The Property Management Mastermind Show

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% rebate.

If you’ve listened to this podcast before, you’ve probably heard of Marc Cunningham. He’s a frequent speaker at NARPM conferences, who also travels the country a lot speaking about his property management systems. In today’s episode, I’m delighted to have him as my guest again! We’ll be talking about growth and ancillary business services, such as fee-maxing.

Marc has a real estate property management company in Denver that his dad started in 1978. He’s never wanted to have one of the biggest companies, he explains in our conversation, but rather to be one of the best. Growth comes as a result of what you do.

As Marc will explain today, he believes that the management fee pretty much pays the bills. In addition, you need to have ancillary business services. While this is a common strategy in other industries, it hasn’t yet become as popular as it should be in the property management world. Marc explains how we can bring this idea into the property management space.

You’ll also learn that in the commercial world, it’s standard practice to back-charge everything. This is everything from the cost of stamps to the cost of mileage or gas for visiting the property. Marc shares his insights into how this perspective can be applied to the residential property management world. Similarly, the multi-family world runs businesses with fees and services that aren’t yet common across the property management industry, and that can add valuable additional sources of revenue.

We’ll talk about turning maintenance into a revenue-generating source, and how much of a difference it makes. Marc and I will also dig into fees that you can profit from, such as fees for adding or removing people to the lease, an early-termination flat-fee option, and a monthly rent processing fee. Tune in for information on these and many other strategies you can use to increase your revenue streams within your property management business.

Here’s where you can find Marc:

Grace Property Management & Real Estate

Marc Cunningham on LinkedIn

Show Notes

[02:06] - Brad introduces today’s guest, Marc Cunningham.

[03:37] - Marc talks a bit about himself, sharing his background in property management as well as the current status of his company.

[06:44] - It’s hard for a lot of property management companies to achieve profitability, Marc points out, and being good at property management doesn’t necessarily mean you’re good at making money.

[08:38] - Marc touches on some mindset points around the topics he’s been discussing.

[11:47] - Brad adds in a couple points to what Marc has been saying, talking about a podcast he listened to lately.

[14:05] - We learn that Marc does a fair amount of commercial property management, and talks about one of the biggest eye-openers was for him.

[16:08] - Marc flips things around and asks Brad a question: how does maintenance play out for Brad?

[18:22] - We hear about some of the cool ideas for fees and ancillary business services that Marc has seen, as well as the role of sales.

[20:51] - Brad digs into his Investor Pocket Listings Program and explains how it relates to what Marc has been talking about.

[26:07] - Marc talks about compensation for the process of removing or adding people from leases.

[29:49] - One thing that the multi-family industry has brought on lately is a monthly rent processing fee.

[32:06] - Brad shares another strategy and recommendation, then Marc talks about the opportunities involving pets.

[36:54] - Marc points out that it’s important to disclose anything you put in place in your management agreements.

[39:12] - We learn about the upcoming one-day conference that Marc will put on in late August in Denver, Colorado.

[44:20] - Marc talks about the training product he offers on ancillary business services.

Links and Resources:

[email protected]

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

Seacoast Commerce Bank

RentWerx

Landlord Coach

Grace Property Management & Real Estate

Marc Cunningham on LinkedIn

NARPM

Investor Pocket Listings Program

Ancillary Business Services - 20 New Income Streams for your PM Business by Marc Cunningham

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% rebate.

Today, I’ll be joined by Andy Wallace from zInspector. We’ll dive into what zInspector is and what it offers, while also exploring some deep technical stuff. It was a great conversation, and I got a lot out of it! One of the things Andy mentions is Rebrandly, which is really helpful for things like links to videos for inspections and security deposit itemizations. Even if you don’t end up using zInspector, check out Rebrandly to see if it fits your needs.

I’ve known Andy for years and talked to him many times. He’s been in the NARPM community for a long time offering property management inspection software. Andy has been managing a company in some capacity for years, and created zInspector because he had problems with needing to take tens of thousands of photos over a few days.

The program solved Andy’s problems, and those of many other people both inside and outside the property management industry. In fact, right now, about half of Andy’s clients are actually contractors rather than property managers. Pool inspection companies, roofers, and landscapers, for example, have basically the same problems, which zInspector solves.

One of the most significant parts of Andy’s company is that they believe that your data belongs to you, and you should be able to get it out. For example, all of their reports are designed to be easily printable, which is a difficult feature to find among their main competitors. And if you think you’ll never need a printed report, trust me, it’s important for court! You may also need printed reports for loans or proof of income, for example.

