I love offering listeners fantastic benefits, such as some great discounts for products, with new offers coming all the time! You can see a complete list at propertymanagementmastermind.com. For all of these offers, use the discount code “Brad” to secure your discount.

One more announcement before we get started! Our newest product at Property Management Mastermind is the Business Development Toolkit. In 2017, RentWerx organically grew by over 360 homes. In 2018, we’re on pace to grow another 500 homes. And best of all, we’ve done all of this without going out to meet the people and earn the business one door at a time. Tune in to learn more, or check out the toolkit online! If you aren’t completely satisfied with the product, we’ll give you a 100% refund.

Sean Morrissey from Chicago joins me today to talk about using the property management platform to invest in your own properties. He has a lot of insight into this familiar concept; he owns about 10% of the properties that he manages, and he built the two portfolios hand-in-hand. He became a landlord in 2003, got his real estate license in 2006, and opened his brokerage in 2011. Now, he considers himself a real estate investor who uses his property management systems to help others as well as his own portfolio.

As of last year, Sean had managed around 200 properties for other people, and has 22 properties that he owns and manages for himself, all with a staff of 5 people. His current plan is to live off his own real estate portfolio. Since he uses his management system for his own homes, he can use that as a selling point when he’s talking to owners about managing their properties for them.

Sean explains that finding properties to buy typically depends on having a good eye for deals, and/or waiting for a downturn after the market hits a bubble. Something he started about a year ago was a postcard campaign that basically expresses interest in buying multi-family buildings, and credits this campaign with the acquisition of a 16-unit building.

Tune into this episode to learn about and hear Sean’s thoughts on why you shouldn’t actively market to your clients that you want to buy their properties, the current state of the market in Chicago and how it’s changing, why having a property manager is so important (and why it can be so frustrating), and many other topics.

 

Here’s where you can find Sean:

Chicago Realty Group

Landlording for Life

Sean Morrissey on Realtor.com

 

Show Notes

[03:28] - Sean introduces himself and gives some background on how he got into real estate and investment properties.

[06:26] - Brad draws out and elaborates on a couple of things that Sean has mentioned in his self-introduction.

[07:31] - We hear a story from Sean about a camp he went to several years ago.

[10:38] - Sean points out that it carries some weight that he’s able to tell owners that he uses his management system for his own properties too.

[11:39] - We hear about the acquisition side of Sean’s investments, and whether he did anything creative in the process.

[15:41] - Brad points out that for management company owners, the easiest thing you can find are listings in your management inventory.

[19:09] - Sean brings up two points that Brad’s advice has brought up for him.

[20:55] - We hear more about Sean’s advice on the line of credit that he has been talking about, and when you should refinance and pull that money out.

[25:00] - Sean talks about the city of Chicago and the state of the market there, as well as how the market has been changing.

[29:01] - We hear about Sean’s thoughts on rent control and where things fall in terms of being landlord- or tenant-friendly.

[32:13] - How has short-term rental management been affecting the Chicago market?

[34:01] - Sean talks about his podcast, Landlording for Life.

 

Links and Resources:

[email protected]

(619) 988-6708 (Allison DiSarro from Seacoast Commerce Bank)

Seacoast Commerce Bank

RentWerx

Chicago Realty Group

Landlording for Life

Sean Morrissey on Realtor.com

Mike Watson

The BRRRR Strategy

Airbnb

VRBO

Landlording for Life