Kansas City property management

[Ian Fisher]

Hi all

I'm a remote investor and have built a small buy-and-hold portfolio of SFRs in Kansas City (Missouri, not inner city, but generally C type neighborhoods: $700-1000 monthly rent) and am in process of leveraging and expanding (currently 7 units, can see this becoming 50-100+ in the next 12-24 months). One area where I think there will be room for improvement in my model moving forward and especially as I grow is going to be property management. The firm I currently use is professional and fairly thorough, but I have really struggled to get them to see eye to eye with me that this is really an asset management / investment management job - and with a leveraged model it is clear that small differences in the NOI:gross rent ratio will make a big difference to the cash on cash / overall profitability of my operation. In other words, the key success factor for me is that my PM maximizes my NOI, NOT my gross rents or anything else. So my questions are:

- are there any investors reading this who use professional property managers in Kansas City (generally suburbs, all in MO not KS), are building significant portfolios, and are pleased with the results? I'd love to talk to you if so, both to learn how you are managing the manager and also who you're using

- are there any property managers in Kansas City reading this who read my comments above and think, "YES, this is exactly my attitude and I'd love to team up with you as you grow"?

Many thanks!

Ian

[William Robison]

Hello @Ian Fisher 

Disclosure:  I own and operate a property management company in Kansas City.

Working with owners in a partnership role is important to few PM firms.  My PM company is just over a year old, but I have been in real estate more than a decade.  I believe in the power of referrals.  I attempt to take good care of my clients and their properties.  I prefer to get properties in the position of long-term stability by using quality products during repair and renovations that are needed.  My company is a bit unique, where our focus is on acquisition and renovation of properties and we provide property management as a service to complete the circle.  

You should have a property management company that understands some specific needs.  Many are focused on some of the right results, but often make some errors.  

One example that makes me different than the rest: We focus on building investor portfolios. This is accomplished by buying houses and getting them renovated. Maintenance issues are handled quickly when needed, but they take away from our ability to renovate. Please understand, we dont push a maintenance call to the back burner, we just prefer to do things in advance to prevent issues. This helps NOI.

I would suggest finding a PM company that you can understand their business model as much as you want them to understand your model.  In the end, you will find some overlaps that may lead you in the direction of better partners.

Off topic story--I use a property management software, as most PM companies do.  I wont disclose which one it is here, but over this past summer, they had a conference for all PM companies that use their software.  I decided not to go when I saw that one of the main topics being discussed was how to increase profits (of the PM firm) through maintenance calls.  I didnt agree with this philosophy and did not attend for this reason.

Find a responsible PM firm that has a model that aligns with your own.

All the best with your investments.