Real Estate Sales to Property Management Transition

New Member Introductions
7yFollow

Real Estate Sales to Property Management Transition

Ryan Knutson
Member since 2019 · 37 posts · 5 votes

Hello Everyone,

My name is Ryan and I am new to BP and am excited to connect and network with you. My question is regarding which pathway within property management is the best fit. A bit of background on myself, I have been in Real Estate for 3.5 years all of which have been selling real estate full time. I have experience in residential home sales as well as land sales.

Recently, I have been interested in learning more about the property management side of real estate. The reason being, my end goal is to own rental properties primarily single family and small multi- family units. 

My question is, with my goals of owning my own single family houses and small multi-family units, what type of PM Company should I be looking to work for? Also, with that goal in mind, would you recommend making a transition from straight land sales to PM? The main reason I want to get into PM is because I believe it will allow me to learn how to run and manage the business end of rentals that I would not necessarily get exposure to just selling real estate. Am I better working for a large commercial company with more structure or are there smaller companies that deal with single family properties and that will allow me to learn the ins and outs of the business? I have heard possibly that what I am looking to do would be a good fit for a "Third Party" PM? Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated.

0Reply
17 views

6 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Hanna M.
    Member since 2018 · 22 posts · 20 votes
    7y

    I would recommend a smaller company that specializes in the type of properties you're ultimately interested in owning. The smaller the company, the more hats you will wear. This will allow you to get a feel for more facets of owning an investment property. Larger companies have more clearly divided roles and each person handles a smaller piece of the pie. 

    Better yet, do what I did and start your own PM company if your jurisdiction allows. It's a great steady income and you will learn quickly - you'll have no choice!

    0Reply
  • Ryan Knutson
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 37 posts · 5 votes
    7y

    Thank you Hanna, that is what I initially figured would be the case, that I would be able to do more within a smaller company. When you started your own company, did you have any prior PM experience? How many properties do you manage? Also, what kind of properties are you focused on? Thanks for your input.

    0Reply
  • Peter Lohmann
    Property Manager · Columbus, OH · Member since 2012 · 309 posts · 275 votes
    7y

    You're fine to go directly into property management. It's not a very high-skill business on the individual employee level. As long as you are organized you'll be fine. Try to find a local company that owns all their own "scattered-site" (not large apartment buildings) units. That will give you the experience you want. Working for a "fee" manager (who manages property they don't own) would be fine too, but that comes with a lot of distraction and activity that you won't get value from based on your goals.

    0Reply
  • Ryan Knutson
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 37 posts · 5 votes
    7y

    Thank you Peter  for that information.  When you first started your company, what was your background? Did you have experience in PM or or did you jump right in and start your own company? Thank you Peter.

    0Reply
  • Ryan Knutson
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 37 posts · 5 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Peter Lohmann:

    You're fine to go directly into property management. It's not a very high-skill business on the individual employee level. As long as you are organized you'll be fine. Try to find a local company that owns all their own "scattered-site" (not large apartment buildings) units. That will give you the experience you want. Working for a "fee" manager (who manages property they don't own) would be fine too, but that comes with a lot of distraction and activity that you won't get value from based on your goals.

    Thank you Peter for that information. When you first started your company, what was your background? Did you have experience in PM or or did you jump right in and start your own company? Thank you.

    0Reply
  • Peter Lohmann
    Property Manager · Columbus, OH · Member since 2012 · 309 posts · 275 votes
    7y

    I had no previous experience other than owning a couple of my own rental properties and managing them myself.

    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free