Lease-Up Property Manager Meritus Property Group | Lease-Up Community Meritus Property Group is seeking an exceptional Lease-Up Property Manager to lead the launch, stabilization, and long-term operational success of a new multifamily community. This is a high-impact leadership role for a proven operator who knows how to build momentum before opening, inspire a team through the intensity of lease-up, and create a resident experience that converts first impressions into long-term value. The ideal candidate has successfully managed a multifamily lease-up previously and understands the discipline, pace, and precision required to take a new asset from pre-leasing through stabilization. This person must be a confident leader, strong communicator, financially capable, highly organized, and comfortable using data to make smart operational decisions. The Lease-Up Property Manager will be responsible for bringing these pillars to life through team leadership, resident experience, owner communication, operational execution, and financial performance. Position Summary The Lease-Up Property Manager is responsible for the successful opening, lease-up, and operational management of a new multifamily community. This role oversees all aspects of property operations, including leasing velocity, team performance, resident experience, revenue management, budget adherence, financial reporting, vendor oversight, compliance, maintenance coordination, marketing execution, and owner/investor reporting. This is not a maintenance-only or leasing-only management role. This is a true business leadership position. The successful candidate will understand how to operate the property as an asset, lead the site team as a high-performing unit, and make daily decisions that support occupancy, revenue, reputation, and long-term value. What Makes This Role Exciting This is an opportunity to lead the full story of a new community from the beginning. The Lease-Up Property Manager will shape the culture, establish the operating rhythm, build the resident experience, and help define how the community is introduced to the market. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-moving environment, enjoys building systems from the ground up, and takes pride in seeing a property become a vibrant, well-managed community. The right leader will not simply "manage" the property. They will launch it, own it, and elevate it. Key Responsibilities Lease-Up Strategy & Execution - Lead the community through all phases of lease-up, including pre-opening preparation, pre-leasing, first move-ins, phased building deliveries, stabilization, and transition into steady-state operations. - Create and execute a disciplined lease-up plan that supports occupancy goals, revenue targets, traffic generation, application conversion, move-in quality, and resident retention. - Monitor weekly leasing performance, traffic sources, conversion ratios, exposure, available inventory, pricing, concessions, and competitor activity. - Partner with leadership to evaluate market conditions and recommend leasing strategies, specials, pricing adjustments, outreach plans, and operational improvements. - Ensure the leasing team is prepared to sell the community with confidence, accuracy, urgency, and hospitality. - Maintain a high standard for tour quality, follow-up cadence, lead management, application processing, and closing performance. - Oversee the move-in experience to ensure every new resident receives a smooth, organized, and memorable start to their residency. - Partner closely with maintenance, construction, ownership, vendors, and internal leadership to manage unit readiness, building delivery coordination, punch list tracking, access control, amenity readiness, signage, and opening logistics. Leadership & Team Development - Recruit, train, coach, and lead a high-performing site team during lease-up and stabilization. - Establish clear expectations, accountability standards, communication rhythms, and performance goals for each team member. - Build a culture rooted in professionalism, urgency, kindness, ownership, and follow-through. - Conduct regular team meetings, leasing huddles, one-on-one coaching, and performance check-ins. - Model the behaviors expected of the team, including responsiveness, resident care, accuracy, organization, and solution-oriented communication. - Create an environment where team members feel supported, informed, challenged, and proud of the work they do. - Partner with regional and corporate leadership to identify training needs, remove roadblocks, and ensure the property team has the tools needed to succeed. Financial Management, Budgeting & Revenue - Own the property's financial performance with a strong understanding of budgets, revenue, expenses, delinquency, concessions, loss-to-lease, vacancy loss, bad debt, and NOI impact. - Prepare, review, and explain monthly financial reporting, variance commentary, leasing performance summaries, budget updates, and operational results. - Manage the property budget with discipline and accountability, ensuring expenses are appropriate, documented, and aligned with ownership expectations. - Monitor rent collections, delinquency trends, payment plans, legal activity, bad debt, and resident account accuracy. - Partner with leadership on revenue management strategy, including pricing recommendations, concession analysis, renewal strategy, market rent adjustments, and exposure management. - Review and approve invoices, contracts, purchase orders, and property expenses according to company policy. - Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, increase income, control expenses, and protect asset value. Yardi, Systems & Reporting - Use Yardi confidently and accurately for property operations, leasing, resident accounts, reporting, move-ins, renewals, charges, payments, work orders, and financial review. - Ensure all resident, applicant, leasing, accounting, and operational data is entered correctly and maintained in real time. - Generate and analyze key reports, including availability, traffic, leasing activity, rent roll, delinquency, financials, budget variance, work orders, and occupancy reporting. - Train and hold the team accountable for proper system usage, documentation, notes, follow-up, and workflow completion. - Use technology and