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.
Don Ganguly from INVESTimate through HomeUnion joins me on the show today. We’ll chat about working with investors, his platform, and his support through NARPM. He’s a key new vendor who you should absolutely check out (once you’re done listening to our conversation in this episode)!
A self-described serial entrepreneur, Don came up with the idea of creating a platform that allows investors to invest in rental properties the same way they invest in stocks and bonds, with a risk and rewards calibration. INVESTimate is the result, as he’ll explain today. The system doesn’t calculate the risk and reward based on just a straightforward number like the expected rent amount, but instead takes many different factors into account. In fact, they’ve mapped every neighborhood in the United States and scored it from A to D depending on risk and expected reward.
I love the reports that come from Don’s company, because they go so far beyond just school district and curb appeal. That’s right; those factors alone aren’t enough to base your decision on anymore. I’ll let him explain to you what he includes in his awesome reports, and how they can help an investor decide whether to invest in a particular property.
Tune into this episode to learn all about those things, as well as to hear Don’s thoughts on pocket listings, turnkey properties, relationship and referral opportunities for property managers using INVESTimate, and more. If you’re ready to move up the food chain of property managers, don’t miss this conversation!
Show Notes
[02:41] - Brad welcomes listeners, introduces Don, and explains his background with using INVESTimate.
[03:19] - Don gives listeners some background into who he is, what he does, and how he got to where he is today.
[06:30] - What are some of the factors that investors and the INVESTimate system look at?
[08:56] - Don digs into the subject of taxes, pointing out that owner-occupied taxes and non-owner-occupied taxes can vary significantly in some counties.
[12:12] - We learn more about whether INVESTimate can factor in depreciation and tax benefits of investing in real estate, or just the subjects that he has already talked about.
[13:56] - Don talks listeners through how he guides investors in making purchases.
[16:10] - What markets is INVESTimate in, and how could a property management company get involved in their system?
[19:09] - Don gives more detail into how to figure out whether INVESTimate is in your specific area.
[22:47] - We hear about some of the things included in Don’s reports, and how they can illustrate why someone might want to invest in a particular property.
[27:42] - What relationship and referral opportunities would property management company owners have with INVESTimate Home Union? Before answering, Don takes a moment to talk about pocket listings.
[30:12] - Don adds to Brad’s point about turnkey listings.
[36:43] - We hear another important point from Don: property management companies need to decide where on the food chain they want to be.
[38:58] - Don digs deeper into how to climb up the food chain by providing more opportunities in the market.
[44:14] - Brad points out that all of what Don has been saying is part of the education that he can provide.
[45:55] - How can people learn more about Don and what he does?
Links and Resources:
Property Management Mastermind
Property Management Mastermind Group on Facebook
(619) 988-6708 (Allison DiSarro from Seacoast Commerce Bank)
(918) 728 8992 (Derek Scott with Insurance Management Group)
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.
I’m joined by Casey Winter from Obligo for today’s conversation about using Obligo as billing authorization technology, and developing a plan for a no-security-deposit option. Casey’s background is in the technology side of multi-family and single-family homes, and he’s been in the industry for over a decade. In other words, he has good working knowledge of the single-family home industry!
As Casey sees it, the security deposit requirement is outdated, inefficient, and typically unnecessary. This aligns with what I’ve been thinking about, which was trying to figure out the best way to create a no-security-deposit option. We stumbled across Obligo and implemented their billing authorization technology, which Casey will describe in more depth in this conversation.
Traditionally, the way around charging a security deposit involves a form of insurance. This isn’t necessarily bad, Casey explains, but doesn’t suit many tenants. On the other hand, Obligo only works with renters that they (and the property management company) feel comfortable with, which allows them to keep their prices lower than the traditional 17%. This also allows you to set your own risk factor.
We’ll spend some time today digging into how Obligo works, exploring the process from their own end, for the tenant, and for the property manager. Casey will talk about whether there are fees and costs for the property management company, how long it took to develop their product. We’ll also explore how Obligo can work for renewals, and how Obligo works when the tenant vacates or when the property management company and landlord part ways.
Show Notes
[02:06] - Casey Winter joins Brad today for a conversation about Obligo and a no-security-deposit option.
[03:08] - We learn about who Casey is, which company he works for, and what he does. He’ll also talk about why Obligo wants to eliminate the security deposit.
[06:06] - Casey explains the concept of security deposit replacement, and goes into more depth about billing authorization technology.
[07:45] - Brad jumps in for a moment to clarify how security deposit insurance works.
[09:54] - We hear more about a cash judgment and how it works in the case of deposit insurance.
