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The Property Management Mastermind Show

The Property Management Mastermind Show and Property Management Productions was formed to provide information and products BY Property Managers FOR Property Managers looking to grow and run their business. The podcast show is an interview discussion conducted by Brad Larsen – a Property Manager in San Antonio, TX. In this Podcast show, Brad will interview some of the biggest and brightest stars in the Property Management industry to include National Association of Residential Property Management (NARPM) members, Leading Property Managers of Australia (LPMA) members, and key vendors in the property management industry with the goal of being able to gain insight for best practices, new trends, and exciting information to help you grow and run your business more successfully.
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Now displaying: December, 2017
Dec 28, 2017

One of the benefits I love to offer is discounts for products and services including the PM Grow Summit, website production through Property Managed Website, showing services through Tenant Turner, and more 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”.

A little pre-show information about John Bradford who’s here from petscreening.com

One of the things we talked about in the interview that we forgot to mention is that he catches 32% of the assistance animals have disappeared after they were asked for more information. So essentially almost a third of the applicants after they apply through petscreening.com disappear after they get asked a question. In other words he’s weeding out the pets who owners are illegitimately trying to push through as assistance animals.

He’ll offer a discount code to waive the first hour of integration into your software. As usual, use the promo code “Brad” to access this offer! To take advantage of it, you can email info@petscreening.com.

Talk about petscreening.com. John’s been putting this out for a few months, saw it at the Orlando conference and was really excited about it. He’s graciously agreed to come on the show today to talk more about pet screening. He’s been on Fox News.

He’s been a property manager for 13 years, so he understands why pet screening is so important. Based in the Charlotte region, has about 30 employees, single family property management. He also has a political career, serves in the North Carolina House of Representatives and has developed a reputation as the go-to-guy not only for real estate and property management issues, but also issues surrounding assistance animals.

His three things for his vision: 1. Pet screening to reduce the liability for property managers and owners. 2. Didn’t want it to cost the housing provider or owner a single penny. 3. Wanted a product that would drive new revenue streams around pets.

He ranks pets on a scale of 1-5 paws based on a complex algorithm. This includes shot records, microchipping, breed, and more.

 

Here’s where you can find John:

PetScreening

info@petscreening.com Subject Line: Brad - I’m interested in learning more. Free consultation for integration with an IT company to optimize for your company.

 

Show Notes:

[02:58] - John tells us a bit about his background and how he got into the pet screening field. He explains how his two professional fields intersect to make him particularly qualified to deal with animal screening questions.

[04:14] - We hear about John’s vision when he started petscreening.com, including the three facets of the vision he had in creating it. He also talks about the kind of information that he collects throughout the process.

[07:32] - John talks more about the pet scoring system he created, which ranks pets (and owners) on a 1-5 paw scale. Only about 11% of applicants receive 5 paws; John’s own dog, in fact, only ranks 3 paws.

[08:50] - There is an associated risk with guard dog breeds, but that doesn’t mean that a firm shouldn’t rent to someone who owns one of these breeds.

[10:43] - Everything we’ve talked about so far is for household pets; John now moves on to talking about assistance animals.

[11:56] - Brad interjects to explain that he’s afraid of asking the wrong questions of someone who has a disability. John points out that the questions involved in his service are HUD-permissible questions, so there’s no risk of saying or asking something wrong.

[14:18] - If an applicant answers the first few questions correctly, John’s service moves onto a three-pronged test for the documentation: is it reasonable, credible, and reliable?

[15:19] - What if somebody wants to bring in an assistance animal in the middle of an existing lease?

[16:50] - John talks about how his tool integrates with various other tools and screening companies, listing a few specific examples.

[18:51] - We learn how John’s company generates revenue, which is by charging an application fee to the animal owner for every pet that comes through the tool, which is $20 for the first pet and $15 for each additional pet. This allows them to screen assistance animals without any charge.

[19:35] - John uses Brad (and his dog) as an example to explain how the tool works, and why it’s beneficial for pet owners even aside from property applications.

[21:02] - At the end of the lease agreement, is there any place to leave feedback on the pet? Their database includes two types of incidents: pet bites and property damage. In the future, they’ll be adding a way to indicate unauthorized pets as well.

[22:38] - Brad points out that unauthorized pets are probably the most common issue, more than any sort of dangerous breed incidents. John then gives an example of a potential issue involving a pet death mid-lease.