Another fantastic feature is that each piece of information (such as each photo) is handled individually, so in the rare case that you may have an error, you’ll only lose one piece of information instead of an entire report. If you’ve ever had the frustration of losing a whole report while using other software, you know just how valuable this feature is. Tune into this value-packed episode to learn the details of all of this, and much more!

Here’s where you can find Andy:

zInspector

zInspector Support

zInspector on Google Play

zInspector on the App Store

Show Notes

[02:50] - Brad introduces Andy and explains why he’s excited to have him on the show. Andy then gives some of his background and explains that he created zInspector to solve a problem of his own.

[04:26] - How long did Andy manage a company of his own?

[06:39] - We hear where zInspector really fits into a process, with Andy explaining that his background and experience is in single-family home turnovers.

[09:19] - One of the first questions that someone might ask Andy is how this compares to some of the software-provided versions. Andy addresses this question.

[12:35] - Andy walks us through the video side of the inspection report with zInspector.

[15:24] - How does zInspector work when you don’t have wifi access on the site you’re inspecting?

[17:58] - Andy explains how you could include a link to a zInspector report in a security deposit form.

[19:55] - Does Andy have any preferences or recommendations for hardware to use in the field? zInspector works on either Android or iOS, he explains.

[22:18] - Andy elaborates on the 360-degree cameras and videos that you can use with zInspector.

[25:52] - Andy talks us through the big, bottom-line question: how much does it cost?

[27:53] - We learn that Andy syncs all the homes in his inventory into zInspector.

[28:40] - You can try zInspector unlimited for 15 days for free, but it’s free forever for one user and five properties.

[30:49] - Brad shares a story of winning a court case based on dates and timestamps on a YouTube video.

[32:34] - What is Andy offering to listeners who sign up using the discount code “Brad”?

[33:30] - Andy talks about a brand-new feature in zInspector’s 360 tours.

[35:35] - What’s the best way for listeners to reach Andy or learn more about him or zInspector?

Links and Resources:

[email protected]

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

Seacoast Commerce Bank

RentWerx

zInspector

zInspector Support

zInspector on Google Play

zInspector on the App Store

Rebrandly

NARPM

Appfolio

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% rebate.

Mark Dolfini graduated high school and started his professional career in the Marine Corps. After four years, he left the military to get a degree in accounting. He started buying rental properties when he entered college, and had about a dozen by the time he graduated. That’s when his education really started, he says. He eventually got up to 93 rental units by himself, but points out that it was a mess, and he didn’t really own a business.

In 2008 and 2009, Mark lost over $4 million in real estate. During that time, he also got sick with a cold that turned into double pneumonia. This made him realize that the madness couldn’t continue, and he had to shift from being self-employed to being a true business owner. Today, Mark is the Landlord Coach. He works as both a coach and a consultant, he explains, and focuses on creating capacity.

In our conversation today, he’ll talk about the reasons why he likes single-family dwellings, including the occupancy rates and ease of sale, despite the negatives (such as maintenance). We’ll talk about whether flipping is dead, and how many people are still doing it or wanting to do it. You’ll also learn in more depth about what Mark does as a coach, whether his services are more focused toward property managers or landlord investors, what it means to be time-wealthy, and much more.

Here’s where you can find Mark:

Landlord Coach

Mark Dolfini on LinkedIn

Mark Dolfini on Facebook

Show Notes

[02:41] - Mark introduces himself and explains the path he took to reach where he is today as the Landlord Coach.

[04:16] - The units that Mark had when he graduated weren’t high-dollar units, he explains.

[04:50] - At that point, Mark was doing everything by himself.

[07:59] - In terms of the management side of things, what does Mark do now?

[10:01] - Mark walks us through the various aspects of his business and his work, and offers the recommendation of building a sustainable, scalable business that doesn’t take all of your time.

[10:40] - Brad and Mark debate the topic of single-family homes versus multi-family homes.

[13:47] - Brad brings up another topic of discussion for Mark to address: is flipping dead?

[16:29] - We learn that Mark is divesting right now, and he explains why this is the case.

[18:42] - Mark talks us through his role as a coach, explaining that he helps to create capacity.

[22:08] - Mark dives deeper into the topic of overlays, which he mentioned a few minutes earlier in the conversation.

[24:41] - Brad talks about one of the challenges that he has with single-family-home property managers.

