In property management, anger is a commonplace emotion especially when there are problems with contractors or you have to deal with a dissatisfied tenant or investor. But what actually lies beneath that anger is a multitude of other emotions that you have to uncover before you can solve any problem.

In this conversation, lawyer-turned-peacemaker Doug Noll joins us to discuss the power of emotions. It’s all based on neuroscience. It takes a lot of practice, but once you master working at the foundation level of human nature, your life will be transformed forever.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[07:38] The Myth About Human Nature

We are not rational beings, we are emotional beings. What really makes us human is our emotions, not reasoning. We're 98% emotional and only 2% rational. Never look at another human being as a rational being again, look at them as emotional beings. When you make that shift, your life will transform forever.

[09:57] The Three Steps in Dealing with an Angry Person

Step 1: Ignore their angry words. Completely turn off your ears and do not listen to those words. They have no meaning right now. As long as you're not listening, you're not going to get insulted or feel disrespected.

Step 2: Read the angry person's emotions. Emotions never come as just one emotion at a time, they come in groups. For example, anger might be the presenting emotion, but underneath it might be six or seven other emotions. You need to learn how to recognize those other emotions so you can just read the emotions that this person is experiencing. Because humans have a very limited repertoire of emotions and behaviors, it doesn't take long to master their repertoire.

Step 3: Tell the angry person what they're feeling. Emotionally reflect back to them their feelings, not what they're saying, but what they're feeling using a "you" statement. This is called “affect labeling” and you affect-label until you see these four things happening: (1) saying yes (2) nodding their head up and down (3) dropping of their shoulders, and (4) sigh of relief or relaxation responses.

In property management, once you’ve done all of the above, then you proceed to figure out the things you need to do to solve this problem. Then you enter into a negotiation.

Always deescalate. Then problem-solve. The mistake that every single person makes is they try to go to problem-solving to stop the anger. And all that does is it escalates the anger.  You never go into problem-solving or negotiation with an angry person. You have to get them calm.

[25:10] The Foundations of an Effective Leader

Leaders provide three foundational psychological services to any group – focus, direction, and safety. Leaders that can create psychological and emotional safety for their teams will have high-performing teams. Just because you have a job title does not make you a leader. So you have to cultivate a large number of skills to be an effective leader. A great leader is always working on creating his or her replacement.

Resources Mentioned:

www.dougnoll.co/rentwell

Email: [email protected]

A lot of people shy away from hard conversations for various reasons. But those conversations are exactly the kind of conversations you need in order for growth to happen.

Good news! Handling difficult conversations is a muscle that you can build. The more you practice it, the easier and the more natural it flows over time.

In this conversation, Kayla Slice and Steve Ciprani of Ciprani Consulting walk us through difficult conversations. Learn some actionable steps to preparing and managing those types of conversations as well as some pitfalls to avoid.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[08:19] How to Prepare for Difficult Conversations

Based on the book Difficult Conversations, there are three conversations happening to you within every conversation you’re having.

1. The ‘what happened’ conversation - It refers to what actually happened, and your perception of it becomes your assumption about it.

2. The emotional conversation - How you feel about it is different than what actually happened.

3. The identity conversation - What does it mean to you?

The first step toward getting honest about it is thinking through your lens and your perception of what's going on with you, before you charge ahead and talk to someone else. Then approach it with empathy, humility, and curiosity. When you can do the idea exploration together, it just becomes less overwhelming and less daunting.

[20:00] How to Manage Difficult Conversations

Communication is two ways. It's the sending of a message and the receiving of a message. Figure out how to make sure that your message is getting received the way that the person likes to receive the message.

Enforce an “expectations conversation” where you commit to doing your best to come to terms and communicate before the business relationship starts.

If there are things that you're holding on to that are interfering with the relationship, they're going to come out one way or another. So they might as well come out in an authentic way.

Work within someone else's story and let them work within your story and hold those in tandem. Just be present and hear what they're feeling.

Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. Embrace your emotional state. Don't run from it and come from authenticity because people can see through it.