[25:32] - What kind of feedback has John been getting from applicants and tenants? He answers, then he and Brad discuss the benefits of the privacy that petscreening.com provides for tenants and applicants.

[27:29] - Brad points out that showing favoritism can actually be discriminatory.

[30:16] - John talks about cases in which a cat might not be vaccinated, using the example of a 15-year-old cat.

[31:55] - Has John see anybody integrate different fee structures based on their 1-5 paw score? Lots of firms, he answers, have created a variable pricing matrix based on the pet score.

[33:59] - John talks about how he’s seen this being presented to the owners of the homes. He also explains what information is presented to the owners, some of which is withheld for various reasons.

[37:16] - We hear about John’s integration with Rentscreener (FIND AND LINK THIS), which will become even deeper in the coming months.

[38:52] - Not all pit bulls are bad, and John’s tool is proving it, he explains.

[39:37] - John moves on to talking about renewals. His tool requires the pet owner to answer all the questions every year to make sure nothing significant has changed with their pet.

[40:57] - John shares an offer for listeners! Email info@petscreening.com with “Brad” in the subject line and just say that you want to learn more. If you want to proceed, they will pay for the first hour of the consulting integration with an IT company to make sure that they get the product optimized for your organization. (They’ve never yet had anybody go over an hour, he points out.)

[42:42] - Brad points out that John’s company is currently the coolest thing since sliced bread among property managers.

[43:02] - Will John be at the PM Grow Summit?

 

Links and Resources

Acutraq

RentScreener

Resident Research

AppFolio

ShowMojo

Tenant Turner

PM Grow Summit

PetScreening

info@petscreening.com Subject Line: Brad - I’m interested in learning more. Free consultation for integration with an IT company to optimize for your company.

Managing the Business Risks of Pets and Service/ Companion Animals

Dec 13, 2017

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”!

As property managers, we know the ins and outs of the rental industry. In fact, we’re so familiar with it that sometimes it’s helpful to step back and look at things from the tenants’ point of view instead. These people are likely moving from one rental property to another. They’re dealing with all the hassle of moving, which is exhausting whether it’s across the country or just across town. They’re also dealing with a heavy onslaught of expenses: renting a moving van, hiring people to help, paying rent and a deposit on a new place, and much more.

When your tenants are already overwhelmed with too much to do and lots of money going out the door, the last thing they want to deal with is setting up the utilities at the new place. This can be doubly true if the utility companies require large deposits, as some do. Going back to our side of things as property managers, we also don’t want to constantly field calls from tenants about which companies they should use, whether they can install a satellite in the roof, and how to set up a security system.

Fortunately, there’s an amazing company that makes things easier for property managers and tenants alike. My guest today is Wes Owens from Citizen Home Solutions, a concierge service for utilities. Wes will explain what his company does, and why it’s a win-win-win for tenants, his company, and the property managers alike. Best of all, he offers a commission that’s a quarterly share of 20% if you use the promo code “Brad” when you sign up!

Right now, Citizen Home Solutions operates in Texas and 13 other states. Don’t worry if you’re outside of their current coverage range, though! They’re happy to expand to new locations, and the process of setting up somewhere new generally takes a week or less.

 

Here’s where you can find Wes:

Citizen Home Solutions

wowens@citizenhomesolutions.com

(214) 493-2010

Wes Owens on LinkedIn

 

Show Notes

[02:56] - Wes gives us an intro to himself and his company, explaining what Citizen Home Solutions does. Brad then points out some of the reasons for why setting up utilities is a difficult part of moving for tenants.

[03:54] - Wes walks us through the process of how his company works in more detail. He also addresses the topic of deposits in recommending providers to tenants.

[06:33] - Brad gives listeners the background on his use of Wes’ group, which goes back about two years.

[07:13] - The management company gets a quarterly commission for every service that makes Wes’ company money. In other words, Citizen Home Solutions shares their commission with the property management companies that use them.

[08:46] - Implementation is very easy, Wes explains, and walks us through the five-minute process involved in getting things set up.

[10:25] - Citizen Home Solutions is currently all over Texas and in thirteen other states, but they can get up and running in a new location within about a week.

[13:57] - Does Wes have any good examples of specific discounts?

[15:25] - Wes elaborates on the satellites he mentioned previously. They refuse to allow satellites on the roof, instead putting them on pole mounts in the back yard.

[17:23] - Wes moves on to talking about security systems. The system he uses is wireless and doesn’t damage the property, he explains.

