Getting to "Hell Yes!".

🎙️ Getting to Hell Yes! with Thomas Demiranda of Yugo

Thomas Demiranda, COO of Yugo brings a global perspective on student housing, operations, and creating communities that truly put residents first. With experience scaling across regions and navigating fragmented markets, Thomas knows what it takes to balance efficiency, culture and growth.

In this episode, we cover:

• The unique challenges and opportunities in student housing today
• How Yugo builds a consistent experience across diverse markets
• Lessons in operational excellence and scaling with purpose
• Why aligning incentives matters more than slogans
• How to bring culture and community into the heart of real estate operations

Key takeaway: Getting to “Hell Yes” isn’t just about filling beds, it’s about building systems and communities where students thrive and operators succeed.

🎙️ Getting to Hell Yes! Episode: Brandon Hammond

Brandon Hammond joins the show to unpack one of the most urgent, messy and misunderstood challenges in multifamily and SFR property management: the talent crisis.

With deep experience across multifamily, SFR, student housing and now field services, Brandon walks us through why so many operators are stuck in transactional loops chasing short-term wins over long-term value and what it will take to flip the model.

From incentive misalignment and resident retention to employee development, career pathing, and the looming risk of organized labor, this episode covers what leaders need to hear (and do) now.

💡 Key Takeaways

🔄 Resident Retention Is a Flywheel—Not a Funnel

• Operators talk retention but invest in acquisition.
• The resident journey from inquiry to renewal should be treated as a single continuum.
• A flywheel model builds lasting momentum, unlike a leaky funnel chasing one-year leases.

💰 Incentive Misalignment Is Costing Operators Millions

• Leasing agents are paid for new leases not renewals despite the massive NOI upside of renewals.
• Renewal bonuses are often team-based and diluted, reducing motivation.
• “Follow the money” reveals systemic disincentives for sustainable performance.

🧠 You Can’t Retain What You Don’t Train

• Turnover is highest where training is weakest especially in maintenance.
• Strong onboarding, upskill and values-driven culture reduce churn and burnout.
• Progress Residential cut turnover from 22% to 8% by investing in human-first leadership.

🚨 The Talent Crisis Is Here And It’s a Canary in the Coal Mine

• Thousands of open maintenance roles show how deep the staffing gap is.
• Owners will either invest in people now or pay exponentially more later to private equity–backed vendors.
• If the industry doesn’t fix the talent experience, unionization or collective action may emerge.

🧩 Tech + Talent + Trust = Sustainable Ops

• Asset value and tech efficiency mean nothing without aligned, empowered teams.
• Property management is not zero-sum—people, tech, and profit can grow together.
• “Learn and respond” beats “offer and accept” when leading people into long-term success.

🔥 Brandon’s Big Advice

“This will always be a people business. Understand that early. Invest in your team’s growth, not just their output and you’ll go farther, faster and with more purpose than you thought possible.”

Getting to Hell Yes! with Phillip Burton: Service, Trust & Authenticity in Flooring

In this episode of Getting to Hell Yes!, we sit down with Phillip Burton, VP of Strategic Partnerships at Preferred Floor & Tile, to explore how flooring isn’t just about materials, it’s about service, reliability and people.

From his early career chasing Wall Street dreams to finding purpose in the flooring industry, Phillip shares how authenticity and blue-collar values shaped his approach to building long-term partnerships in the SFR and multifamily markets. He explains why service, not price is the real differentiator, how vendor trust de-risks decisions for institutional buyers and why labor is the hidden driver behind resident experience and operational success.

We also dive into the future of flooring with technology like LIDAR, the challenges of scaling in new markets, and the importance of vendor consolidation to create predictability for operators. Phillip closes with timeless leadership advice: be authentic, show up with purpose, and the right opportunities will follow.

👉 If you’re in property operations, vendor management or housing leadership, this conversation will change the way you think about service partnerships.

Getting to Hell Yes! with Gregory Frank: Building the SFR/BTR Community with EverResi

In this episode of Getting to Hell Yes!, we’re joined by Gregory Frank, Founder of EverResi Media, to explore how storytelling, standardization and community are shaping the single-family rental (SFR) and build-to-rent (BTR) industry.

