All Forum Posts by: Brett McCurdy

@Rob He    Rob, welcome to BP, I look forward to seeing you around the site!

@Monica G.     Yes, I have used PDI for my continuing ed the last couple times online.  I think I will do the in-class sessions next time because the online classes can be VERY time consuming even if you know your stuff and tedious.  I have only used PDI for continuing ed.

When I became licensed (2005) I attended "Ed Smith Real Estate School".  It is a GREAT program and the people really care about teaching you ethics/values and getting you ready.  The best part was one of their training facilities is in Ocean city so I took 4-5 days and headed to the beach to study and go to the classes which were 2 minutes inland.  I highly recommend doing this!  Just make sure you don't schedule the classes during "beach week" - big mistake if you are staying in a hotel near the beach trying to study and kids are inviting you over to funnel beer with them...  

@Monica G.   Monica, welcome to BP!  Good to see another local join the site :)  Best of luck in all your RE endeavors! 

@Brett Synicky   I would be very interested in seeing an example FB ad for  under $5 a conversion if you wouldn't mind sharing with me?  I don't have a very good web presence for RE yet so I would love to see what you are running in FB and other areas to get that high a conversion rate.  Props to you for getting those #'s.

Roderick Carabott The best property managers should have a team on staff that handle the normal recurring issues (clogged drains, painting, basic electrical repairs, etc) instead of outsourcing. The larger jobs (new roof, hvac replacement, etc) should be bid out to a few companies. They should have a revolving list of preferred vendors who they use consistently to gain discounts. Contractors are not known for being the most reliable so that vendor list should be reviewed and updated constantly as the companies on them evolve. Since most property managers don't have any skin in the game they don't bother to research what service providers are best and have the best value so see what how you can hold property managers accountable for being your intermediary or add performance measures into your agreement.

For parking and driveways you will most likely need a small (7.5' western is great) plow mounted to a decent sized trucks (f250 and 2500 would be good for small lots). The plow would need to be welded on so proper install is important. A good new plow would run $4-8k depending on what you scholar and accessories. Get a tailgate truck spreader for parking and driveways and a sidewalk spreader as well. Avoid snowEx truck spreaders and go with a snowdogg truck spreader with vibrator (it's worth it trust me...) and a spyker push spreader. I would work something out with your handyman so he can pay towards owning the plow so he can use it on his own also. That way there's incentive for him to maintain it, he gets paid more during the winter, and you don't have to pay for all equipment fully. Just a thought. Regarding Ice melt, preorder it and store securely (in dry spot) on-site for contractor to save on costs. Learn proper application rates for the conditions to eliminate further waste.

The biggest question I have is what is the sq. Footage of the property for landscape area as well as parking/sidewalk areas? I couldn't begin to suggest equipment (and I own a grounds maintenance company also) until I knew the coverage area. I agree to avoid electric equipment no matter the size lot though. For blowers there are one and two stage. Any storms over 4" you are going to wish you had a two stage. For winter storm events eliminating liability is the goal. Go expensive on equipment and melting products because a slip and fall law suit will cost you thousands and raise your premiums. My one company uses 2stage toros with Honda engines for blowers. They run around $800-1200 each. I recommend checking craigslist first.

Serge Hyacinthe I would be interested in connecting with you and might be of some assistance to you in your endeavors.

Latoya Holmes Hi Latoya, welcome to BP! I look forward to seeing you around BP.

Brian Huber Ppc should definitely be used. Where do most people seek services nowadays? Google, Bing, and online searches. Don't pass over this segment because of costs. Start small and test very specific keywords for what you are targeting. Link to analytics account and track what people are searching and create negative keywords to further filter out nonsense searches that accidentally hit your words. Use exact, phrase, and broad matches and refine monthly till your CTR crawls up. Run your campaign year round and don't start and stop often. Facebook and social media is better for client retention then acquisition in many cases and you shouldn't lean on FB over ppc or your really missing out. Also most people don't understand that FB suppresses posts so if you wrote 10 blog posts your FB members will usually only see one show up on their news feed... Good luck!