Why I started this company.

First a little background info about me. I recently relocated from central NY. I own several rental properties in NY that I found mismanaged, purchased and turned the nonperforming investments into performing investments. I manage all of these properties myself. After extensive research I decided to move to the sunshine state to invest in rental properties and start my own property management company! I quit my job, packed up and hit the road. It was bold but sometimes you need to step outside of your comfort zone and try new things. Onto Florida.

When I made the decision to move to the Tampa Bay area I was excited at the thought of a great upcoming market. Once here I found several deals that interested me. I did the "unthinkable" and contacted a real estate agent, I say unthinkable because I know the best deals are not usually listed. The call went to voice mail where I left a message. To my surprise I did not receive a call back. I thought that was very odd. I called another agent. Voice mail again so again I left a message. This agent called me back a week and a half later to inform me that they had signed a contract the day before they called me back! Sweet deal. What world do we live in where real estate agents don't return phone calls? The market must be so good that they don't even need leads (joke). I have come in contact with a few hard working motivated agents but they are few and far between. To find a agent that "specializes" in investment properties is even more rare. The main reason being that investment properties takes more work on the agents behalf and they know this. They need to submit low offers that they sometimes fee uncomfortable submitting. They then get rejected and need to submit offer after offer. Another issue I found is that some real estate agents are so uneducated with different ways to purchase a house it is shameful. I was looking at a condo and asked the agent to submit a lease option for me. She REFUSED, she said that that is something a lawyer would need to do and didn't know how to do it! This is comical, needless to say I decided not to work with her anymore. I now have found another need in the area besides property management, real estate investor focused agents. It is easy for a agent to say this property is great for a investor your should buy it. After all they are trying to get their commission. The best agents have your best interests in mind and understand investment properties.

What to do? I decided to open my own real estate brokerage firm that has more of a investment focus. Not only will we offer excellent property management we will educate and help investors. We are going to do this simply by offering agents a flat transaction fee as opposed to the traditional commission split that they are accustomed to. We will educate all our agents on real estate investing (hiring only agents that understand). Doing this teamed with timely returned calls and excellent customer service I believe we will have a recipe for success.

What about property management? Property management companies are structured so backwards it is a wonder people even use them. Most property management agreements charge a fee to place a tenant. This is ridiculous! Where is the incentive for the company to place great long term tenants? This actually does the opposite. The company will make more money the more they turn the property over. The incentive is to actually place ok tenants where they could care less if they stay or go because they are getting paid either way and if they do happen to leave they are going to get paid even more for a placement fee. This is NOT how Kiehn Realty Company will operate. The only fee we will charge is the monthly fee on occupancy! That is it! What will our incentive be? Our incentive will be to keep the units full of excellent tenants for the investor. Being a investor and property owner I know the right and wrong way to manage properties. My favorite thing to do is buy mismanaged properties and correct the issues. This turns a not so good investment into a great performing investment! This also creates instant equity because the investment is more appealing.

I am so happy with my move. I look forward to serving all my fellow investors in Florida. Lets make some $$$ together!