In this episode, I am excited to host Laurence Jankelow. Laurence is the Co-Founder of Avail, an all-in-one software solution designed for do-it-yourself landlords. Prior to launching Avail, Laurence spent seven years in data analytics first as a Consultant at Protiviti Chicago and then at Goldman Sachs. Laurence is also a long-term real estate investor with a passion for 3-unit multi-family properties in Chicago.

 

We started as we usually do by diving into Laurence’s background and how he got into real estate investing. He and a friend took some real estate classes while attending college and studying finance. One professor explained to them the perils of not paying your property taxes and how an investor could really take advantage of the property owners who do not. Laurence and his friend took that info and invested in delinquent mobile home property tax lien certificates.

 

After graduating from college, Laurence went into a business and risk-consulting career in Chicago and stopped investing for a time. After working a couple of different corporate jobs for several years, he had accumulated enough savings to purchase his first multi-family property. He performed his own property management for several years before his college investing buddy encouraged him to quit his corporate job to begin a start-up. They were both using Excel to manage their rental properties and felt like they could create something that was more appropriate and efficient for the necessary property management tasks.

 

When they initially started this project, Laurence and his partner thought they would be able to find a software engineer to write the program for them with a stake in the company. They couldn’t find anyone willing to do that, so they took two years to teach themselves how to write the code themselves. I asked the obvious question of, “Why not just hire a property management company?” and Laurence said that they felt that they were giving away their entire profit margin if they chose that route.

 

I asked Laurence why he has chosen to focus on 3-unit properties and he pointed out that they are very plentiful in Chicago and work for his price-point. We discussed in detail how he evaluates properties and what his investing goals are. We also talked about some of the tactics he uses managing his own properties so that he doesn’t get service phone calls all day, every day. Additionally, we discussed the systems and processes Laurence has in place to perform as an effective landlord.

 

We then dove into talking about Avail, the software that Laurence and his buddy created. He said the initial goal was to develop it for themselves so they had a more effective portfolio management tool. They wanted it to define a particular process and automate it for investors who considered themselves part-time landlords. Laurence pointed out during their research, they found that about 60% of landlords do not screen potential tenants, so they wanted to develop software to aid in the day-to-day tasks of do-it-yourself landlords. Laurence goes into great detail on the functionality of Avail during our discussion, including many features that benefit both landlords and tenants.

 

Not only do you want to check out this comprehensive tool for DIY landlording (link provided below), but you also do not want to miss this information-packed episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with Laurence Jankelow!

Notable Quotes:

 

“To this day I love Excel, but it is not appropriate if you want to be a real landlord and grow that business and manage it professionally.”

 

• Laurence Jankelow

 

 

“It is a lot harder to build something from scratch than we gave credit to it.”

 

• Laurence Jankelow

 

 

“Is this rental going to put money in my pocket at the end of every month?”

 

• Laurence Jankelow

 

 

“I find that the landlords that get the 10pm service calls are the ones that leave the property with a lot of deferred maintenance.”

 

• Laurence Jankelow

 

 

“We do put a lot of lipstick on our properties, but the mechanics behind it are still good.”

 

• Laurence Jankelow

 

 

“You want those processes in place whether you are using software to automate them or not.”

 

• Laurence Jankelow

 

 

“Take high-quality photos, write a high-quality description upfront and you have them for life.”

 

• Laurence Jankelow

 

 

“I find that property managers are never aligned with what I am trying to do.”

 

• Laurence Jankelow

 

 

“I feel that nearly all of the risk in owning rentals involves the tenant-screening process.”

 

• Laurence Jankelow

 

 

“We want to build something that is going to help with the operational side, the day-to-day tasks of being a landlord.”

 

• Laurence Jankelow

 

 

“We are very tenant-conscious, so we built everything to benefit the them as well.”

 

• Laurence Jankelow

 

 

“Any landlord with any number of units can use our software.”

 

• Laurence Jankelow

 

 

“Removing the price barrier is what is going to provide the most value for DIY landlords.”

 

• Laurence Jankelow

 

 

“I love that you are looking for solutions for the little guy.”

 

• Mike Simmons

 

Links:

Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months

Rich Dad Poor Dad 

Avail Software

Return on Investments

Just Start Real Estate

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