[25:35] - Are Mark’s services more focused toward property managers or landlord investors?

[27:04] - Mark talks about his book, The Time-Wealthy Investor.

[28:49] - We hear about a special offer that Mark has for Property Management Mastermind listeners!

[30:08] - Not everybody needs a coach, Mark points out, but everybody should have one.

[31:07] - How can someone reach Mark? For the special offers he mentioned, he reveals that you can head to this link.

[33:18] - Does Mark have any conference speaking gigs coming up?

Links and Resources:

[email protected]

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

Seacoast Commerce Bank

RentWerx

Landlord Coach

Mark Dolfini on LinkedIn

Mark Dolfini on Facebook

The Time-Wealthy Investor by Mark Dolfini

Free gift for Property Management Mastermind listeners

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% rebate.

Now, onto today’s episode. In this conversation, I’ll talk to David Tilney, who’s an expert on the fascinating topic of master leasing and has been putting on seminars on the topic for years. David and I will take a deep dive into the concepts behind master leasing, some of the history of it and how he came to apply it to the industry the way he does, and how you can apply it to what you’re doing in the property management world. This conversation will answer a lot of the questions that you might be looking at when you talk to owners who are fearful of everything.

If you’re not familiar with the concept of master leasing, you’ll also learn the basics of what it is! In short, master leasing is when you lease a property from one entity and sub-lease it to another, and take your cut from the middle. It differs from property management in that you’re not working for the owner, and therefore don’t have a fiduciary responsibility to the owner.

David did his first master lease in 1984, when he leased a house for 35 years at a fixed rent and secured his lease with a deed of trust. 10 years later, he was given half the appreciation of the property to remove his lease from the property when it was sold. In 1996, he cancelled all of his agency relationships and leased the properties that he used to manage because he felt he had more control in that process.

In addition to all of this, you’ll also learn about how master leasing can be an entry into the world of property management, as well as some of its other benefits. David will talk about process for business development and finding owners who want to work with him, and why it’s so exciting (and sometimes fun) to be an entrepreneur.

Here’s where you can find David:

David Tilney

David Tilney on LinkedIn

Show Notes

[02:40] - Brad takes a moment to introduce David.

[03:36] - David gives us some history of what he’s been doing with master leasing and related seminars.

[05:54] - In master leasing, who’s doing the maintenance, and how is it being paid for?

[08:48] - David mentions that master leasing has been involved in the commercial market forever, and offers some examples.

[11:33] - We learn about what David covers in his master leasing class.

[14:31] - David talks about how long he’s been teaching about master leasing.

[16:48] - Does David find that there’s less adversity in master leasing than there is in traditional property management?

[18:59] - We hear about how David finds homeowners who are willing to lease to him.

[23:57] - David currently has very few units under his umbrella, he reveals, and explains why that’s the case.

[24:43] - Brad circles back to David’s seminars, and David talks about some upcoming seminars. If you want more information on the seminars, you can find out about them on David’s website at this link!

[27:00] - David never has more than one seminar listed at a time, he explains.

[29:42] - If you use the discount code “Brad,” you can get a discount on one of David’s seminars!

[30:55] - Brad offers a quick side story.

[32:02] - Many property managers own rentals themselves, but some don’t and don’t know how to get started, David points out.

Links and Resources:

[email protected]

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

Seacoast Commerce Bank

RentWerx

David Tilney

David Tilney on LinkedIn

NARPM

I love offering listeners fantastic benefits, such as some great discounts for products. These include the PM Grow Summit, website production through Property Managed Website, showing services through Tenant Turner, and more, with new offers coming all the time! You can see a complete list of the current offers at propertymanagementmastermind.com. For all of these offers, use the discount code “Brad” to secure your discount.

Today, I’m joined by both Andy Shinn with EZ Repair Hotline and Ray Hespen from Property Meld. The three of us will talk about how they got started on their collaboration, and how seamlessly the two services work together. As you’ll learn, they have several levels of support that can make your life easier and allow you to focus on the important things, like growing your company! Maintenance is important, but once you have it set up, you can turn toward growth again.

EZ Repair Hotline coordinates maintenance and takes emergency calls for property managers. As a former property manager himself, Andy understands all too well that maintenance coordination can get in the way of growth. The company now offers four products, one of which specifically teams up with Property Meld.

As you’ll learn in this episode, 31% of non-renewals are due to the maintenance experience. In fact, behind increases in rent price, this is the top reason that tenants don’t renew. As you can see, providing tenants with a fantastic maintenance solution can make a big difference in renewal rates. In fact, we’ve seen this ourselves already; tune into the episode to learn how good our renewal rates have been.

