Today’s show is sponsored by LeadSimple and Fourandahalf. Together, they’ve come up with one of the best conferences for property managers, called the PM Grow Summit. This event is laser-focused on growth strategies and brings together some remarkable thought leaders from around the country. I attended last year and was thoroughly impressed all around -- and that was just their first year! The next conference will be in San Diego in 2018, and I’ve already booked my spot. Go to pmgrowsummit.com to learn more, and enter promo code “Brad” to get a $100 discount on your ticket!
We’re also sponsored by Marc Cunningham of Grace Property Management. Marc has created some amazing products for property management companies, which we can say firsthand as we’ve implemented his systems here. Visit their website and try out their products! To get a 10% discount on any of Marc’s products, use the promo code “Brad”!
On the show today, I’m joined by Angela Gonzales and Erin Landis from Moxie Property Management out of Fort Worth (near the Dallas, Texas area). Erin and Angela started the company just a couple years ago, so it’s still in its infancy time-wise, but they’ve already accomplished some remarkable things. As they put it, the company actually operates in dog years!
One of the reasons I wanted to have Angela and Erin on the show is that they’re doing some different things that you might not have seen in other property management companies. They don’t hesitate to think outside the box, as you’ll hear in our conversation today. For example, part of Moxie involves doing consulting work for other companies and helping them manage their properties, meaning that they’re far more than just a strict property management company.
In addition to talking about their consulting services and how they seamlessly blend these with their own property management, Erin and Angela discuss topics such as how they’ve grown their company so quickly, how they got started, why they realized they don’t need a third partner, their roles in NARPM, and the tools they use to stay in communication with each other, their clients, and their tenants.
Here’s where you can find Angela and Erin:
Angela Gonzales on the Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS
Moxie Property Management on Facebook
Show Notes
[02:36] - Erin and Angela start things off by introducing themselves.
[03:06] - We hear about how Moxie has grown so large in such a relatively short time, with Angela explaining how she and Erin met and got started.
[06:52] - What were some of the challenges that Erin and Angela came upon when they decided to step out and doing everything themselves?
[08:06] - Erin is doing some coaching for AppFolio soon, partly because she has been using the software since 2009. Angela then talks about how difficult the business would be to run without Erin on the financial side.
[10:03] - Brad shifts to a tangent about something he learned on the NARPM listserv about full-month accounting. He, Angela, and Erin then discuss how this type of accounting works along with its pros and cons.
[14:16] - Angela discusses the consulting side of the business.
[16:15] - The places we’ve been hearing about are in outlier areas, we learn, with Angela describing what they do as a “if you build it, they will come” scenario.
[17:26] - We take a deeper dive into the consultancy side of Moxie, learning what exactly that entails and how that side functions.
[19:40] - Angela and Erin use Evernote, we learn. It’s also helpful for communicating with their clients.
[20:27] - We hear about the division of labor at Moxie.
[22:45] - Part of hiring really great people is that they have ambition above the position they’re hired at.
[24:04] - Erin explains more about the details of how their consultancy works, and the ways in which it was like entering into a marriage.
[25:51] - Brad dives into the topic of the service items offered by Moxie. We hear about what it takes to add a consulting aspect to your property management business.
[27:35] - Erin points out that a big part of what they do is cleaning up old accounting, which is something they could take nationwide.
[30:04] - A lot of what Erin does is just auditing what a company has done up until now, she explains.
[31:21] - Brad is developing an annual business health report.
[34:19] - It’s not so much that good members of NARPM are perfect so much as that many others do lots of things wrong, Brad points out.
[35:52] - If Angela and Erin could do everything all over again with Moxie, what would they do differently the second time around?
[39:08] - Erin is the treasurer of the greater Fort Worth area NARPM branch, and Angela is working with the organization on the state level. Erin and Angela then discuss work-life balance and the experience of having careers as women.
[42:32] - While Angela’s son is a teenager now, Erin’s family is younger. She describes what it’s like to work from home under these circumstances.
[44:30] - Brad talks about his “good idea fairy” concept, then shares a cool concept he has recently implemented with listeners.
[46:49] - Moxie has been using Rently for almost two years now, and have been finding that it results in better tenants overall.
[49:24] - We learn that Brad got rid of his dropbox when he moved to the new office.
[50:09] - Erin talks about how one of their older residents (who is over 80 years old) took some extra coaching to make electronic payments instead of dropping off a money order or other paper payment.
[52:01] - Brad discusses the role of virtual assistants and how it’s changing in the industry as time goes on.
[52:49] - Do Angela and Erin have any other “good idea fairies” that they want to share with the audience?
[54:56] - Moxie’s application fees are nonrefundable, but they are transferrable to other properties, we learn.
[56:38] - The mortgage industry took in 36% fewer applications for mortgages this year than last year, Brad reveals. This means that more people are going to be renting.
Links and Resources:
Angela Gonzales on the Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS
Moxie Property Management on Facebook