Any developer who has had experience in New York knows half the job is not in the buildings themselves but the constant chasing of paperwork, phone calls to brokers and constant refreshing of the DOB NOW.
This is the tale of one developer who got back control of their time by hiring a virtual assistant for real estate developers in New York.
The following is a composite of many similar situations we have seen and should be treated as such.
Table of Contents
The Problem: A Great Developer Buried in Administrative Duties
Daniel is a small-time developer running his own company based out of Brooklyn. His team of four was currently working on a mixed-use project in Bushwick, a two-family renovation in Queens and was in the midst of due diligence on a land purchase. Daniel knew his share of neighbourhoods and had a good nose for finding a deal; he could even get his contractors to show up consistently.
But outside of his morning coffee, his days were spent:
• 6:30 am – responding to emails from overnight lenders and attorneys
• 9:00 am – on the job site with a constantly ringing cell phone
• 1:00 pm – searching for a permit status update in three separate systems
• 6:00 pm – updating obscure spreadsheets only he could understand
• 10:00 pm – thinking about the next project, before he was too tired to do anything about it
“I didn’t sign up to be chief administrative officer of my own company when I started this firm, that’s for sure”, he said when asked about his two-week time trial. He found that roughly 25 hours a week were being spent on tasks that didn’t actually require his expertise, just his attention. This was exacerbated greatly by working in New York, where delays in permits or registrations could easily burn through budgets, not to mention the competitive nature of the area where a well-timed listing could make or break a sale. New York was where his clients made their money, and mistakes there were costly.
The Decision: To Hire a Virtual Assistant Instead of An Office Manager
Daniel knew he needed help, but help in New York came in many forms. A full-time office manager would command a healthy salary, benefits, space, payroll taxes, etc., potentially eating up to $60,000 to $75,000 a year before expenses for little tangible return. A virtual assistant represented a different option, one that offered skilled workers with no overhead to speak of and who could scale up or down depending on the project at hand. What Daniel needed most of all was someone who could understand the idiosyncrasies of the local market and who wouldn’t need him to explain everything from scratch.
The Setup: What a Sample First 30 Days Might Look Like
The first two weeks were spent getting to know each other; Daniel’s assistant, Priya, worked remotely in the speciality of property and development support. They spent the first two weeks learning from each other primarily. Priya used this time to understand what emails were important to Daniel, what vendors were reliable, what regular tasks tended to get overlooked, etc. She then helped to build a system around Daniel, taking on the following duties:
· Deal and market research. Every morning, Priya browsed through new developments, off-market deals and comparable sales in the markets Daniel was targeting before sending him a summary of the three or four most interesting opportunities.
· Permit and compliance tracking. She maintained a living inventory of all permits, filings, inspections and expirations related to current projects. Anything that had the potential to come due was noted ahead of time to prevent any surprises.
· Vendor and contractor support. Arranging visits to job sites, chasing down invoices, compiling certificates of insurance, and ensuring all vendors and contractors were working from the same page.
· Investor and lender reporting. She prepared packets for his review, pulled together all documents related to draw requests from banks and managed his correspondence on their behalf.
· Calendar and inbox management. She categorised Daniel’s inbox by urgency, importance or irrelevance, while blocking out his schedule to ensure he had time to focus on what only he could do.
The Turning Point: A Missed Deadline That Wasn’t Missed
About six weeks in, Priya flagged a pending expiration of a temporary certificate of occupancy for the Queens job, set to expire in nine days. In the old system, that would have required digging through an email chain to find the relevant message, but Priya was able to flag it and get the necessary documents in order to schedule the inspection.
“That one catch probably saved us thousands in delays if nothing else“, Daniel noted. But more importantly, that catch was representative of a larger shift taking place; Daniel had stopped needing to constantly second-guess himself about forgetting to do something.
The Results After 90 Days
The following numbers are drawn from Daniel’s internal tracking:
• Administrative time spent cut by roughly 25 hours to under 8 hours a week.
• Investor and lender response rates improved from roughly two days to same-day turnaround.
• No permit- or compliance-related deadlines missed across all three projects.
• Two additional deals reviewed per month due to increased capacity.
• Lower monthly costs, with no benefits or office space to speak of for a full-time equivalent.
The job site for the Bushwick project was able to close their construction loan draw two weeks faster than their previous project, largely due to the documents being in better order for the bank’s review.
What Made It Work
Looking back, Daniel highlighted a few items that had contributed to making this a success:
1. He kept detailed notes of his own processes, allowing for a rapid onboarding with minimal wasted time by either party.
2. He set clear expectations of who did what, with Priya only submitting proposals for his approval.
3. He worked with a specialist familiar with the real estate development space who understood terms like Schedule A and draw requests without needing weeks of training.
4. He set aside time for a brief weekly review to go over priorities.
Is A Virtual Assistant Right for Your Development Business?
If your evenings are being spent doing tasks that don’t actually require your personal expertise, then a virtual assistant for real estate developers in New York may be a good fit. One thing to be aware of upfront is that while they can bring in an extra set of eyes and experience, they are unlikely to replace the relationships you’ve cultivated in the space. You may need to devote some time to helping them understand the intricacies of your operations.
Get Started Today
Click here to connect with an expert who will guide you to list five tasks that drain you the most each week.
FAQ:
1. What can a virtual assistant do for a real estate developer in New York?
They can help with market research, permit and compliance tracking, vendor coordination, investor reporting, document organisation, calendar management, and inbox triage.
2. How much does a virtual assistant cost compared to a full-time employee?
It depends on the experience and hours needed, but typically you’ll only be paying for the hours you need. You also avoid the overhead of a full-time employee, including benefits, payroll taxes, and office space.
3. Is it safe to share sensitive project and financial documents with a virtual assistant?
Yes, if you are working with a reputable assistant. Make sure to sign a confidentiality agreement and only allow access to the documents and platforms they need to see. It’s also important to give them the tools they need to stay organised and secure, such as a password manager.
4. How quickly can a virtual assistant get up to speed?
It varies depending on the complexity of the work and how familiar the assistant is with the field. In most cases, a virtual assistant will be able to start working on a project right away and will be completely self-sufficient after about 30 days.
