Are you a property manager?

Question

I am a part-time property manager (15 apartments) in a small town of 5,000 population.

And yet there are many many rental units here as we have a community college and we are the hub of this part of the state.

How do I acquire more clients?  How have you done it?

John Murphy · Answer

Thank you guys - appreciate the wisdom and advice!

I'm new to BP and still learning my way around the site and all it has to offer - this will give me something to work on!

Jackie Creighton · Answer

I agree, definitely utilize BP and local REIA events! Take advantage of resources at your disposal that can connect you with RE professionals near you. Another tactic that I have found pretty useful in finding potential properties for sale is "Driving for Dollars". I mentioned this in another post before, but sometimes tenants and property owners may not even know that their property can be up for sale. Drive around you area looking for any unkempt homes, chances are the owner may be an absentee owner or just looking for an out of the property.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

My city has 9,000 people and I'm managing over 300 doors. Most REALTORS want nothing to do with property management but they will manage a few just to retain the client and hope for a future sale. Market your services to them directly. You can do this by networking at REALTOR events, joining the local REALTOR board, or swinging by their office. Provide little marketing flyers that explain your services and offer to answer questions or give a quick 5-minute presentation during their sales meeting.

The key is to be professional. Know the laws. Be able to answer questions about how you handle maintenance, late rent, evictions, filthy units, etc. Demonstrate what value you can bring to the table.

You can sweeten the pot by offering a referral fee (even $100 is something) and by offering a written guarantee that you will refer the client back for any sale within X years. If an agent refers someone to me, I promise that I will refer the client back for any sale within the next three years. The client may decide to stay with me, but I will attempt to refer them back and at least let the referring agent know if they choose to stay with me.

Another option is to develop a "Landlord Rescue" program. There are a lot of Landlords that have no clue what they are doing so they get into a bind and either can't get rid of bad tenants or they just get tired of managing the property. Offer to help kick out the tenants, clean the property up, and turn it into a profitable venture again. I'll post an example of one I did recently in a new thread.

James Wise · Answer

Give this article a read for some more tips on using BP to grow.

HOW TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS USING BIGGER POCKETS

James Wise · Answer

Marketing, Marketing, Marketing, Marketing, Marketing, Marketing, Marketing, Marketing, Marketing, Marketing, Marketing, Marketing...BP is a great place to start doing all that Marketing. Myself I grew my company's annual volume from $283k to over $54M. Marketing here on BP was a HUGE part of that growth.

John Murphy · Answer

Thank you - I read through your advice and just wanted to say I think you're right on target!

I'm interested in trying what you suggested and seeing what transpires!

Upon further thinking about this and trying to be realistic - I'm guessing there are a variety of situations out there and anyone who owns property has to decide how they want to run their operation.

If they have a smooth running operation and there is little or nothing to do - they simply are not going to hire me.

If, on the other hand, they have some "problem" and "headaches" I think they will be running and not walking to hand over these problems and saying to themselves "this is not worth the stress and the headaches"

It takes a certain person and set of skills to be a cop or a principal in a rough school or a dorm residence hall manager or a bouncer at a bar and not everyone is cut out for that.

I'm not sure I want to deal with it either and that's probably what I'm looking at if I actively pursue this and go to the time, effort, and expense to deal with difficult people, criminals, conflict, evictions, and the legal system.

Thanks again and I appreciate your advice!

Marc Winter · Answer

Start by identifing the rental properties in your area, research the owner via tax records and contact them.  You could also speak directly to the tenants to see if the property is being managed by the owner or another management company.  Careful not to step on another company's 'toes'--if you're in a small town, word gets around fast, both good and bad.

Good luck!