[11:20] - Casey shares his elevator pitch on what Obligo is and how its billing authorization technology works.
[15:05] - We learn about how the Obligo process works, and how it allows both property management companies and Obligo to mitigate risk.
[18:40] - Casey talks more about the credit and banking check that Obligo performs for each tenant.
[20:44] - Brad explains the next steps of the process, both for approved and non-approved renters.
[21:49] - Casey digs into the process of getting money in depth for each of Brad’s two possible scenarios.
[25:06] - Are there any fees involved in Obligo sending the deposit money to the property management company or landlord?
[26:25] - We hear about how long it took to develop Obligo.
[29:09] - What happens when the tenant vacates?
[31:45] - Casey talks about whether there’s room for a full-blown inspection in the report sent to the tenant with the final billing report.
[32:28] - What happens if the tenant can’t or refuses to pay, or if there isn’t enough money in their bank account or credit card?
[33:20] - Brad talks about some best practices that he has implemented using Obligo.
[35:27] - Casey explains what happens if an owner fires a property management company while using Obligo for the security deposit.
[37:55] - We learn more about the process of implementing Obligo.
[41:23] - Casey talks listeners through how they can get in touch with him or learn more about the next steps.
Links and Resources:
Property Management Mastermind
Property Management Mastermind Group on Facebook
(619) 988-6708 (Allison DiSarro from Seacoast Commerce Bank)
(918) 728 8992 (Derek Scott with Insurance Management Group)
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.
Phil Mazur of The CFO Mission joins me today to dig into the topic of virtual CFO work for the property management industry. He’s our virtual CFO at RentWerx, so we personally use and endorse him! Pay attention to this episode to see if he and his services are right for you, too.
Throughout his career, Phil has worked in financial and accounting roles. Most of his jobs have been as a financial analyst, and he learned that he enjoys working as a CFO. As he’ll explain today, a CFO is very different from an accountant, and has several important roles within a company. He left his job with a Fortune 500 company once he reached a point of diminishing returns, and has been working as a virtual CFO since then.
Since Phil works with us personally, we can offer some great insight into how the process actually works. He’ll explain today what he’s done for our company (and of course, I’ll offer some insights from my perspective as well). This should give you some great insight into exactly what he’ll be able to do for you. For example, he started with the low-hanging fruit, like scanning checks, entering receipts, and doing bank deposits in AppFolio.
While lots of this is stuff that your team could do, they shouldn’t be doing it. Your team is jumping from task to task all day, so they’re more likely to make mistakes than people who are focused exclusively on these roles all day. You’re also probably paying your team more than you would be paying for this virtual service, so switching can save you money as well as time and effort. Getting these things off of your team members’ plates frees them up to add more value to your company!
Tune into this episode to learn all about the benefits and processes of hiring a virtual CFO. Phil will go into depth about what he’s done for our company and exactly what you can expect from him, both in the initial process and in an ongoing way.
Show Notes
[02:04] - Today’s guest is Phil Mazur, who joins Brad to chat about virtual CFO work for the property management industry.
[03:53] - Phil talks about who he is, what his professional background is, and what exactly a CFO actually is.
[07:18] - Brad steps in to share his experience with looking for a virtual CFO, and we learn more about what Phil has been doing as a CFO.
[09:49] - The salary for a CFO depends, but can be well over $200k, Phil explains.
[14:11] - We learn about how a virtual CFO can work out perfectly for a property management company with a low to mid-7-figure revenue.
[18:20] - Phil talks about what he’s done for Brad’s company.
[21:12] - We hear about the process of getting Brad’s software cleaned up, which Phil and his team did in a matter of weeks. Phil then talks about starting with low-hanging fruit.
[25:15] - Phil talks us through a couple specific examples of the low-hanging fruit he dealt with for Brad’s company.
[26:59] - We hear more about the initial assessment works, and what Phil looks for during that process.
[31:23] - Phil explains what someone could expect from him in terms of level of contact after the initial process.
[36:57] - Phil talks listeners through the NARPM Accounting Standard implementation.
[39:55] - We hear some background on what Phil has done with Brad and his company.
[41:55] - We learn about the specific costs involved in hiring Phil as a virtual CFO, which depend on the level of his involvement.
[46:05] - How can listeners get in touch with Phil to start working with him or learn more? Phil answers in depth, and talks about how to get a free discount!
[49:48] - What are Phil’s parting words for listeners?
Links and Resources:
Property Management Mastermind
Property Management Mastermind Group on Facebook
(619) 988-6708 (Allison DiSarro from Seacoast Commerce Bank)