Greg shares his journey from franchise operations into real estate and why he saw the need for a media platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of owners, operators, vendors and residents. We dive into how EverResi is addressing the industry’s perception gap, why collaboration and national standards are critical, and how the resident experience has become the license to operate.

From tackling “villainization” in the media to preparing the sector for legislative headwinds, Greg outlines what’s at stake and what’s possible when the industry unites behind a shared vision.

👉 Whether you’re an operator, vendor, investor or simply curious about the future of housing, this conversation offers a clear-eyed look at where SFR/BTR is headed and why now is the moment to get to Hell Yes!

Jake Stoll – Director of Partnerships at Rent Ready, a national turn services provider helping property managers simplify and standardize make readies.

From sticky notes to standardization: how property managers can cut turn times, improve resident experience, and unlock NOI.

Key Quotes

• “Most make ready boards are in the back of a basement somewhere totally siloed.”
• “We’ve seen average turn times at 18 days but management companies want 5.”
• “The first nine days determine retention. Speed without quality isn’t enough."
• “Data gives you visibility: reliability rates, quality rates, actual vendor performance.”
• “Patience is critical. Be present, be consistent and the change will come.”

Highlights

• The Problem: Unit turns are still tracked on whiteboards and sticky notes, leading to siloed communication, delays and lost revenue.
• The Impact: Industry averages show turn times of 18 days, costing operators thousands in lost rent and damaging occupancy rates.
• The Rent Ready Solution:
  • National vendor network bundled under one system.
  • Software-driven scheduling and automation to cut turn times to ~4.25 days.
  • Dashboards that give property managers visibility into quality, speed and vendor reliability.
• Resident Experience: The first 9 days in a unit are critical to retention. Poor turns mean work orders pile up immediately, increasing churn.
• Growth Trigger: Companies feel the pain most acutely during expansion when old processes don’t scale and visibility gaps become costly.

Guillermo’s Key Takeaways

• Turns are not just a cost center, they’re a strategic growth lever.
• Speed + quality must work together. One without the other creates churn.
• Data-backed visibility transforms turns into a predictable, repeatable process.
• Patience and presence matter when driving change in an industry built on status quo.

Track not just speed, but quality. What percentage of your turns create immediate work orders?

Getting to Hell Yes! with Kelly Brooks: Speed, Consistency & Data in Property Renovation

In this episode of Getting to Hell Yes!, we sit down with Kelly Brooks, CEO of Property Masters, to explore how speed, consistency, and data are transforming large-scale property renovations.

With nearly two decades of experience, Kelly shares her journey from starting at Property Masters in college to leading a semi-national renovation provider serving institutional investors across 23 states. We dig into why speed, quality and consistency aren’t just buzzwords but critical factors that protect margins, reduce risk and deliver predictable results in both SFR (single-family rental) and REO (foreclosure) markets.

Kelly also opens up about the technology her team built to eliminate inefficiencies, why listening is the most underrated skill in sales and leadership and how data-driven operations create real competitive advantage.

👉 Whether you’re in real estate, PropTech or leadership. This conversation is packed with insights on scaling operations without sacrificing quality.

#Leadership #RealEstate #PropertyManagement #GettingToHellYes #KellyBrooks

Getting to Hell Yes! with Dan Oltersdorf of Centricity

Dan Oltersdorf’s journey from a college RA to President of Centricity is a masterclass in spotting problems, building solutions and scaling them across an entire industry.

In this episode, Guillermo and Dan dive into:

• How a conversation between two competitors sparked Centricity’s launch
• Why centralizing HR, accounting, IT, and insurance can unlock growth
• The challenge of replacing “Jack-of-all-trades” roles with true specialists
• Why timing and trust often matter more than NOI in decision-making
• How passion and authenticity fuel resilience in high-rejection roles

💬 Key quotes from Dan:

1. “Pay attention to what gets you excited… that’s where you’re going to be most effective.”
2. “What if we could reduce margins and deliver services to multiple companies while remaining competitors and unique brands?”
3. “The old way of hand tools isn’t cutting it anymore… let’s pick up the power tools.”
4. “Sometimes the priority is stability and the idea of making a change feels like a threat.”
5. “No matter how much technology we bring in, you have to enable the human impact to come through.”