You’ll hear all about the benefits of having a maintenance company offering automated services like you’ll get with EZ Repair Hotline and Property Meld, why it’s important to be able to designate what is and isn’t an emergency, how one work order can sometimes turn into two, and much more.

Here’s where you can find Andy and Ray:

EZ Repair Hotline

[email protected]

(800) 488-6032 (EZ Repair Hotline)

Andy Shinn on LinkedIn

Property Meld

Ray Hespen on LinkedIn

Show Notes

[01:45] - Brad introduces Andy and Ray, today’s guests, and explain what they’ll cover in today’s episode.

[02:53] - Andy talks about EZ Repair Hotline and why he started the company.

[03:34] - Ray takes a moment to explain why Property Meld was started, and then explores the dynamic of how Property Meld works with EZ Repair.

[06:15] - Andy digs deeper into EZ Repair, and the services it offers.

[08:11] - Ray explains that the #1 reason that people don’t renew (other than an increase in rent price) is the maintenance experience. Andy then talks about the full-service maintenance option.

[10:52] - We hear more about the software integration between EZ Repair Hotline and Property Meld. Andy also lists other softwares they can work with.

[12:41] - Brad takes a moment to talk about the fact that not all repairs are emergencies, illustrating his point with examples. He then shares the story of a tenant who was gaming the system.

[14:18] - In response to Brad’s story about a tenant gaming the system, Ray shares a story of his own. Brad then tells another story involving air conditioning.

[15:40] - Andy talks about one of the benefits of his service, which is that the people on staff know what isn’t an emergency.

[18:41] - Andy talks us through the various levels of service that EZ Repair Hotline offers.

[20:52] - Have Andy and Ray thought about building a survey system to get feedback after services?

[23:00] - You have to invest in the process, and the only way you know whether the process is doing well is by measuring it, Ray points out.

[23:43] - Andy talks listeners through other programs that EZ Repair Hotline offers and that he hasn’t covered already.

[24:48] - Does Andy have an ideal company size that he works with?

[26:15] - Andy talks about where listeners can find him and learn more about the services they offer.

[27:03] - How long does implementation take once a new customer signs up? Andy answers, then offers a discount to listeners!

Links and Resources:

[email protected]

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

Seacoast Commerce Bank

RentWerx

Grace Property Management by Marc Cunningham

EZ Repair Hotline

Andy Shinn on LinkedIn

Property Meld

Ray Hespen on LinkedIn

Appfolio

Buildium

Propertyware

Rent Manager

I love offering listeners fantastic benefits, such as some great discounts for products. These include the PM Grow Summit, website production through Property Managed Website, showing services through Tenant Turner, and more, with new offers coming all the time! You can see a complete list of the current offers at propertymanagementmastermind.com. For all of these offers, use the discount code “Brad” to secure your discount.

In this episode, the remarkable Deb Newell will talk about consulting, growth, and how it all ties in together within the property management industry. Deb and I have known each other for quite a while through the NARPM community, and I’m very impressed with what she’s doing, so I’m excited to have her on the show. I hope you’ll enjoy what she has to say about growth as much as I did!

Deb has been running a property management company since 2001. She wanted to get out of debt, so she partnered with a friend to buy a property. She renovated the property, flipped it, paid back her friend, then bought a duplex and has been growing ever since. Deb hired her first employee when she reached 50 doors, and now has around 750 doors. Around a decade ago, she started a separate maintenance company.

Because she believes in running a lean company, she has fewer employees than most people would expect. For example, in Minnesota where she has around 450 doors, she has just five employees. In addition to describing her own property management company, Deb goes into fantastic depth in this episode about her role as a consultant for other companies. If you’ve ever wanted to learn what a consultant does, and what value a good one can offer to your company, this is definitely the episode for you.

She’ll also talk about the difference between consultants and coaches, how much she charges for her services, what she does when she works with a new company, what her stance is on the question of departmental style or portfolio style, and much more. Tune in to learn all about these topics and much more!

Here’s where you can find Deb:

Real-Time Consulting Services

Real-Time Consulting Services on Facebook

@realtimefixer on Twitter

Deb Newell on LinkedIn

Deb Newell on Twitter

Show Notes

[01:45] - Brad introduces today’s guest and explains what she’ll be talking about today.

