From traditional to the future of property management

We recently sat down with the Director of Property Management at Daisy to chat about her journey in the industry, Daisy's unique approach, and the future of property management. With over 20 years of experience, Kosha offered some great insights into the field.

Q: How did you first get into property management?

A: I was actually a paralegal at a real estate law firm, working on foreclosures. It was tough, honestly. Talking to families who were about to lose their homes due to unfortunate circumstances - it was soul crushing. I carried that weight for a long time. So I started looking for something different, and that's when I stumbled into property management. It was a chance to do something I enjoyed while actually helping people and making a positive impact on their homes and lives.

Q: After 20 years in the industry, what drew you to Daisy?

A: Actually, a good friend who is another veteran in the industry mentioned Daisy to me. I went to their website and as soon as I saw Daisy's board Dashboard, I was sold! There’s nothing like this in the industry- real-time financials? Digital board voting? Full transparency? It’s a game changer, and I wanted to be a part of the team that was rethinking how property management could be done.

Q: What are your responsibilities as the Director of Property Management:

A: I manage our team of property managers, I make sure they have the support and resources they need. I’m also always reviewing the health of all of our buildings, which is a lot easier to do with our real-time building health scores - if there’s early signs there might be an issue, what are the resources we need to address it early on.

Q: How is Daisy’s approach different from traditional property management?

A: The difference is our focus is on providing transparency to board members, faster responses and issue resolutions. I can say from real life experience, the difference is significant. For example, last week had been nothing but rain. At my previous companies, I would have five buildings, all of them having different kinds of leaks. I'd be going crazy, boards would be getting upset because I'm trying to handle five leaks at one time, coordinating five different vendors, accessing I don't know how many different units. The beauty of Daisy's structure is that we have a centralized operations team. They're the ones coordinating with the vendors and constantly updating me and the rest of the property management team on our ticketing system. That information is getting posted to the board in real time. Your property manager is able to digest and coordinate with them and collaborate. So it's not all falling on one person.

Q: What challenges do property managers face today, and how does Daisy address them?

A: Property managers have a really hard job and are very overwhelmed. They need to do everything on their own. They're responsible for keeping a building running well, guiding and supporting boards, and helping residents, connecting with brokers, vendors… On top of that, they need to jump between different systems, answer hundreds of emails and look for information in paper boxes or folders. 

At Daisy, we address this in two ways. First, we work out of one operating system - every relevant piece of information about a building is in one place. As the manager, I can go to any building in the Daisy network and see all the info I need. Second, we have dedicated teams for resident support and daily building operations. This allows our property managers to focus on the long-term plan for the building and give boards more attention and guidance.

Q: How do you balance technology and human interaction at Daisy?

A: I actually see it differently - thanks to our tech, our property managers are able to spend more time working with boards and providing guidance. The technology doesn't replace the human touch; it enhances it.

Q: Can you share an example of how Daisy's approach helped handle an emergency situation?

A: Emergencies happen every day in this business. The constants are always communication, quick resolution, and transparency. When there's a leak, a fire, or an elevator shutdown, it affects quality of life and it's stressful. Our structure ensures the property manager can focus on keeping the board updated, our resident experience team communicates with residents, and our operations team coordinates repairs with vendors. The beauty of our structure is that all of this happens in parallel - bottlenecks and delays are eliminated, so we resolve issues faster while keeping everyone in the loop. 

Q: How does Daisy support the growth of its property managers?

A: One of our company values is "always evolve." And I think that’s particularly important for property managers, as there’s always new local laws and systems and tools. We focus on two areas: improving relationships with boards and enhancing industry expertise. We collect feedback from our boards on a monthly basis , which we use to identify growth areas and create improvement plans. We also hold regular sessions with industry experts to keep our managers at the top of their game.

Q: What excites you most about Daisy's future?

A:  Our future is limitless - we can conceptualize and build everything in-house to ultimately provide thousands of board members and residents a better everyday experience. This is my first time working in such an innovative environment. Seeing what we've built in the almost three years I've been here makes me excited about what's to come. It's amazing to be part of a team that genuinely cares, and is really changing how property management works.

Q: Any advice for board members thinking about switching management companies?

A: First, get clear on what you want for your building. Then, when you're interviewing companies, ask how they'd help you get there. And definitely ask how they hold themselves accountable - how do they track if boards and residents are actually happy with their work? That'll tell you a lot about whether they're a good fit.