My takeaways: From my perspective, the real gem in Dan’s story is that his “Hell Yes!” buyers aren’t just chasing NOI, they’re solving for stability, scalability and the freedom to focus on their core business. Centricity’s model works because it removes the friction of non-core, high-effort tasks, letting leaders put their best energy into what matters most.

In this episode of Getting to Hell Yes!, Guillermo Villasenor brings together three powerhouse voices in property management: Tanya Severson, Stacey Lusader and Mindy Seeger to dissect one of the most complex challenges in real estate operations: maintenance.

They explore a compelling metaphor. The four-legged stool of property maintenance made up of owners, vendors, maintenance providers and residents.

What happens when one leg falters? The whole system wobbles.

From real-world vendor frustrations and owner-operator blind spots to resident psychology and program management best practices, this episode dives deep into:

• Why maintenance is more than just fixing things. It's a strategic asset decision
• The hidden cost of misalignment between stakeholders
• Why culture and communication are more powerful than any tech tool
• The emotional weight residents carry when systems break
• The call for program management, empathy and education across all roles

Whether you're managing scattered-site SFR, running a vendor business or investing in rental portfolios, this episode will shift your perspective on maintenance from “cost center” to “community builder.”

Spoiler: Fixing maintenance isn’t just about dispatching a plumber, it’s about aligning motivations, building trust and treating every stakeholder like a partner.

🚀 Getting to Hell Yes: From Metrics to Meaning with Daniel Paulino

What if your reputation wasn’t just about your star rating?

What if it could predict business health, uncover blind spots and give you a daily playbook for loyalty?

In our latest Getting to Hell Yes episode, I sat down with Daniel Paulino, Head of Real Estate at Reputation and former VP of Digital Strategy at Bizzuto. To talk about why great brands go beyond “doing things right” to creating experiences worth forgiving.

💬 “A brand can apologize. But a relationship seeks forgiveness.” — Daniel Paulino

We covered:

• Why “love brands” win in crowded markets
• Blending physical + digital experiences (“fidgetal”) to create loyalty
• Why chasing star ratings is a losing game and what to measure instead
• How AI and predictive analytics are changing discoverability and recommendability
• The link between brand health and NOI (and how to prove it)

If you’ve ever wondered how to stop guessing where to invest in CX and start focusing on what actually moves the needle, this conversation is packed with actionable insights.

#GettingToHellYes #CX #ReputationManagement #Multifamily #BrandStrategy #LinkedInLive #PropertyManagement #Leadership

Getting to “Hell Yes!” with Tyler Kuresa: Why Maintenance Without Data Is Just Expensive Guesswork

💬 “If you don't have the best information, you're gambling. The question is: are you ready to own that?” – Tyler Kuresa

Before founding Onsite Analytics, Tyler Kuresa was a professional baseball player and a DIY landlord. That second part nearly ruined him.

After losing thousands on avoidable HVAC failures, Tyler realized the biggest leak in property operations wasn’t a busted pipe, it was missing data. Work orders were being handled blind. Capital planning was just math + hope. And maintenance? It wasn’t managed. It survived.

Enter Onsite Analytics: a full-stack data platform that transforms maintenance decisions from guesswork into strategy by actually knowing what’s in every unit.

📸 Thousands of unit photos

🛠️ Warranty + lifecycle tracking

📊 Predictive failure analysis

📱 Onsite techs scanning door tags to get instant access to service histories and manuals

This isn’t just proptech, it’s operations intelligence. And Tyler is crystal clear on where the “Hell Yes!” happens:

📌 When a maintenance lead can prevent repeat work orders

📌 When asset managers can defend budgets with real forecasts

📌 When directors of maintenance stop gambling and start leading

🔥 “If you want to make data-driven decisions, you actually need the data first. We give it to you clean, real and usable.” – Tyler Kuresa

Ready for a wake-up call? Ask yourself:

• What’s costing you more: a broken appliance or a preventable one?

Gambling might feel normal. But so did Blockbuster. It's time to choose clarity. Choose control. Choose “Hell Yes.”

#proptech #maintenance #data #multifamily #assetmanagement #hellyes