[02:53] - Deb explains who she is and how she originally got into the world of property management.

[06:13] - We hear about the current numbers of Deb’s company, and how it runs with or without her.

[09:02] - Deb believes in a very lean environment, so she runs a very lean company.

[10:55] - We hear about how focusing on growing and focusing on consulting can come together, with Deb explaining that growth is the #1 goal for a lot of companies that she works with.

[13:17] - Brad talks about some things that he’s addressing now in his own company.

[15:17] - Deb takes a moment to explain the difference between a coach and a consultant.

[17:41] - What kinds of tangible results are Deb able to project or predict?

[20:17] - Brad agrees with what Deb has been saying about being on-site, he explains, because being on the ground is helpful.

[23:14] - Deb explains that she doesn’t use a template, instead working individually on writing things up for each company she works with.

[24:21] - We hear more about what Deb tends to do when she works with a company, specifically in the first few days.

[25:22] - Deb addresses the big question: departmental style or portfolio style?

[27:07] - We learn about the costs involved with hiring Deb to come in and dissect and rebuild a business.

[30:02] - Who would be Deb’s best target client?

[31:56] - Deb offers some compelling reasons why someone might want to hire her, instead of the competition, as a consultant.

[33:54] - Deb lists some ways that listeners can get in touch with her or learn more about the services that she offers. She also talks about the discount that listeners can get on her services!

Links and Resources:

[email protected]

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

Seacoast Commerce Bank

RentWerx

Real-Time Consulting Services

Real-Time Consulting Services on Facebook

@realtimefixer on Twitter

Deb Newell on LinkedIn

Deb Newell on Twitter

NARPM

Grace Property Management Systems by Marc Cunningham

The 40 Hour Work YEAR by Scott Fritz

Tenant Turner

ShowMojo

I love offering listeners fantastic benefits, such as some great discounts for products. These include the PM Grow Summit, website production through Property Managed Website, showing services through Tenant Turner, and more, with new offers coming all the time! You can see a complete list of the current offers at propertymanagementmastermind.com. For all of these offers, use the discount code “Brad” to secure your discount.

In this episode, you’ll hear a fantastic conversation with Aaron Marshall of Keyrenter. If you’ve ever wondered about whether franchising is a good idea or how to get started, this is absolutely the episode for you! Aaron will go into depth about franchises, franchising, the various property management franchises that are out there, how they work, what the benefits are, and much more!

Aaron has been in real estate since 2001, and in property management since 2007. He sold his extremely successful real estate business in May 2013 and started a Keyrenter franchise in December 2013. Since then, he has become an expert on franchising within the property management space, and he shares some incredible wisdom and insight into the realm in our conversation today.

For those just getting into real estate, starting with a franchise can be incredibly helpful. As Aaron explains, he helps people get into the business, set it up correctly with insurance and banking, assists with property management agreements and marketing, and much more. This saves people the trouble of fumbling through it for the first year or two and losing value during that whole period.

Aaron is wonderfully open about the specific costs involved in opening a Keyrenter franchise. There’s no secrecy or vagueness about numbers in this conversation; he’s clear and upfront about what a franchise costs, as well as the reasons that the cost is well worth it.

Tune in to learn much more about all this, as well as how to get started (whether you’re new to the industry or already have a property management business), additional reasons why it can be so valuable to have a franchise, and more. Finally, Aaron will also offer a fantastic deal to listeners, so don’t miss this episode!

Here’s where you can find Aaron:

Keyrenter Franchise

Keyrenter Property Management

Aaron Marshall on LinkedIn

Show Notes

[01:45] - Brad introduces today’s guest and explains what today’s episode will cover.

[02:58] - Aaron gives us a quick intro to who he is and what he does, as well as how he got involved with Keyrenter.

[05:28] - Why buy a franchise? Aaron answers, then Brad talks about the franchises that he thinks of offhand.

[07:36] - Brad shares a story involving his wife, who gravitated toward a specific brand rather than looking for an individual agent.

[09:06] - We hear about the value of having a franchise for someone who’s brand new to property management.

[12:41] - Brad clarifies some of the specific ways in which Aaron (or a franchise in general) helps with getting started in property management.

[13:38] - We learn about the costs involved with opening a Keyrenter franchise.

[15:28] - Brad talks his own experience with buying a franchise.

[17:07] - Aaron returns to the topic of franchise costs, including the fees involved.

[21:23] - Let’s talk about revenue! Brad talks about the royalty that Aaron has been discussing, and explains how it can be justified.