[19:16] - Brad returns to the point that Wes can get his service set up in a new area in a week or less.

[21:44] - We learn more about how Brad has implemented Wes’ service into the backend of the system.

[23:40] - Wes talks about reviews. Lots of places ask their customers or clients to go to Google to review their company. Instead of making the customer do this work, Wes uses BirdEye.

[26:27] - BirdEye flags your reviews, Wes explains, and allows you to respond when you get a review below the limit you chose.

[27:42] - How can someone get started with Wes’ company, or get in touch with him? His phone number is (214) 493-2010 and his email address is wowens@citizenhomesolutions.com.
[29:49] - Wes talks about the promo he’s currently offering for listeners! If you get in touch with him soon using the promo code “Brad,” you’ll get 20% back, which is higher than their norm.

 

Links and Resources:

Citizen Home Solutions

wowens@citizenhomesolutions.com

(214) 493-2010

Wes Owens on LinkedIn

BirdEye

Dec 4, 2017

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”!

Today’s special guest comes all the way from Australia! Ben White is the director of Leading Property Managers Association, or LPMA. He’ll talk a lot about that association, as well as its US expansion efforts, in our conversation today! We’ll also discuss their accounting standard project, which coincides with some of our efforts to standardize accounting practices within the industry.

If you’ve listened to the show, you’ve already heard me talk about the PM Grow Summit, which is one of my favorite conferences. Another of my absolute favorites is the conference put on by LPMA, which goes above and beyond almost anything else you’ll see here. If you want to experience it for yourself, believe me, it’s well worth the flight to Australia or New Zealand. In fact, Ben has even sweetened the deal by waiving the conference fee for property managers or property management company owners who are listening to the show.

In addition to talking about LPMA and its conferences, Ben will offer some fantastic insight into the industry. As we discuss in the episode, despite (or maybe because of) some striking and fascinating differences between the American and Australian markets, we can learn a lot from each other. Ben points out, for example, that your biggest competitor is no longer the best agency in your marketplace. Instead, your biggest competitor (and the one you need to fear) is the worst property management company, because the bad companies are dragging down the industry as a whole. To learn more about this, and other great tips and insights into the industry, tune into this episode!

Here’s where you can find Ben:

ben@lpma.com

lpma.com

Show Notes

[04:05] - Ben gives us a quick intro to who he is and how he got involved in property management.

[06:48] - For listeners who are wondering, Brad talks about why it’s worth listening to Ben even though he’s from Australia, which is a different market.

[08:31] - Ben explains that the infatuation with real estate is greater than that in the United States, in that many more people own investment properties.

[11:45] - We learn about Ben’s books, which he wrote after having been lucky enough to have visited well over a thousand property management companies.

[16:10] - Ben offers a synopsis of what he’s doing during this visit to the United States. He then discusses his affiliate program.

[20:09] - Brad takes a moment to rave about the many available resources on Ben’s site.

[22:09] - We hear about one of Brad’s recent changes, which was switching to Seacoast Bank.

[24:20] - Ben expands on the idea that staff churn can create a negative impact that lasts for years. He walks us through the four possible scenarios that can happen when a property manager leaves.

[29:47] - In Australia, there’s a trend to not give property management staff personalized email addresses, because there’s so much staff turnover.

[33:29] - Brad clarifies that Australian property managers charge weekly instead of monthly.

[35:39] - Ben talks about how the LPMA conferences are run, and offers a discount for listeners who want to come to one of these conferences in the future.

[38:12] - LPMA originally had two brands, both of which are now part of LPMA, Ben explains.

[41:36] - Ben expands on the formula he’s been working on coming up with to produce potential valuations for companies.

[43:46] - You can’t just value a property management company based on its income, Ben explains.

[46:16] - Ben shares a story about one of the first days that he was in property management. He and Brad then dig into specific numbers and percentages within the property management industry.

[50:08] - Brad points out that prioritization shouldn’t be overlooked, because it lets you know exactly where you should be focusing.

[53:08] - Ben talks about trying to develop a membership base for the LPMA in America.

[56:05] - Brad takes a moment to talk about how he and his company use LeadSimple to manage their workflow.

[57:24] - There are three kinds of core property management systems, Ben explains.

[59:33] - Where can people get in touch with Ben if they want to learn more or stay in touch?

Links and Resources:

ben@lpma.com

lpma.com

Numbers Game by Ben White

Seacoast Bank

Xero

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