Resources Mentioned:

www.cipraniconsulting.com

Email [email protected] or [email protected]

LinkedIn: ​​https://www.linkedin.com/company/ciprani-consulting

Books:

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

If you’re looking to build a high-performance team, the key is to not put everyone in your team in a box and use the same approach. It’s not a one-size-fits-all. Everyone is different, therefore, how you interact within your team has to be different as well. A very effective way to get to know and understand your team better is by knowing their specific Enneagram types.

In today’s conversation, real estate agent and business coach Caleb Knecht talks to us about the power of using the Enneagram to create high-performing teams. He couldn’t stress enough the importance of self-awareness, which was something he built upon with the help of the Enneagram. Listen in to learn more about the power of assessment, how to build trust among the team, and why self-awareness is the key that unlocks so many doors of opportunities both in business and in life.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[01:48] Knowing Your Enneagram Type

There are nine different Enneagram types and what's best about you is also what’s worst about you. By knowing your type, you develop self-awareness and you get to understand other people and why they behave a certain way.

Your Enneagram type is a coping mechanism that you develop early on in life to deal with the tough things in life. It’s a strategy that you embrace to try to make it through your childhood or young adult experience, and keep going.

[08:08] Using the Enneagram Type to Your Advantage

Taking a personality assessment doesn’t exist to put you in a box and tell you what to do. But it's the opposite. When you understand your Enneagram type, you will understand how you will naturally show up in a given situation. And then you can make a conscientious choice once you're aware of how you're naturally going to show up.

For instance, you’re an Enneagram 7 which means you’re thinking seven steps in the future. With that awareness, you’re going to be intentionally present in the moment. And so, there’s value built upon knowing you are a 7 and using that knowledge to step up and act upon it. Hence, your Enneagram type doesn’t define you, but it helps you make better-informed decisions.

[10:23] The Application of Enneagram  in Teams

Knowing the Enneagram types of people in your team brings a different level of emotional intelligence to the conversation. For instance, how you interact with a 3 is different than how you talk with an 8. This gives you the power to create high-performing teams.

During the onboarding of a new member, you can sit down and talk about your numbers. That way, you’re able to set and manage expectations and facilitate conversations you otherwise wouldn’t be having.

[20:03] Building Trust Among the Team

Culture is so important in any team and any company. An employee will leave a manager, not necessarily the company. And with all the challenges between the great resignation and the challenge of finding team members and keeping really good team members, how do you take it to the next level to build trust and accountability as well as connect with one another? The Enneagram is, therefore, a very powerful tool that you can use to make this possible.

Resources Mentioned:

Road Back to You

LinkedIn: ​​https://www.linkedin.com/in/caleb-knecht-7367173/

In 2009, Joe Colosuonno bought his first property, a garden-style, 60-year-old, 31-unit apartment building located in a rough area. 12 years later, they have doubled the rent and tenancy is great with a turnover rate of less than 20%. The area is now up and coming with an event center and an arena being built currently. They have also entered into managing and owning about 425 units including some commercial properties as well as getting into ground-up construction and development.

In this conversation, Joe offers his experiences with the land development process, return on investment models and some of the property management metrics  which you can apply to help you reach your goal and expand your portfolio!

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[13:17] Converting a 12-Unit Property to a 40-Unit Property

Joe purchased a property that was sold based on the performance of the front building, which was the asset. It's a 12-unit building with a 40-car parking lot. And so, they bought it with a cap rate that was off the 12 units, without thinking they could get 40 apartments on that 40-car parking lot in the back. With approvals, those apartments will be worth $25,000 a unit, creating $800k to $1 million dollars in value, compared with the $300k if they only had the 12 units.

[15:42] Off-site Improvements and Stormwater Management

Based on Joe's experience, in terms of off-site improvements, like a traffic light at the end of the block, for instance, Joe says that the city can't mandate you to spend money on it.

In terms of stormwater management, it’s going to be different for lot sizes, over and under one acre. Under one acre, you need to just get your municipal approvals and county approval. If you go over an acre, you have to get an NPDES permit. (NPDES stands for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System). This process takes about nine months where they review the stormwater and make sure there's no off-site discharge. This is why Joe likes building on parking lots, because they are 100% impervious.

[41:55] Metrics a Great Property Manager Should Track

Joe shares these metrics they're tracking:

- A 48-hour turnaround on all work orders

- One week turnover time frame from when they go vacant

- Zero callbacks after moving

- A 5 out of 5 rating

Resources Mentioned:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-colasuonno-b761bb4/

What have you done to invest in yourself so far? If you’re not a firm believer of self-education and accountability, then this episode is for you!

