All Forum Posts by: Jarrod Cook

Is this a monthly event? Would love to attend but can't make this month.

@Manas M. choosing the right property management company is crucial to your investment. I would appreciate the opportunity to chat about your needs and how my firm can help you out. No loopholes, no hidden charges - direct flat fee or % based pricing. Check us out at specialized247.com or specializedbirmingham.com. I look forward to speaking with you.

@Rob C. I'm advocate for all review platforms, my point is yelp is not the best one for PM. If your thoughts are different, fantastic! I'm not here to steer your decision or anyone elses. I will make a final point then retire this post for everyone to read into how they will - there is no accountability when it comes to a yelp review - a negative review is one-sided and it will always be one-sided because no one forces the reviewer to validate their claim. Yelp doesn't have employees checking posts- they rely on an algorithm to determine if a review is real or just someone writing a positive review for a friend. Google has your email address and goes after 'fake negative reviewers'. It also gives the company being reviewed a chance to converse with the poster to potentially correct any gaps and prevent further issues. It is what it is. The quality of our services speak numbers - reviews are awesome and we appreciate each one, but with such a huge % of our new business coming from referrals, we know our sauce is right. In fact the OP arrived at us via a referral. If you ever have a property you need managed in one of our markets, give us a shout and you will soon be writing us a positive review of your own :) Be well. 

@Rob C. Here is a bit more information on gauging online reviews in the PM realm. While most people use online review platforms as a place to vent or release frustration, some do see the value in sharing positive experiences. There are so many factors in a tenants world to review, lease obligations, penalties for not paying on-time, move in experience, move out experience, maintenance, etc. that a positive review from a tenant, while excellent service is always expected from our team, positive reviews are always a huge pat on the back. Speaking for SPM only, our lease is written in a fashion that strongly protects the landlord and the property while not at all stepping on tenant rights - tenants do get frustrated when they want to move in the middle of a lease and find out there is NO out clause in our lease - tenants do get frustrated when they clog a toilet a toilet with something that is not meant for toilet use and the charge is put on them instead of the property owner - tenants do get frustrated over late fees - I could go on and on, but hopefully everyone gets the point. A good amount of tenant complaints or reviews are over lease clauses that are there protecting the person who is using the review as guidance. That said, our average lease length is over 3.5 yrs and our eviction percentage is less that 1% - and yes, this includes numbers from 2020 when Covid ravaged much of the PM industry. 

Mistakes do happen in PM, and when they do, how they are handled means everything. Specialized Property Management launched last year our proprietary AI/BI (artificial intelligence/business intelligence) platform. This platform took over 3 yrs to build and put us light years ahead of our competition. The analytics we get from Rental IQ and how we use the data enables us to correct mistakes before they happen and guide our team in ways that have never been available in PM. This software is proprietary and no one else has it. If a competitor wants something similar, they would need to build it. This AI/BI technology coupled with our 7 satisfaction guarantees takes as much risk out of owning buy and hold real estate as possible. 

If you would like to learn more on this - Realpage featured us on their Propertyware webcast last month.

If you'd like to speak further on who we are and how we can help you - please give me a shout and lets schedule a call. 

Here is a flyer on negative reviews in the PM industry and some helpful tips on how to read into them. I hope this helps!

@Rob C. thanks for following up kudos on all of the research - education is key. A few things - Our company definitely takes pride in our impressive Google reviews, but also our Facebook, BBB and many other affiliations. Google is obviously the most used, so I understand why you only chose to mention the one. The number of posts someone has doesn't make their opinion more or less relevant; some people choose to review companies, others don't. I'm glad you pointed this out because you're correct, Yelp does make this distinction and pushes people with less reviews to the bottom, or sometimes doesn't even present them - should a reviewer be penalized or their review not heard because they are new to a site or haven't felt the need to review a company every chance they get? Even though you say you weren't impressed by the data on our website, the information is very true and why most in the PM industry do not use Yelp when deciding on a PM - since you referenced the information, but did not share it, here it is for everyone educating themselves on this forum -

"Even though Yelp.com is a popular place for online reviews, Yelp’s ineffective algorithm has been the source of multiple lawsuits due to the suppression of authentic positive reviews, and the website is under increasing scrutiny from the business community as well as consumers"

My experience tells me people want all opinions, not just the ones a platform wants them to see. I believe the multiple lawsuits because of this practice in many ways support my point. What good is a review if they are monitored or moved to the top (or bottom) because of who the reviewer is.

Incentivizing or having employees post would be unethical; fake reviews are not something we want or even need in order to show we are the best choice in each market we are in. Having this negative mindset might steer you in the wrong direction when making an important decision. Try to remember that everyone's opinion matters, not just those that choose to voice them on a more regular basis. If you don't like Google, check out FB or BBB. Reviews on all 3 sites mirror each other in each market we're in - surprisingly, Yelp is the only one that doesn't match up.... I would go out on a limb and say the BBB is doing better research on reviewers than Yelp is. 

Sorry for the brief post but it's time to get to work! I hope this helps you better understand - if not, I'm happy to jump on later and help with any other questions you may have. When you're ready, or in one of our markets, check us out - we'd love to show you why we're the best choice and why investors big and small choose Specialized Property Management to manage their portfolios. Have a great day!

ATL is a great place to invest and cover both points you mentioned; cash-flow and appreciation. I would stay away from short-term rentals - 2020 showed us something we have never seen; regular leases pushed through, short-term got shut down. Vacation rentals are great, if you are thinking you'll use it for yourself as well - otherwise, a regular SFH is a better bet for long-term passive income. You mention BHM - personally most of my SFH portfolio is in BHM, but it only offers one of the 2 pieces you mention. BHM's B class will cash-flow like crazy but you are not going to see appreciation anywhere near to what ATL offers.

There are plenty of BHM meetups. You can search for them on FB or meetup.com.

Who is everyone using for PM in ATL and why? What are you looking for in a good PM, besides the obvious. 

Hey Guys, sorry for the late reply, I am not on this platform often but wanted to chime in. Good on you Vinnie for checking into us. We are very real - we are a member of NARPM & The Association of Realtors on a National and Local level - we are one debt free company, not a franchise - we are located in Atlanta, Birmingham, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Orlando and Tampa. We offer 100% full service Property Management and would appreciate the opportunity to work with you and your investments. 

@Rob C. check further into the yelp vs PM subject and I think you'll find this to be an across the board issue. Yelps platform is not set up for PM , the questions, ratings system, etc... progress has been made on the topic so i know there have to be articles to read up on. I have heard things but not from a source credible enough for me to feel comfortable passing it along here. Lets us all know if you find anything. 

4 bedroom 2 bathroom house for sale in the Ensley Highlands neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama. This property is currently professionally managed and has been leased regularly at 850 per month. The property is rent ready but could use about 5k to really make it shine. 

A house of this size for this price is a rare find... This property will cashflow like crazy.

PM, email or call for more information or to see.