When it comes to running a business, there are endless practices, strategies, and goals to learn more about. These skills can take years of experience to master, and like any industry, rental property management is hard work.
Luckily, there are tons of resources from industry experts that you can learn from. If you’re looking for books to help you grow your rental property management business, the best books on real estate investing, or books on being a successful landlord, we have just the list for you!
These top property management books are excellent ways to get practical advice from business and entrepreneurship experts. You can get the most out of their decades of experience and use their valuable tips and strategies to help your company thrive and increase your revenue.
Keep reading to see our top picks for the best property management books to add to your rental property management kit.
- They Ask You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today’s Digital Consumer by Marcus Sheridon
In this book, successful entrepreneur Marcus Sheridon guides you through the process of building a compelling marketing strategy for your business, detailing various different strategies and how to embrace modern marketing practices to the fullest.
They Ask You Answer discusses the importance of always having the answer to any questions that your potential customers may have, as this is a proven method to increase business in the current economy and is crucial for retaining buyers. Although not about the real estate industry, rental property managers can benefit from the ideas discussed in this book.
If you want to learn more about how to use the internet as a powerful tool to market your rental property management business and how to use inbound marketing to succeed, then this is the book for you.
- Property Management Systems from A-Z by Dick Jonilonis
Property Management Systems is an informative read that explains the ins and outs of property management and how to make everything in your business run smoothly and effectively.
Dick Jonilonis has over 50 years of experience in the property management industry. In this book, he offers detailed tips on how to improve the operations of rental property management companies, as well as how to keep teams of property managers motivated.
- Make It Ring! A Strategy Guide for Property Management Company Owners by Mike O’Neil, Dylan O’Neil, and Audrey O’Neil
Using a simple but effective three-step plan to get exclusive property management leads, this book will help you learn what why it’s imperative to be able to generate leads for your business, all while showing you how to achieve them.
Make It Ring! offers useful and practical strategies for any rental property management company, whether they’re just starting out or they’ve established a larger business. Check out this book if you’re looking to grow your company and strengthen your business strategy.
- Extreme Ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink
Jocko Willink is a navy seal with years of valuable experience and an impressive work ethic. In this book, Jocko Willink uses personal stories to guide you through various leadership skills and principles that can help any real estate management company grow and strengthen.
From building a strong and efficient team to dominating the market, this book has all the guidance and tips that you need to increase your leadership skills and grow your business. If you oversee a team of property managers, this book will definitely offer some insight.
- Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
This book is the ultimate guide to developing your leadership skills and incorporating brave and courageous practices into your business. Dare to Lead includes four main skills that any professional property manager should practice in their day-to-day lives as they lead their team.
Brene Brown emphasizes the importance of putting your whole heart into your work, having hard conversations with those we care about, and bringing bravery into every aspect of our lives.
- Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
In this book, Gino Wickman will take you through the six key points necessary to strengthen your property management company. Traction guides you through powerful but simple methods that you can apply to your business to give your team of property managers more focus, growth, and enjoyment in their work.
- Numbers Game: The Science of Growing a Rent Roll by Ben White
In Numbers Game, Ben White details the meticulously analyzed data and research regarding marketing and growth within companies. This book discusses how growth can be tracked, researched, and optimized, all while teaching you how to apply these principles to your own business.
There are five growth channels that every lead source can be identified through and every goal can be met by using targeted and strategic marketing campaigns.
Using powerful consumer research, Numbers Game navigates all of the ways that landlords and rental property managers can grow their businesses in ways that they never knew were possible.
- Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Itself by Mike Michalowicz
As a business owner or leader, are you ever worried that without your constant presence and supervision, your business will collapse? Do you ever wish that your business could thrive by itself, allowing you to enjoy free time while still earning a steady profit? If so, this book is for you.
In Clockwork, Mike Michalowicz provides ways to do just this, offering tools to help your business succeed in any situation. If you want your business to be as efficient as possible, then this book is worth your time!
As the author of Profit First and various other bestselling books on building a small business, Michalowicz uses his years of research and experience in business to offer new approaches that you can apply to your company.
Learn how to help your property managers be more productive while freeing yourself from micromanaging, and learn how to unlock new levels of efficiency by identifying the one function that makes your business stand out.
- The 40 Hour Work Year by Scott Fritz
Regardless of the size of your company, this book has valuable insight for you. The 40 Hour Work Year provides a fresh perspective on creating a successful business while still keeping your personal life free.
In this book, Scott Fritz details his own experiences with entrepreneurship and success, explaining the tools, actions, mindsets, strategies, and philosophies that brought him to a place where he could enjoy the 40-hour work year.
From the initial start-up years to the complexities of running a thriving, multi-million dollar company, Scott Fritz has experienced it all when it comes to the business world.
- The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
While this read promises slightly less freedom in your work schedule than the book listed above it, The 4-Hour Workweek is an excellent choice. In this book, Timothy Ferriss wants to help you forget about the typical 9-5 lifestyle.
