A day in the life of property management: Senior Property Manager Juliet Grant

“I have worked for Dart for 10 years now,” said Juliet Grant, senior property manager at Dart. “I think the best way to describe the way I feel about working here is, 'grateful.' I can recall when I was thinking about making a career change. I asked myself, 'Who would I want to work for?' And I had a wish list. I wanted an employer who would challenge me, provide career growth, and who is stable, and Dart ticked all those boxes. Clearly, it worked out. Here I am and that’s why I’m grateful.”

As she celebrates her 10-year anniversary with Dart, Grant’s enthusiasm for her work was clear as she shared with us what a day in her life looks like.

“My role overlooks the residential portfolio, which includes The Terraces and Kapok. In a senior role you are primarily accountable for everything that happens within your building. At the end of the day, I need to make sure that my team and I get things right.

"Whenever a tenant is handed a premises, we make sure it is in move-in ready condition and they can just settle in comfortably and stress-free. That’s the interior space. There is also a responsibility to ensure the common areas are kept clean, safe and welcoming for the tenants as well as their guests and visitors.”

CBT: What drew you to this field?

JG: With my hospitality background, my aim is always to ensure that customers are provided with personalised service and for me this works in tandem with property management because the tenants are my customers. At the end of the day, as beautiful a product as you might have, if your customers are not looked after and are not happy then there is really no value in the product.

 CBT: What is your favourite part of your job?

JG: First, welcoming a tenant into their premises and seeing the smile and contentment on their faces and hearing comments like, "It’s more beautiful than when I did the walkthrough." The second part is working with my colleagues. Because we are given the autonomy to always improve and tweak our processes, being able to collaborate and make those changes is very rewarding for me. It’s rewarding to be able to provide best-in-class service. When I walk through a space, I want it to be in the state that I would want it to be in, so I know the customer is getting the best of what we have. 

CBT: Do you have a set schedule for tasks or is every day different?

JG: This is the exciting thing about property management – every day is different. I find myself putting together my task list the day prior or setting my calendar with tasks, but there are days when I come in and everything flows, and then some days when I come in and I cannot cross off a single item. I may be putting out fires or dealing with emergencies, and it is about setting priorities. Do I always achieve what I plan to each day? No, but I always feel like I have made a difference. If I have to say no to a request, I always make sure I can offer an alternative.

Timeline of a typical day

• 8:30 a.m. - My day starts and for an hour I check in with my direct report, we review our calendar and address any priorities.
•  9:30 a.m. - I check my emails to see if anything urgent has come in and address as necessary.
• 11:30 a.m. - I do a walkthrough of the properties and that’s to make sure everything is functional and any projects that are happening are on schedule. It is also a pleasure bumping into a tenant to simply say hi, see how their day is going or address any concerns they may have. 
• 12:30 p.m. - Lunch is an ever-moving timeline because it might be at my desk or with a tenant – whatever fits on that day.
• 1:30 p.m. - This time is usually used for internal meetings, collaborations and beginning to review tasks for the following day. These matters can go on until 6 p.m. or so because on the residential side, there are matters that the tenant might need me to address when they get home from work. I am always on call to make sure their needs are met and they are supported. 
• 6 p.m. - I head home once I have made sure I am set up for the next day. 

CBT: What are some examples of your tasks?

JG: What stands out the most is that I am financially accountable for how the asset performs, so I have to ensure that we are making fiscally responsible decisions. It is also important to maintain an average occupancy, so I work to achieve this. As well, I deal with any tenant-related matters, and they are many and varied. For example, working with the commercial property management team to arrange fit-outs and ensuring we keep up effective communication between all the stakeholders; tenant move-ins and move-outs; and working with my direct report to make sure all maintenance matters are addressed in a timely manner. We also work with our residential sales team, Provenance Properties Cayman Islands, to coordinate showings and schedule tenant-appreciation gatherings.

CBT: Who inspires you?

JG: There are two answers to this. Personally, my family inspires me. My 15-year-old daughter, in particular, inspires me to do well and lead by example. She always pushes me to be my best. Professionally, the vice president of property management and my manager, Marvin Cox, stands out. He shows me that no matter what level you are within the company, you can roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty to get the job done.

This article was published in the July/August 2024 print edition of Camana bay Times.