[23:39] - Are the fees that Aaron has shared consistent across the industry, or are they higher at some companie than others?

[25:22] - Aaron walks listeners through the process of purchasing a Keyrenter franchise.

[29:56] - We hear about the next steps in opening a franchise, which Aaron sees as a mutual interview.

[31:50] - We shift from talking about brand new franchise owners to existing businesses transferring over to a franchise. If you have over 25 doors, Aaron explains, you pay half price.

[34:43] - Is there any sort of exit strategy that Aaron looks at with franchisees as he sets them up from the beginning?

[37:48] - Aaron talks about whether there’s something like a franchise report to help listeners assess different franchises.

[42:08] - Brad talks about the fact that there will always be bad reviews.

[42:47] - How can listeners get in touch with Aaron if they’re interested in getting into a franchise?

[44:31] - Aaron offers listeners a gift: a discount on a review software offered through grade.us. Listen in to hear how you can get your discount!

[47:35] - We hear some final words of wisdom and advice from Aaron.

Links and Resources:

[email protected]

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

Seacoast Commerce Bank

RentWerx

Keyrenter Franchise

Keyrenter Property Management

Aaron Marshall on LinkedIn

LeadSimple

PM Grow Summit

AppFolio

Franchise disclosure document (FDD)

grade.us

I love offering listeners fantastic benefits, such as some great discounts for products. These include the PM Grow Summit, website production through Property Managed Website, showing services through Tenant Turner, and more, with new offers coming all the time! You can see a complete list of the current offers at propertymanagementmastermind.com. For all of these offers, use the discount code “Brad” to secure your discount.

I’ve known Derrick Scott for a while, but we’ve been getting to know each other better recently. Derrick is a property management company owner as well as an insurance company owner with over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry. He’s particularly familiar with insurance as it applies to property managers in working with owners, tenants, and company stuff. We’ll dive deep into the topic of insurance, especially the master policy concept.

We all know that you can require renters’ insurance in your lease agreement, your tenants will show you a copy of the agreement, and then they’ll go cancel the policy. The concept of having a master policy is a potential way of getting around this by having the management company act as the insurer.

The problem with property insurance, or landlord insurance, is that some companies don’t cover specific things like certain dog breeds, while others do. You may never know whether your policy covers these things unless you dig down deep. This sort of thing is what led Derrick to wanting to provide a solution for property owners that makes sure that vicious dog liability is covered.

We’ll cover lots of other topics, too, such as whether you should carry errors and omissions insurance even if your state doesn’t require it, some of the complicating factors surrounding workers’ comp, which kinds of insurance you absolutely must (and definitely should) carry for your property management company, and much more! Tune in to learn more about this different aspect of property management and gain a deeper understanding of how to best protect yourself and your company.

Here’s where you can find Derrick:

IMG (Insurance Management Group)

[email protected]

Derrick Scott on LinkedIn

Show Notes

[01:45] - Brad introduces today’s guest, Derrick Scott, and explains what today’s episode will cover.

[03:02] - Derrick takes a moment to talk a bit about himself, his career history, and how he got to where he is today.

[04:32] - Brad brings up today’s first major topic: the master policy concept.

[05:46] - We hear Derrick’s thoughts on the renter’s package master policy concept, and what he thinks of the management company owner having a master policy and passing along the insurance to the tenant.

[07:09] - The first problem, Derrick points out, comes from an administrative standpoint.

[08:47] - Brad and Derrick break down the levels of coverage that Derrick has been talking about.

[11:22] - Brad shares a recent example of a military couple who they sadly had to turn down based on the breed of their dog.

[13:37] - Derrick transitions to talking about landlord insurance.

[16:29] - How does this work with somebody who has an escrow account in terms of doing a landlord insurance master policy?

[19:59] - Derrick “translates” what he and Brad have been talking about to laymen’s terms for listeners who may not be familiar with the concept.

[20:57] - We hear about some struggles that Brad has had with trying to get their owners to name them as additionally insured.

[22:06] - What happens when an owner has insurance and you’re not named as additionally insured?

[24:27] - Brad circles back to the topic of renting to tenants with animals and staying covered by insurance.

[26:46] - Derrick responds to what Brad has been saying and points out that it involves setting expectations for the renters while also making sure that the owner and tenant have coverage in case the pet does damage.

[31:21] - Brad switches over to talking about insurance for the management company itself. Derrick then addresses what type of insurance is necessary or ideal.