Drew Farnese is the CEO of Revamp 365. In the real estate investing space for eight years now, like many others who started on this path, Drew wanted to do more and be more so he could provide for his family. He started down the path of self-education and began building his portfolio while still working at that time.

In just less than 10 years, Drew has dealt with around 300 properties. For the last two years, he has been focusing on growing and scaling the wholesale company and currently has 45 deals in his pipeline. Already stacked up right now, they are massively and rapidly growing and expanding.

The goal? 365 wholesale transactions next year!

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[08:56] What Will Set You Apart From Other Wholesalers

Do what you say, and say what you do.  Be the company that you would like to work with. Have  integrity and admit when you're wrong.

Drew shared a story of how he recently dealt with an issue where they were not able to deliver what wasn’t promised. Although the contract said they didn’t have to pay for it, he was humble enough to admit that they had erred and they should have done better. They should have communicated better and set clear expectations. In the end, Drew owned up to it and paid up.

[22:10] The Best ROI From Self-Education

The best return that you're ever going to get is in self-education. It's going to take you so much further, and it does scale. Someone can give you an idea for a marketing campaign today. It may get you results, but you will eventually realize all the other bottlenecks exist in either their technical skills or their network. But when you invest in self-education and understand who you are, why you are the way you are, as well as your technical skills, you will get a return on that for the rest of your life.

[30:07] The Power of Coaching and Accountability

A lot of times, we're not accountable to ourselves. We're accountable to everyone else, but not always to ourselves. But if you spend money on something so that you can have someone to hold you accountable, there's no way you’re not going to perform, go out, and take action. That is why joining masterminds or hiring a coach is very powerful.

[46:45] The Power of Relationship and Clear Communication

You have to have strong relationships with the people you're working with, working for, and working for you. Otherwise, how can you efficiently hit a timeline or hit a budget if you don't have open and clear communication with them?

Resources Mentioned:

Website: https://www.revamp365.io/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drew-farnese-81324148

YouTube video on The Nail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSKyejgSKcQ

One of the most important relationships in real estate investing is that with a contractor. And we all know how finding a great investor-contractor relationship is really difficult. While a contractor wants to have a higher budget so they can earn more, an investor wants a lower budget because they're tight on the numbers. That’s where most disputes happen.

In today’s conversation, Rich O’Neill, Founder and CEO of Fleming Project Management, shares his expertise in project management that you don’t want to miss!

Rich is an investor himself. Realizing the challenges that come with managing the renovation of properties led him to create a company for investors. They will represent you on the job, get bids from contractors as well as manage your schedule, budget, and all that stuff to get things done, so investors can focus on the other things important to their business.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[15:14] Having a Pricing Model That’s Not Tied to a Budget

Build your pricing model wherein your incentive is not tied to the budget of the project. Instead, tie your incentives to the schedule. This means you're going to do it in a certain amount of time, and when you beat that amount of time, then you make it out, in the margin. If you go over that amount of time, your margin goes down – and the client doesn't pay any more for that. And if you can finish ahead of schedule, then everybody wins.

[32:44] Understanding the Return on Equity

Return on equity doesn't matter in your first 2, 3, or 4 years. But once you’ve built a solid portfolio over the years, understanding your return on equity gives you some context to the potential return on that money. Then you can figure out whether you want to pull it out from a refinance or sell it. In other words, what is the yield that you're getting on what is left?

[48:38] The Trap You Don’t Want to Fall Into When Buying Rental Properties

If you're looking at a property that was built before 1970, and it's clean, don't pay a higher value for it. Because nine times out of 10, you've got to rewire it and replumb it. At that point, you might have to get it gutted as well.

If you don't understand construction, you could walk into a property, and it's clean. It's freshly painted, and the cabinets were just repainted. There might be a half-decent carpet in there. It feels nice, it doesn't smell bad, and you feel comfortable. And so, you decide to spend a lot of money to buy it. Then a contractor comes in and says they have to rewire everything and rip out the brand-new paint. For instance, stove wires are different now than they were in 1950.

