All Forum Posts by: Jerry Agbon

Quote from @Stephanie Michael:

Great question! As both a property management professional and an investor, I can attest that the qualities you’ve mentioned are spot on. I'd like to add a few more traits that I've found crucial for a property manager to truly stand out:

1. 1. Integrity and Transparency: Trust is the foundation of any good relationship, especially between a property manager and a property owner. A property manager who is honest and transparent about both the good and the bad situations that arise can help build long-term trust and avoid unpleasant surprises.
2. 2. Tenant Relations: A property manager with excellent tenant management skills can reduce turnover and increase tenant satisfaction. This includes handling tenant issues with empathy, maintaining open communication, and ensuring that tenants feel valued and respected.
3. 3. Adaptability and Tech Savviness: The property management industry is rapidly evolving with new technologies and tools. A property manager who stays current with industry trends, leverages property management software, and adapts quickly to changes can offer a competitive edge.
4. 4. Legal Knowledge: Understanding local, state, and federal laws is essential. A great property manager ensures compliance with all relevant regulations, which helps to mitigate risk for the property owner.
5. 5. Negotiation Skills: Whether it’s negotiating leases, handling vendor contracts, or resolving disputes, strong negotiation skills can make a significant difference in operational efficiency and cost savings.

In my experience, a property manager who excels in these areas not only helps protect your investment but also maximizes its profitability. I’ve encountered managers who were fantastic in most areas but lacked in one or two key traits, and that was enough to impact the performance of the property. Conversely, I’ve seen property managers who excel in all these areas, and the difference they make is night and day.

As a multifamily investor who rely heavily on PM, and who has been burnt by dubious PM, @Stephanie Michael response above reflect perfect my view of what makes a good PM. Inherent within these five qualities is the good communication skill. To this, I'll also add knowledge of the local rental market.

This was very helpful to me. Thanks!

Quote from @Leonard Rybak:

@Michael Dumler,  the first deal, the shakiness involved illness, but eventually with the help of my realestate agent my "deal" was transferred to another loan officer in the same company.

This time, I feel like I am being left out to dry.  I have not received a response for 48 hours,  and before that was 5 days. 

It seems as if you've not developed relationship with any agent in the company, so perhaps you're just a number passed on to any available loan officer, and most probably the most lazy of the bunch. I would look for a different loan company, and then deliberately seek to establish relationship with a "goal getter" loan officer in that company, be very clear about what you want and don't settle for an under performing officer.

North Carolina and South Carolina seems to fit what you're looking for.

Northeast states like Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, are states that have high concentration of triplex, duplex and quads. In MA, Boston, Dorchester, and Brockton are among the towns with very high concentration these.

In what town is this property located in NC? Look for the local banks in that town, then reach out to 2 or more to start the process.

@Justin Knighten As a landlord, I've always had pest control service done on all my properties every 6 months. I've never heard of the tenants being responsible for this. Holding off taking care of the problem now, would most probably lead to more damage to your rental property. Why take that chance?

Will be there.

@Deo Sanders look for somewhere else with a more favorable condition. Never jump in with the croud, no matter how anxious you are to get you first MF. Heed the warning signs and look for somewhere more appropriate with conditions for better cashflow and higher probability of success. Strategy revaluation might be needed.

I wish you the best in this endeavor.

Hello Joseph! I was in a similar situation a year ago, my wife and I were moving to NC from MA, we have to decide between Raleigh and Charlotte, visited NC for 2 weeks, drove around to both Raleigh and Charlotte, then decided Raleigh was the better city for us.

Sold our primary residential single family house in Quincy MA, of 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms for 599K with a profit of 250K. Then, bought a 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms condo in Raleigh for 85K, paid cash, and then moved in last year May. Our monthly expense dropped by about 80% by making this move, that means we can now save more.

We also have a rental triplex in Dorchester MA. once the move to Raleigh was completed, the next objective was to start looking for investment properties to replace our triplex in MA. We then put the triplex on the market using a 1031exchange, to avoid cap gain tax. We were expecting to replace our MA triplex with another triplex or quad in Raleigh, but we quickly realized that houses here are a lot cheaper compared to those in Boston, and for 1031exchange we needed something of equal or more in price range comparison. So, the only choice left to use was to go MFH, from 12 units and above. We decided not to make purchase in Raleigh main town because of low cashflow, set a parameter of 2 hours drive from Raleigh, found a 36 MFH deal, clench the deal, sold the triplex in Boston and make the payment using 1031 exchange from the triplex, quadrupled  our cash flow, now am back on the market looking for more MFH to buy.

In the process of our research, we decided to stay out of the red hot market zones like Raleigh and Charlotte, rather to focus on those up and coming towns that are in between these 2 competing cities. That seems to've paid off handsomely so far, even with the covid crisis we've just had.

I hope this would be of some help and encouragement to you. I wish you the very best in your endeavors!