[34:00] - Things get a little bit tricky with other coverages such as personal and advertising injury, which some policies don’t have.

[37:22] - Brad shares a side story to illustrate the point that Derrick has been making.

[39:22] - We hear about errors and omissions insurance, which Brad isn’t required to have because of a Texas law. He carries it anyway, and Derrick absolutely recommends it. They then discuss tenant discrimination liability.

[42:46] - Derrick digs deeper into the topic of workers’ comp.

[44:42] - Brad brings up some boutique coverages, such as cyber liability.

[47:07] - Derrick lists the insurance must-haves that a company needs, including workers’ comp, commercial general liability, and more.

[48:52] - Now that Derrick has addressed the must-haves, what insurances does he think are should-haves?

[50:25] - What would be the best way to get in touch with Derrick to learn more or work with him?

Links and Resources:

[email protected]

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

Seacoast Commerce Bank

RentWerx

NARPM

NARPM Broker Owner Conference

PetScreening

I love offering listeners fantastic benefits, such as some great discounts for products. These include the PM Grow Summit, website production through Property Managed Website, showing services through Tenant Turner, and more, with new offers coming all the time! You can see a complete list of the current offers at propertymanagementmastermind.com. For all of these offers, use the discount code “Brad” to secure your discount.

Today’s episode is going to be a different style! It’s always an honor to share my guests’ wisdom with you, but today I want to share some tips and insights of my own, so I’ll be doing a monologue. You’ll hear about some great things going on in the property management industry, best practices and techniques, and some of the questions I hear a lot.

You’ll hear about my property management company, RentWerx, that has experienced a 35% year-over-year growth and currently manages 840 single-family homes. I’ll talk about why we count homes versus properties, and what the magic number is (profit per month per door that you manage). I’ll also talk about the reason I started this podcast, and why it’s so important to me to see the property management industry get better as a whole. I’ll also touch on my future goals, including the book I plan to write!

Podcasting is going to be the new radio. Since you’re here listening to this, you’re probably already aware of that and ahead of the curve! Right now, it’s still a relatively young industry that’s fairly easy to break into, but that’s already changing. If you want to get into podcasting, now is the time to do it… and if you want to learn how to get into it, you’ll want to listen to my talk at the upcoming NARPM Broker Owner Conference.

I’ll talk about plenty of other hot topics including our eight fantastic team members (not just virtual assistants!) in Mexico, the value of Facebook marketing and how we use it, the importance of search engine optimization, some great projects we have going on, and finally an exciting announcement about our upcoming expansion!

Show Notes

[02:28] - Brad’s first point of discussion is RentWerx, his property management company in San Antonio, TX.

[05:05] - We switch over to the topic of maintenance, with Brad discussing the choice to break out his maintenance company.

[07:09] - Why is Brad doing this? He wants to see the property management industry improve, he explains.

[09:49] - At the NARPM Broker Owner Conference, Brad will be doing a presentation on podcasting. If you’re interested in the topic, it will be a productive event!

[11:09] - Brad discusses his thoughts on competitors, and why he isn’t worried about giving things away to them.

[12:39] - We learn that Brad has eight full-time team members in Mexico. These people are far more than virtual assistants, he explains, and talks about what’s so impressive about them.

[15:10] - Brad moves onto another hot topic: Facebook marketing.

[19:30] - At first, Brad thought the Matterport 3D tour technology was very expensive, but it has turned out to be valuable.

[21:20] - Brad talks about hiring business development managers and employees.

[23:48] - We touch on what has really worked for Brad in the business development side, which is a five-tiered system.

[27:58] - Another thing Brad wants to talk about is their investor pocket listing concept, which reduces the losses from sales.

[30:25] - Brad circles back to how he’s using the Matterport 3D tour videos.

[32:43] - Let’s talk about hiring! Brad discusses the way they’ve typically found applicants and made hiring decisions.

[37:37] - Brad moves onto talking about leasing, saying that he rents to the best-qualified applicant.

[40:04] - Brad is a huge fan of doing leasing where the tenant never needs to go to the office.

[42:31] - We learn about structuring your business, with Brad offering his experience and insight.

[45:36] - Brad discusses something he heard recently about the dynamics of phone calls.

[46:30] - Another good topic for discussion is software providers.

[48:48] - One of Brad’s campaigns with NARPM is to create a NARPM accounting standard. He explains what this means, and what the intentions are.

[52:48] - Brad returns to the topic of his management company, RentWerx, and explains he’s recently teamed up with eXp Realty for Salewerx.

