Which property roles are a good fit for a direct search?
Direct search fits roles where the right person is employed, the job carries real responsibility and a mismatch is costly. In property management that usually means site and regional managers, maintenance and engineering leaders, compliance specialists, accounting staff and senior operators, across residential, association and commercial assets.
Fit depends less on title than on scarcity. A leasing consultant in a market full of experienced applicants may not need outreach. A manager who knows a specific affordable housing program, or a chief engineer for a staffed tower, often does, because the people who can do that work are few and rarely looking.
We also look at the employer setting. Hiring for a fee-managed asset, a self-managed portfolio or an association board produces different jobs under the same title. The roles directory lets you see how we describe each one, and the property type pages explain what changes from one asset class to the next.
If your role does not appear on the list, it may still be a fit. Tell us the work and we will say plainly whether a search makes sense or whether another route would serve you better.
How do we decide whether an unusual property role can be searched?
We look at whether people doing comparable work exist in reachable numbers, whether the role offers a credible reason to move, and whether the brief is specific enough to qualify against. When all three hold, a search is reasonable even for an uncommon title or a property type outside the usual residential mix.
An unusual role sometimes needs a wider net: adjacent property types, a neighboring market or a related function. We discuss those tradeoffs with you before outreach so that the shortlist reflects choices you agreed rather than compromises you discover later.
Where the pool is genuinely too thin, we say so and suggest how the role might be reshaped, split or supported to make hiring practical.
Owners with several roles can send them together. We will say which ones suit a search and which may be better filled another way.
The people behind a real estate portfolio.
Real Estate Headhunters: Direct search fits roles where the right person is employed, the job carries real responsibility and a mismatch is costly. In property management that usually means site and regional managers, maintenance and engineering leaders, compliance specialists, accounting staff and senior operators, across residential, association and commercial assets.
This is what we do all day: recruit property management and real estate professionals.
Our searches connect property operations with the business functions that support them.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Real estate only
- We reach people who aren't on job boards
- Replacement guarantee on standard searches
Signed terms: We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
Property management
We recruit community and property managers, regional leaders, senior operating executives, association managers, lease-up professionals and affordable-housing compliance leaders.
Facilities and maintenance
We recruit Chief Engineers, Facilities Directors, Directors of Maintenance and Maintenance Supervisors. Technical requirements are defined for the equipment, property and jurisdiction.
Investment and development
Asset management, acquisitions, capital markets and development searches focus on the real estate business. We distinguish investment decisions from operating execution and site-delivery work.
Know the role you need to fill?
Send Us Your Open RoleLeasing and finance
We recruit leasing leaders, commercial leasing managers, property accountants and controllers. Each search specifies decision authority, systems and the reporting environment.
What should you ask before choosing a recruiting firm?
Do you recruit for commercial and association properties as well as apartments?
Yes. The role families include commercial building teams and association management alongside residential operations.
Do you fill hourly maintenance roles?
We take maintenance and engineering searches where experience is scarce, such as supervisors and chief engineers. High-volume hourly hiring is often better handled in-house.
When do we pay the recruiting fee?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire under the standard contingency agreement. The signed agreement sets the terms; read the fee page before authorizing the search.
How long does it take to see a short list?
The scope of the job, candidate availability and your interview decisions affect the search. We explain the market response and agree next steps rather than promise a numeric deadline.
What if our chosen candidate gets a counteroffer?
We ask about the reasons for a move before an introduction. You still need a clear offer and an honest account of the job; an increase in pay alone may not resolve why someone considered leaving.
What are the replacement terms?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What do you not do?
We do not sell job-board reposting or send an unqualified resume stack. Standard permanent search is not hourly consulting or a retained assignment. Different engagements require agreed terms.
Tell us the role. We go find the person.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Our process
What do you get from The Six-Step Search?
Real Estate Headhunters begins with the decisions behind your vacancy, not an advert. You get a clear brief, a mapped candidate pool and evidence from direct conversations. We help you distinguish an interested person from a qualified fit, then support interviews and the decision without promising a completion date.
- 1
Search Calibration
A brief that settles the operating problem, reporting line, location, compensation and who can approve the hire.
- 2
Market Mapping
A view of relevant working backgrounds, asset types and experience rather than a search based only on titles.
- 3
Professional Contact Intelligence
Direct ways to approach relevant people respectfully, without relying on applications or exposing a confidential vacancy.
- 4
Persistent Personalized Outreach
A conversation about your actual role, with follow-up that establishes whether a move is worth discussing.
- 5
Live Candidate Qualification
Evidence about responsibilities, relevant results, systems and the practical reasons someone would accept the move.
- 6
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
A short list with context for interviews, objections and decisions, not a stack of unexplained resumes.
CAM has different meanings. NAA CAM is the Certified Apartment Manager credential. The Florida community association manager license is a separate license, cited here as an example of state licensing. In commercial budgets, CAM means common area maintenance. We check the credential or license relevant to the opening, where the state requires it.