoop on her time as an Assistant Manager of Princeton Orchards Apartments and what she admires most about working for Westover.
Q: What is your job title and what are your responsibilities within your role?
I’m an Assistant Property Manager at Princeton Orchards. Some of my responsibilities include, touring, processing payments, maintenance requests, market outreach, networking with vendors and competitors, etc. My favorite part is planning resident events as they seem to be enjoyed by our residents and staff members!
Q: An Assistant Property Manager is known to wear many hats; can you talk about things that you have helped with or have taken on to make sure things would run smoothly?
There is never a dull moment in my day as an Assistant Property Manager. I get to be a tour guide, touring guests and potential residents; greeter, welcoming guests and residents visiting the office; enforcer, upholding policy; accountant, processing payments and simplifying ledgers for residents; maintenance, answering to non-emergency service request calls when maintenance has gone for the day are just a few of the roles I get to step in to.
Q: What is your favorite part about working at Princeton Orchards?
There are lots of things I like about working at Princeton Orchards. We work as a team collaboratively. From taking a small Christmas decoration idea to building more ideas that birth a village. A village that turned out to be the most talked about center peace on our interview table. My colleagues and I have a pleasant experience working.
Q: What are some things that you do at Princeton Orchards to let your residents know that they are appreciated? Have you hosted any resident events, if so, what are some examples?
Respond to their concerns and needs as quickly as they come and follow up as agreed. Free food, drinks and giveaways are also great for expressing our appreciation to our residents. One example was our breakfast on the go event. We gave a bag filled with a drink (coffee or juice), granola/breakfast bar, fruit, etc. as our residents drive out to school/work.
Q: What types of skills do you think new Assistant Property Managers need to have in order to be successful?
As a new Assistant Property Manager, the most important skill one should have is organization and time management.
Q: Do you have any advice for others looking to get into property management?
Being able to stay organized and prioritize the “to do” list often is essential in this field. No matter how easy the operations of the property may be, it can get overwhelming and out of control very fast.
Q: What is your favorite part about working for Westover?
My favorite part about working for Westover Companies is the free benefits and how the corporate staff are welcoming and always willing to help. Everything I was told about the company exceeded my expectations.
Are you interested in a property management career? Apply to one of our open positions today and start your career at the Westover Companies!