Be careful because oftentimes, the dangerous property is the one that looks okay. And you're almost better off getting the one that does not have the clean paint or that has the roof leak, that's just more tired, then you have to do a bigger level renovation.

Resources Mentioned:

Website: https://flemingpm.com

Entrepreneurs’ Organization

Most property owners only think of insurance as something that protects their assets. But there have been so many changes in the insurance space that property owners should be aware of. You could be sued because someone slipped on your property, and lo and behold, you end up paying out of pocket just because you failed to get your property insured or you didn’t get the right coverage.

In today’s conversation, John Bigham of JAB Insurance Brokers talks about the changes in the insurance space, why landlords should care about insurance, the top three things to look for in a policy, and some tips to reduce your premiums and reduce claims.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[02:25] Why Landlords Should Care About Insurance

One big reason why landlords care about insurance is to protect their property, in the event of, for instance, fire or storm.

The other big piece is when somebody slips, falls, or gets injured on their property and they could sue you for it. Unfortunately, this isn’t something a lot of landlords think about, but if it happens, it could change everything in their portfolio.

You might be renting out a property for so much every month, but that could wipe out three months of your cash flow just to pay for the litigation.

[03:25] Changes Happening in the Insurance Industry That Property Owners Should Be Aware Of

1. Coverage - A lot of carriers are not insuring rental properties anymore. Therefore, you have to make sure you have the right coverage. A slip-and-fall case would most likely cost you half a million dollars and if you don’t have the right coverage in place, that means having to pay that amount out of pocket.

2. Rates - Insurance carriers are raising their rates based on the building because it costs more to replace a house at this moment, especially due to inflation. When looking at the replacement cost or rebuild cost of a building when you purchase it, you may get a good deal on the purchase. But in order to rebuild it, you want to insure it for the full replacement cost of the building, if something happens.

[11:53] The Top Three Things to Look for in an Insurance Policy

1. Replacement Cost - It means they will rebuild your house up to the policy limit, without adding in any depreciation. The other form is the actual cash value, which means they will depreciate the claim based on the age of all the different parts of your house.

2. Loss of Rent or Loss of Income - Is there a loss of income or loss of rent, if there is a claim, I can't rent it out, and I still have to recoup some of my money?

3. Liability - What are the liability limits if somebody gets hurt on my property, and I'm sued? Some people can purchase $100,000, and you want to make sure you have $500,000.

Resources Mentioned:

Website: https://jabins.com

Facebook:www.facebook.com/JABinsurance

Instagram: www.instagram.com/JABinsurance

Learn the art of dealmaking and high-level negotiations. Today’s guest, real estate investor Steve Seymour, shares valuable insights into how you can create win-win deals centered around the seller’s goals.

Steve first got into the real estate world as a realtor.  He then immersed himself into the investing world by meeting other investors and seeing how they were creating wealth and living their lives the way they wanted to live them, on their terms. At that point, he found his calling in real estate investing.

Today, Steve Seymour is the CEO/owner of Vanguard Realty Alliance, an umbrella company for his brokerage and mortgage companies. With 75 agents, they sold about $225 million worth of real estate the previous year.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[13:48] Stacking Strategies in Creating Deals

According to Peter Fortunato, the guru of creative deals and creative finance, the sky's the limit.  This means anything's possible in terms of real estate negotiation. Think about trading boats, your kid’s college tuition on a deal, or taking over other debts that might not even be related to real estate. Think about different things that you would never have considered being in the deal , and focus on the seller's goals.

Be open to the idea that A plus B doesn't always equal C. There could be other equations that are going to get you, not only the answer you wanted, but something far greater. Steve refers to this as “stacking strategies”, where you take one element of a creative finance deal, then you start stacking different strategies on top of it to make it more beneficial for everyone involved.

[15:19] Mastering High-Level Negotiations

To be able to negotiate at a higher level, you have to understand someone's needs, their wants and needs, and their pain points. If you can solve a problem for them, you're going to get paid. However, most people stop at the first problem they’ve solved, not realizing there are other pain points that need to be solved.

And so, try to dig deeper into their pain points until you’re able to structure a deal that will alleviate all those things. Patience is key. A lot of people give up as soon as they hear “no”, and they don't continue. Sometimes, you have to be persistent in exploring the real issue until you find a way to make things work.