Leaving behind concepts like retirement and a deferred life plan, Ferriss provides a detailed guide on how he was able to achieve a four-hour workweek as a successful entrepreneur.
The 4-Hour Workweek explains how you can work less and live more without having to wait for retirement. If you want to change your mindset regarding your work schedule and experience life to the fullest, this is the book for you.
- Growth IQ: Get Smarter About the Choices That Will Make or Break Your Business by Tiffani Bova
As a business owner, trying to find the one move that will grow your performance and enhance your company can be an overwhelming and daunting task. But, as Tiffani Bova expertly details in Growth IQ, there are 10 applicable, but widely misunderstood, strategies for growth in your business.
Each path can be simply explained by choosing the best combination and order of these strategies for your current situation. This book will help you make smarter, more strategic decisions for your company that are bound to help you and your team of property managers grow.
- What the Heck is EOS?: A Complete Guide for Employees in Companies Running on EOS by Gino Wickman
In this book, Gino Wickman provides a guide for employees (aka property managers!) to help them utilize the EOS process.
Using simple explanations for a concept that may seem daunting, What the Heck is EOS? provides questions regarding each tool, so your team can talk more about creating ownership within the company and buying in at the staff levels.
If you want more information on how to help your employees be more engaged in the business, understand EOS in a deeper way, and start to become more active participants in the company’s overall vision, then this is the book to help you start.
- Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster by Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz
If you’re looking for practical, research-based steps that you can take to grow your new company at a faster rate, then Lean Analytics is for you. Using real life examples, Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz guide readers through over 30 different case studies.
This book includes a year’s worth of interviews with expert founders and investors, and more concrete research to help you learn how to make managing rental properties and managing tenants easier and more efficient.
- Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
If you’ve ever wanted to have a deeper understanding of your brand and how you talk about it, Building a StoryBrand is a great resource.
Donald Miller discusses how to communicate the unique value that you and your business bring to the market, helping you to hone in on your message so that others will be more likely to listen.
This book will provide solutions to the struggles that many business owners face when trying to get their brand’s message across to other people. When you apply these revolutionary tips to managing rental properties, you’ll be able to connect with customers in new ways, giving you the ultimate competitive edge.
- Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It… and Why the Rest Don’t by Vern eHarnish
Scaling Up explores tangible tools and practices that you can use to take your company to the next level and dominate the market around you. The book offers practical advice to help you successfully manage your ventures.
Using over three decades of invaluable experience and research, Verne Harnish shares the knowledge he’s gained from acting as an advisor to hundreds of CEOs and executives.
As an expert in the field, Harnish knows exactly what it takes to scale a business venture and explains the complexities and tools involved with growing your company.
By reading this book, you’ll learn how anyone from your frontline property managers to the CEO can get on the same page and contribute to the success of the business.
- Be a Successful Property Manager by Roger Woodson
Are you thinking of investing in your first property or maybe wanting to start a career as a rental property manager? If so, Be A Successful Property Manager is an excellent resource for property managers who are just starting out in the property management industry.
Roger Woodson expertly guides readers through the basics of rental property management and provides useful and applicable practices that will help you succeed. This is our pick for the best book on managing rental properties.
- The Rental Property Manager’s Toolbox by Jamaine Burrell
The Rental Property Manager’s Toolbox is an excellent resource for anyone who is just starting to enter the field of property management. If you’re looking for useful information on the basic practices as you begin your journey into property management, then this book is an excellent choice.
Jaimaine Burrell provides many helpful techniques on how to be proactive when it comes to common issues that may arise in property management, and how to solve problems before they become larger, more daunting situations. This is one of the best investing in rental properties for beginners books out there.
- What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow… and 36 Other Key Financial Measures by Frank Gallinelli
Are you confused or frustrated with managing your property management cash flow? Are you looking to enhance your skills when it comes to crunching numbers? If so, then this book is for you. It’s one of the best books to read for real estate investors.
What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow is an excellent resource for learning how to judge the value of rental properties, solidifying long-term returns, and understanding how to maximize profits.
Regardless of what stage you are in, Frank Gallinelli’s masterful guide can help you increase your returns, better understand rental property value, and become a successful real estate investor. This is one of the best books to learn about investing in real estate.
- The Property Management Tool Kit by Mike Beirne
If you’re on the hunt for new and innovative property management strategies and techniques, then The Property Management Tool Kit is an excellent resource.
The Property Management Tool Kit covers everything from new practices for tenant screening to increasing tenant retention. The practices detailed in this book are simple yet powerful so that you can begin applying them as soon as you’re finished reading.
More than just a beginner’s guide, this book on managing rental properties can help any rental property manager learn new skills, earn a larger profit, and avoid pitfalls when it comes to their businesses.
- Principles by Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio is one of the most successful and revered entrepreneurs in the world. In his book Principles, he details the innovative and unique principles that he has developed, mastered, and utilized to help him achieve the success that he has today.
Over the past 40 years, Ray Dalio has built a thriving business and lifestyle, and in his book he shares his insights that any property manager can apply to their business to help them succeed. If you’re looking to meet your goals and take your property management work to the next level, definitely consider picking up this fascinating read.