reporting tools to create visibility, improve performance, and support timely decision-making. Resident Experience & Community Building - Deliver a resident experience that reflects the Meritus commitment to being Centered on People, Committed to Care, and Connected by Community. - Set a high standard for service, communication, responsiveness, and professionalism. - Create a warm and welcoming community environment from the first tour through move-in and ongoing residency. - Resolve resident concerns with empathy, urgency, fairness, and sound judgment. - Develop resident engagement strategies that help establish the identity and culture of the community. - Partner with the team to plan thoughtful resident events, community touchpoints, and service moments that encourage connection and retention. - Ensure resident communications are clear, timely, professional, and aligned with company expectations. Marketing & Market Positioning - Partner with leadership and marketing partners to execute the lease-up marketing plan. - Monitor advertising performance, lead sources, ILS activity, website accuracy, signage, outreach efforts, social media presence, and reputation management. - Conduct regular market surveys and competitor evaluations to understand pricing, concessions, availability, amenities, leasing pace, and resident expectations. - Ensure all marketing materials, online listings, floor plans, pricing, photography, amenity descriptions, and leasing collateral are accurate and compelling. - Identify opportunities to increase visibility, improve conversion, and strengthen the property's market position. - Represent the community with professionalism during outreach, local partnerships, neighborhood engagement, and broker or vendor relationships. Operations, Compliance & Risk Management - Ensure the property operates in compliance with company policies, Fair Housing requirements, landlord-tenant laws, lease documents, affordable or program requirements if applicable, and all applicable local, state, and federal regulations. - Maintain organized records, files, reports, approvals, notices, and resident documentation. - Oversee vendor relationships, service contracts, insurance requirements, scopes of work, and performance standards. - Partner with maintenance leadership to ensure curb appeal, common areas, amenities, vacant homes, model units, and resident service requests are managed to a high standard. - Participate in property inspections, quality control walks, safety reviews, and operational audits. - Proactively identify risks, operational gaps, service issues, and compliance concerns, and escalate when needed. Required Qualifications - Prior experience successfully managing at least one multifamily lease-up from pre-leasing or opening through stabilization. - Minimum of 3 to 5 years of multifamily property management experience, with progressive leadership responsibility. - Strong working knowledge of Yardi. - Demonstrated ability to manage budgets, financial reporting, revenue performance, expenses, delinquency, and operational metrics. - Proven leadership skills with the ability to recruit, train, motivate, coach, and hold a team accountable. - Strong leasing, sales, closing, customer service, and resident relations skills. - Experience managing market-rate multifamily assets; affordable housing, MFTE, or mixed-income experience is a plus. - Strong understanding of Fair Housing, landlord-tenant law, leasing procedures, resident communication, and property operations. - Ability to analyze market data, leasing performance, rent positioning, concessions, and competitor activity. - Excellent written and verbal communication skills. - Highly organized, detail-oriented, and capable of managing competing priorities in a fast-paced lease-up environment. - Comfortable communicating with ownership, senior leadership, vendors, residents, prospects, and team members. - Ability to remain calm, professional, and solution-focused under pressure. Preferred Qualifications - Experience managing a new construction lease-up. - Experience with phased building deliveries and first move-in coordination. - Experience with revenue management platforms, CRM tools, online leasing, AI leasing tools, or centralized leasing support. - Experience preparing owner reports, budget variance narratives, weekly lease-up reports, and market updates. - Experience managing or supporting reputation management, social media presence, outreach marketing, and resident events. - Strong local market knowledge or demonstrated ability to quickly learn a new submarket. Core Competencies Leadership Presence The ideal candidate leads with clarity, confidence, accountability, and care. They understand that lease-up success depends on team energy, consistency, and trust. Financial Acumen This person understands the connection between daily property decisions and asset performance. They are comfortable reviewing financials, explaining variances, managing budgets, and recommending revenue strategies. Operational Discipline The right candidate is organized, proactive, and detail-driven. They know that successful lease-ups require structure, follow-through, documentation, and daily prioritization. Sales & Leasing Excellence This leader understands how to create urgency, coach leasing performance, improve conversion, and maintain a strong prospect experience. Resident-Centered Mindset This person believes that resident experience is not a department. It is the foundation of strong occupancy, reputation, retention, and community culture. Ownership Mentality The ideal candidate treats the property like a business, protects the asset, anticipates needs, solves problems, and communicates with transparency. Meritus Vision in Action Centered on People We lead with people first. The Lease-Up Property Manager is expected to create a workplace where team members feel supported and residents feel known, respected, and valued. Committed to Care We believe care is shown through responsiveness, preparation, follow-through, and pride in the details. This leader will set the tone for thoughtful service, quality operations, and consistent execution. Connected by Community We create places where people feel connected to their home, their neighbors, and the broader community. This role will help establish the communit