Resources Mentioned:

Website: https://www.vralliance.com/

Investing in a property or business requires an investment of your time, money, and effort. And so, how do those three come into play? In this episode, real estate investor and entrepreneur, Brian Beers, shares FOUR things that you need to be looking at when analyzing your investments.

Now, when it comes to the realm of property management, Brian believes you’ve got to have control over it at the end of the day –  and setting expectations is key. Otherwise, you get what you tolerate.

Brian owns automotive repair franchises spanning 24 locations throughout Philadelphia and New Jersey. His philosophy is to have a primary business that generates cash flow and to  leverage the power of compounding by redeploying the returns back to his capital.

Brian is on a mission to teach other entrepreneurs how to buy other businesses using owner financing as well as create passive income through investments.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[04:56] The Power of Compounding

Having a primary income that generates cash flow is just one aspect of wealth creation. Once you have that, think of ways that you can compound the money. Either redeploy the money back to your capital so you can grow the business faster. Real estate is another great place for investing because there’s good cash flow, appreciation, debt paydown, and tax benefits.

Whatever avenue you wish to take, it’s all about putting the money back into the machine because that's how you grow really fast. It's not necessarily saving your way to wealth, but using the power of money to your advantage.

[10:05] Four Things to Consider When Analyzing an Investment

There are four things you should be looking at when analyzing any investment no matter what it is:

*Return - Look at the return on capital based on various metrics (ex. cash on cash)

*Risk - Look at the potential of losing capital. When you're working with a syndicator, look at the experience and portfolio of the team.

*Time - Look at how much of the investment's success is based on your personal involvement. Find things that are uncorrelated to the time you put into them, and syndications are great avenues.

*Turn - Look at how long the money is locked up for. Sometimes, the deals that lock up your money longest can be really good ones. But you don't want to lock all your money up in 10-year deals, otherwise, you're not going to have the cash to take advantage of new things. And so, a mixture of long-term and short-term deals is good.

[36:29] How to Manage Your Property Manager

Even if it looks great on the spreadsheet, the reality is way different. And so, to scale and keep stress at a minimum, you have to learn how to manage your own people. Remember, you get what you tolerate. If you tolerate poor communication and a unit to take three months before it gets turned, then that's what you will get.

You have to set expectations. You can’t get frustrated if you don’t hear anything because you didn’t even ask in the first place. Therefore, learn how to voice out your concerns and be clear about what you’re willing to tolerate.

Resources Mentioned:

www.rentwell.com/vision

https://www.brianbeers.com/

Having a property manager to handle your properties doesn’t mean your work stops there. Passive income doesn’t mean just waiting for a check because there is no such thing as mailbox money. Even though they're handling the day-to-day operations, you still want to be on top of it.

Today’s guest, real estate investor, Ken Naim, shares some things you should know about before hiring a property manager. Even if you're hiring other people to do it, you have to manage them – and manage them well – to make sure everyone working for you is on the same page.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[04:10] Tips for Transitioning into Commercial Properties

Ken recommends only dealing with rockstar brokers because you want the best in the business. They're the ones that are going to get all the leads and get all the off-market properties. And if you find brokers where your gut feeling is telling you to run away, then that's what you should probably do.

Once you’ve found the right people, you’ve got to tell them what you want. Break down what your criteria are so they will understand what you’re looking for. The more specific you are, the better it is. Once you close a deal with them, then you become their first call because they know you can close.

[10:41] What are Value Add Properties?

Value add properties refer to commercial properties that are not fiscally or physically attractive, but once improved, then increase in value. Commercial buildings are great from this aspect. You won’t have to wait for the market to appreciate because you can create that appreciation yourself.

[16:27] How to Manage Your Property Manager

Being involved early on in the management of your property gives you a better understanding of how much things cost. You start to understand what property managers can do to a property and how to protect yourself. It helps you set up the property the right way so you have the least expenses going forward and you don't have to redo the same thing over and over.

Once you’ve found a rockstar property manager, pay them what they want, give them what they need, send them referrals, send them business. Show your appreciation, and make sure that they understand that you're you're serious, and you want to build the relationship with them

Resources Mentioned:

Email: [email protected]