- E-Myth Mastery: The Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World Class Company by Michael E. Gerber
In business, there is a large difference between just doing a job and being an entrepreneur. In E-Myth Mastery, Michael E. Gerber explains just that. If you’re looking for tangible and applicable lessons on how to help your growing business thrive, then this is the book for you.
Reading this book, you can learn new business skills, like how to develop valuable property managers before you are able to afford competitive wages, how to get money for your company when the bank won’t give you any, how to accurately predict your businesses promises, how to keep these promises, and so much more.
- Content Machine: Use Content Marketing to Build a 7-Figure Business With Zero Advertising by Dan Norris
If you’re frustrated or confused by content marketing for your business, then this book is here to help. In Content Machine, Dan Norris makes the concept of creating impactful content easy to understand and applicable to any business.
By guiding readers through the fundamental aspects of content marketing, Dan Norris teaches how to create excellent, unique content that can help your company stand out in the industry.
This book is packed with easy-to-understand tips and tricks that you can apply to your business the second you finish reading. Take your marketing strategies to the next level and give this excellent resource a read.
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Drawing on stories of iconic and innovative millionaires like Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry Ford, Napoleon Hill discusses his Law of Success philosophy which has become a timeless principle that can help any business owner or entrepreneur thrive.
Think and Grow Rich is a national bestseller for a reason. This innovative book will help you understand the secrets to tangible and long-lasting success in your company and life.
- The Landlord Entrepreneur: Double Your Profits With Real Estate Property Management by Brian M. Chavis
Are you looking to expand your rental property business to more than just residential properties? If you’re interested in things like managing commercial rental properties or vacation rentals, The Landlord Entrepreneur can help you navigate these changes and give you exclusive real estate insights.
If you want to build a profitable business with a wide range of rental properties and assets, Bryan M. Chavis offers loads of valuable tips and techniques on things like rent increases to help you get there.
This book includes the five main phases of rental property management and all the things that you need to know to thrive as you go through them, in addition to useful tricks to grow your profits steadily and consistently.
- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is one of the best-selling and most influential leadership books of all time. John C. Maxwell is an expert in leadership and any property manager or business owner can benefit from his teaching.
If you are looking to make positive impacts on those around you, then this is a good property management book to check out. Property managers can use this book to gain insight on how to effectively manage tenants and landlord-tenant issues.
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
Good to Great is the result of over five years of research conducted by Jim Collins and his team. Over this time, they critically analyzed the data and histories of 28 companies to try and determine what makes some companies stand out and what makes some unable to “take the leap”.
Collins goes into detail about technology and its role in the success of companies today. He also discusses leadership skills that can make or break a business. If you’re looking for an informative read on professional development that can be helpful to any property management company, give this book a try.
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
Getting Things Done was originally published over 15 years ago, but it’s still relevant today. This book by David Allen is often considered to be the ultimate playbook when it comes to personal organization and increased productivity in your work.
In fact, “GTD” (Getting Things Done) is often used as a shorthand for an entire philosophy and method of conducting personal and professional tasks to be as productive as possible.
- Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
When it comes to the modern way of doing business, deep work is like a superpower that only a few have been able to master.
In our current economy, many people spend their business days in a blur of social media and emails, unaware of the ways that they can deepen their experience with work and achieve focused, worthwhile success.
By reading Deep Work, you can learn how to do just this, as this approach to your work will help your rental property management team be more efficient and focused, and it will also help your company stand out from the rest. In a society full of distractions, it pays to commit to some deep work.
- Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Phil Knight, the founder and board chairman of Nike, uses this memoir to share the insight he’s gained from building a small company into an iconic success story.
From selling shoes out of the trunk of his car to running a business with an annual sales average of $30 billion, this book is bound to provide you with valuable and tangible insight that you can apply to managing rental properties and your property management business.
Bill Gates said this book was one of his top five favorites in 2016, calling it “an amazing tale, a refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like […]. Phil Knight opens up in ways few CEOs are willing to do”. If that alone isn’t enough to convince you, then we don’t know what is!
- The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
In The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker explains that the secret to success for any executive is to “get the right things done”.
To him, this often means paying attention to tasks that others may have overlooked or forgotten, as well as avoiding tasks that are unproductive and won’t move you and your business towards true growth.
Forty years after its original publication, The Effective Executive remains timely and relevant to all kinds of businesses. Drucker’s practical, useful insight and masterful writing make these concepts easy to understand.
This book will be beneficial to any rental property manager looking to optimize their time and help their business thrive to its fullest potential.
Improve Your Knowledge with One of the Best Property Management Books
With this list of 30 of the best property management books, you can access an endless amount of beneficial insight and useful practices that are applicable to any business. You can also consider studying for a rental property management certification to boost your skills.
By hearing personal stories from the most experienced and successful entrepreneurs, business owners, and property managers, strengthening your company is just one book away! People who want to become successful property managers or real estate investors can benefit from any of these books.
