Amy Karns, who is intimately familiar with various aspects of property management thanks to having bought, sold, and started property management companies.

She got her introduction to property management in San Antonio, where she bought a company over the course of five years by purchasing 20% a year (while the previous owners played less and less of a role each year). Amy built that company up from 90 doors to 225 doors over the 10 years that she ran it.

Eventually, an offer from another company interested in buying hers got her interested in the possibility of selling. While the original offer wasn’t one that would work for her, she soon found the right buyer and sold her company, as she describes in some detail here.

After that, Amy did what we all dream about: moved to a new market and started from scratch using all the lessons she had learned and her vast, valuable previous experience. As she explains in our conversation, her goal is to manage 50 properties from home and make the same income as she did from 250 properties.

You’ll hear how she plans to do this, as well as how she has turned unaccompanied showing systems into a giant revenue generator. She talks about the incredible value in doing everything online, and how her current business lets her work from Punta Cana.

Here’s where you can find Amy:

Amy Karns on realtor.com

Amy Karns on Facebook

Amy Karns on LinkedIn

 

Show Notes

[02:08] - Amy offers us a look into her background and history in property management. She explains how she acquired a company over a five-year period.

[03:43] - We hear in more detail how Amy found this five-year opportunity to take over the company.

[05:55] - Were there any control issues between the previous owners of the company and Amy during the transition period?

[07:24] - Amy ran that company for 10 years, growing the company from 90 doors to 225 doors over that period. She also discusses the company’s leanness.

[08:53] - What caused Amy to look at selling that company? She reveals that she hadn’t considered selling it until an offer came in. She then discusses the move from renting to buying her office space.

[13:05] - Amy explains the problem with the first offer she received, which was that the buying company wanted her to teach them to do property management. She then talks about the pricing strategy she used to set up the sale once she found the right buyer.

[16:08] - Once Amy had the right buyer lined up, how did they move forward? She and Brad then touch on non-compete agreements and exclusivity clauses.

[18:26] - Amy walks us through some of the terms of the purchase agreement she made when selling the company.

[21:33] - How did the closing work during Amy’s sale?

[24:03] - After the sale, Amy picked up and moved to a whole new market. She then reveals that if she could go anywhere, she would pick Phoenix or Colorado. She then talks us through how her move to Dallas worked out, and explains why she chose to stay in Texas.

[27:50] - Getting leads in a new market is very difficult, Amy reveals.

[28:53] - Amy discusses the difficulty of competing in Dallas as a new property management company.

[30:30] - We hear about Amy’s experience in going from having a team to being the one to do everything herself. She then shares her impressive goal.

[32:17] - Being small allows Amy to be selective about the properties and owners she takes on. She and Brad then discuss some of the factors involved in staying small.

[35:01] - It’s important to set up the expectation with clients that you’re going to do everything online, Amy explains.

{37:41] - Amy talks us through how she’s doing unassisted showings with two types of lock boxes. Brad then reiterates her point that you don’t need to meet every tenant any longer, and discusses the problems with doing showings 30 days before the current lease ends, as is currently standard practice.

[42:01] - Does Amy think she’s getting more for the homes based on the self-assisted showings?

[43:20] - Amy offers a last-minute suggestion: become a member of NARPM if you aren’t one already!

 

Links and Resources:

Amy Karns on realtor.com

Amy Karns on Facebook

Amy Karns on LinkedIn

Punta Cana

National Property Management Network

National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM)

Rently

Tenant Turner

ShowMojo