Jacob Walter  - VP of Finance - Patriot Properties

On the Property Management Conundrum: "We look really good when everybody's making money. You know, we're always the problem when they're not."

The thing about investing is that the financial part is the important part.  It's all fun and games until you realize you aren't making money, or worse.

This is where it pays, literally, to have a smart finance guy in your corner.  Jacob Walter is the VP of finance with Patriot Properties.  As the guy watching the money go in and out for themselves and clients, he is in charge of making sure the numbers are not in parenthesis in the wrong spots.

Listen in as Jacob Walter shares his journey from college intern to finance executive, offering a behind-the-scenes look into the complexities of managing thousands of rental units, navigating the fast-paced real estate market, and building a team that can handle everything from apartment complexes to storage units. Whether you’re an aspiring investor, experienced landlord, or simply curious about the business of property management, you’ll hear plenty of candid advice, funny client stories, and hard-won lessons on scaling up in a competitive industry.

Enjoy!

Visit Jacob at: http://www.patriotpropertieswisconsin.com/

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patriotpropertieswi/

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 "Client Forgot Their Property"

05:12 "Life Insurance: Niche Necessity"

08:30 Hiring Considerations for Job Roles

11:35 "Client Forgot Their Property"

13:24 Property Deals and Financing Insights

18:08 Madison's Rental Market Trends

20:52 Real Estate Rent Challenges

24:24 "Leaky Boiler Water Feature"

28:30 "Unrealistic Deal Evaluation"

31:01 Unit Maintenance and Value Maximization

35:19 Madison Property Repositioning Strategies

36:53 Tired of Property Management

41:37 Barrack-Style Madison Property Sold

43:49 Less Competition, Greater Opportunity

46:28 "First Deal Matters Most"

50:15 "Scaling Property Management Success"

53:26 Competition and Property Pricing Factors

Podcast Transcription:

Jacob Walter [00:00:00]:

I do have a funny story. One of my clients, he, he left for, I believe like Italy or Greece or something. He was gone for like two, three weeks. That was right. You know, when he came back was like, right when we were sending out our monthly statements and he called me, he's like, Jacob, like, I forgot I had this property. I'm like, what do you, what do you mean? He's like, yeah, you just, you guys have been handling. I haven't had to worry about it. Nice to see that there's plenty of money in the account.

Jacob Walter [00:00:23]:

Like, this is great. This is exactly what I want.

James Kademan [00:00:31]:

Have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link [email protected] we are locally underwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie and today we're welcoming, preparing to learn from Jacob Walther, the VP of finance at Patriot Properties. Jacob, how's it going today?

Jacob Walter [00:00:56]:

I'm doing well, thank you. Thank you for having me.

James Kademan [00:00:58]:

Let's start with what is Patriot Properties?

Jacob Walter [00:01:00]:

Yeah, Patriot Properties, full service property management company. So we kind of joke around that if you can rent it, you know, we will manage it for you. We do. Obviously our bread and butter is multifamily. We do short term rentals. At one point we did camper van rentals.

James Kademan [00:01:19]:

Oh wow, you weren't joking.

Jacob Walter [00:01:21]:

Yeah, yeah, don't do that anymore. That was, that was an interesting time. But storage units, whatever you can rent, real estate wise, we can manage.

James Kademan [00:01:32]:

All right. And how long have you been with them?

Jacob Walter [00:01:35]:

I've been with Patriot for about five years now. Just over five years.

James Kademan [00:01:39]:

Sure. And tell me, VP of Finance, is that finance for internal within the company or is this more external helping investors and stuff like that?

Jacob Walter [00:01:47]:

So it's more internal.

James Kademan [00:01:48]:

Okay.

Jacob Walter [00:01:49]:

Obviously with property management, you're kind of a VP for finance for all the clients you have. So we have 122 different, different bank accounts, if you will, that.

James Kademan [00:02:02]:

Sure.

Jacob Walter [00:02:02]:

VP of Finance for. So it can, it poses its challenges, I bet. But you know, it's, it's, it's fun.

James Kademan [00:02:09]:

All right. I wonder how many people would agree with that. Like, oh, VP of Finance sounds like a blast. So how do you get in that world? How do you end up as a VP of finance?

Jacob Walter [00:02:19]:

Yeah, so went to college, you know, did the accounting route. Kind of bounced around a few times before Patriot Properties and how we kind of found Patriot Properties is a little bit of an interesting story, but you Just, you know, kind of went in there. Chris needed more of an accounting role when he was starting, so I've been there since. Since almost the start.

James Kademan [00:02:46]:

Okay.