[55:11] - We hear about a potentially industry-changing landlord insurance property. Another thing that will become increasingly prevalent are syndications.

[57:25] - Brad moves into the final point of the episode with an exciting announcement: their company will be moving into Austin!

Links and Resources:

[email protected]

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

Seacoast Commerce Bank

RentWerx

NARPM

The 40 Hour Work YEAR by Scott Fritz

NARPM Broker Owner Conference

Matterport

Appfolio

Propertyware

LeadSimple

eXp Realty

Salewerx

I love offering listeners fantastic benefits, such as some great discounts for products. These include the PM Grow Summit, website production through Property Managed Website, showing services through Tenant Turner, and more, with new offers coming all the time! You can see a complete list of the current offers at propertymanagementmastermind.com. For all of these offers, use the discount code “Brad” to secure your discount.

Today’s guest is Ray Hespen, who’s here to discuss his relatively new product Property Meld. This amazing product, which we recently started using, basically links tenants, owners, and vendors together into one platform to help them coordinate maintenance.

Ray and his cofounder were both climbing corporate ladders, which involved moving around a lot, so they were renting in each new location. His cofounder pointed out how much of a pain it is to be a renter and get maintenance done. From that observation of the renter experience, they realized the need for a product like Property Meld. They then talked to a couple dozen property management firms to learn more, and then decided they had to make maintenance more automated, simpler, and more self-service oriented.

The main reason people rent these days is because they don’t want the hassle of being a homeowner, not because they don’t have the option of buying. This means that not offering a strong maintenance service is the second most common reason that renters don’t renew their leases. In fact, a whopping 31% of non-renewals are because of maintenance.

Property Meld automates a system that allows streamlined coordination and schedules the repairs, verifies completion, and follows up with the resident for you. It can do this without requiring phone calls, which tenants are notorious for hating and avoiding whenever possible. It also keeps a record of contact attempts to ensure that there’s evidence when tenants claim that they were never called. It also ensures quick scheduling; 85% of repairs are scheduled in under four minutes.

Tune in to hear all of this plus much more! We’ll also discuss how Property Meld helps managers favor good service providers (and weed out the bad ones), exactly how important it is to use text messaging instead of phone calls, how much Property Meld costs, and how quickly they can get you up and running with the system!

Here’s where you can find Ray:

Property Meld

Ray Hespen on LinkedIn

Show Notes

[02:40] - Property Meld has been showing up at lots of conferences and intriguing people, Brad points out.

[02:54] - Ray talks about his background and how Property Meld started.

[03:54] - Maintenance is one of the first things that will get you fired as a property management, and it’s often forgotten about. Brad talks about the lessons he’s learned on the maintenance front.

[05:05] - Ray shares his thoughts on the costs of maintenance and the impact it can have. He and Brad talk about the stats of renting.

[07:54] - We learn that Property Meld takes a different approach to coordinating maintenance than in most conventional maintenance management systems.

[09:06] - Brad offers a hypothetical scenario to illustrate how Property Meld works.

[11:41] - Is there a specific stat for how much more quickly repairs are scheduled when using Property Meld?

[12:33] - On average, people open emails 15% to 20% of the time. Text messages, on the other hand, are read within the first 15 minutes of receipt 80% of the time.

[14:35] - Ray explains that their communication, not just scheduling is text messaging and email-based. He then reveals that you can even send YouTube videos through messages.

[16:41] - Brad steps in for a moment to share a story about a tenant whose air conditioning went out.

[17:30] - Brad has just recently implemented Property Meld. He shares some of his early experiences.

[19:12] - There’s a learning curve with everything, Ray points out. He then explains why good vendors love the system, and how it helps to weed out the bad vendors.

[22:02] - Ray talks listeners through the cost for the system and the savings that it can potentially provide.

[23:56] - Your vendors are an extension of your company as far as tenants are concerned, Ray explains.

[25:22] - Ray talks us through the steps of getting his system set up for a property management company.

[27:31] - Ray discusses the automated process of their onboarding. He then talks about the discount he’s offering to listeners!

[28:51] - Where will Ray’s next public appearance be?

[30:13] - Brad offers Ray the opportunity to name-drop some happy customers.

Links and Resources:

Property Meld

Ray Hespen on LinkedIn

[email protected]

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

Seacoast Commerce Bank

NARPM Broker Owner Conference

AppFolio

Teamwork Project Management

NARPM