Jacob Walter [00:02:46]:

And he essentially just worked up with Chris being his number two from the get go kind of thing.

James Kademan [00:02:52]:

Gotcha. All right. How did you end up meeting Chris?

Jacob Walter [00:02:56]:

So I had an internship at Northwestern Mutual. Okay.

James Kademan [00:03:01]:

Like half the world, right?

Jacob Walter [00:03:03]:

Yeah. Weirdly enough, we found out that we worked with each other but didn't realize it.

James Kademan [00:03:08]:

Oh, funny. At Northwestern Mutual.

Jacob Walter [00:03:10]:

Yeah. So we both worked in the Middleton office.

James Kademan [00:03:14]:

Okay.

Jacob Walter [00:03:16]:

And I did just apply for the Patriot Properties accounting manager position. Get to their interview. We're like, we recognize each other. Like, where is this from? And you know, comes out that we both were at Northwestern Mutual. A lot of his mentors that were there were also my mentors.

James Kademan [00:03:35]:

Sure.

Jacob Walter [00:03:36]:

But we. We bond over the fact that we went through that. You know, the challenges that that can pose.

James Kademan [00:03:42]:

So did you go to try to be salespeople there?

Jacob Walter [00:03:44]:

Yeah, that's what we were both working. Smiling, dialing. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

James Kademan [00:03:50]:

So get your parents and your friends and your aunts and uncles on the life insurance.

Jacob Walter [00:03:54]:

You know, you find out who your true friends are when you get done with that internship.

James Kademan [00:04:00]:

True friends that actually bought life insurance?

Jacob Walter [00:04:02]:

No, no. That still talk to you after.

James Kademan [00:04:04]:

Are they the ones. Didn't you sell me life insurance? Yeah, I don't work there anymore. How long were you there?

Jacob Walter [00:04:11]:

I was there for a year. So it was the internship through essentially my senior year of college.

James Kademan [00:04:16]:

All right, so that's funny.

Jacob Walter [00:04:21]:

Yeah. I'm not afraid to pick up the phone and talk to anybody.

James Kademan [00:04:24]:

No, that's good. That's very good.

Jacob Walter [00:04:26]:

That's a skill that's very, very much needed in the.

James Kademan [00:04:28]:

That is a rare skill. That is incredibly rare skill. I remember, I know quite a few people that have gone through that. Some still there and most not.

Jacob Walter [00:04:38]:

Yeah, exactly.

James Kademan [00:04:39]:

The Chernom.

Jacob Walter [00:04:41]:

Yeah. I mean, it's a very hard industry to start out in, to your point. Yeah. It's just a numbers game to a lot of those companies.

James Kademan [00:04:50]:

And I think once you get going, you're fine, you're making money, you're coasting, essentially.

Jacob Walter [00:04:56]:

Right. Yep.

James Kademan [00:04:57]:

Until people. Until you're clients die. But before then, you have to build that base. And I think it's hard work.

Jacob Walter [00:05:05]:

Yeah.

James Kademan [00:05:06]:

And it's like, why should I buy life insurance from you?

Jacob Walter [00:05:08]:

Well, yeah. Right. And that's starving.

James Kademan [00:05:11]:

Yeah.

Jacob Walter [00:05:12]:

I mean, that's the interesting thing. There's such a small population in the world that actually need that. Right. I mean, yeah, if something happens, it's nice to have. Obviously, like, I have life insurance for. From when I worked there too, but, like, the group that actually needs it is such a small group.

James Kademan [00:05:31]:

Right. Interesting. So did you have to get all your tests, all your certifications and all that jazz?

Jacob Walter [00:05:38]:

Yep. Yeah. Life disability certified, all that fun stuff.

James Kademan [00:05:42]:

How hard is it to get those?

Jacob Walter [00:05:44]:

It's not overly difficult.

James Kademan [00:05:46]:

Okay.

Jacob Walter [00:05:47]:

For the basic stuff, it's not very difficult.

James Kademan [00:05:50]:

I always wondered, because you, like, I meet a lot of people. You meet a lot of people just networking, going around, and you meet these people. Like, I got all these certifications, and I always wondered, how hard is it to get that?

Jacob Walter [00:06:01]:

Yeah, I mean, once you get into the investment side, it gets a little bit more difficult.

James Kademan [00:06:05]:

Okay.

Jacob Walter [00:06:06]:

So you're like series 66, I think it's called, and stuff like that. Those are a little bit more challenging.

James Kademan [00:06:11]:

Okay.

Jacob Walter [00:06:12]:

But essentially,