All Forum Posts by: Matt Speer

@Colin Smith That's great! 

We can predict where you manage, how many units, average rents, days on-market and other predictive stats for PMs in the US. 

For the average investor/client it will have a similar effect the "CarFax" had in the auto industry. And for the PMs it will be an opportunity to track and improve your KPIs and use them to win even more business. 

BiggerPockets is great with the community and referral network. The problem is you never know if it's genuine or if the person referring is affiliated with the company. 

@Tyler Lingle investors hire property managers to do exactly that — manage the property. So if it needs improvements to rent, a good property manager will explain that to a client and coordinate turnover improvements. Also - the only other lever is price. If an owner doesn’t want to make updates, lower the price. 

I think technology and the burgeoning consolidation in the PM industry will cause there to be a major raise of the baseline standard of quality service a PM will need to provide. Some will step up and succeed. Others will do nothing and start to lose business, eventually failing altogether. 

@Colin Smith @Ryan Thomson

@James Ross I don't know either of these guys but the data I have is backing up what they're saying - Solid Rock is a solid PM Company. 3.8 stars on 82 reviews. Below average days on-market. They probably manage ~300-500 units. They have ~18 team members which tells me it's a lot more likely they'll have time for you and communicate well. You won't just be another number to them. Also they use Buildium which is one of the best PM softwares out there - rated 4.5 on softwareadvice.com. They also use TenantTurner, which has become really popular. I'd just make sure there's still a personal touch and good experience for applicants so you maximize your rental income too. 

Make sure your property is in their wheelhouse though. Below you can see a heat map of the general areas Solid Rock typically manages. 

@Tyler Lingle great question. “The proof is in the pudding” as the say. At the end of the day investor care about 3 things when hiring a PM 

(1) Profit and ROI

(2) Good communication and overall experience  

(3) Peace of mind 

Most questions about tenant/applicant qualifying, leasing process, maintenance process, fee structure, etc. are all centered around the question "will I make the ROI I'm looking for?".

Next, it’s not ALL about the money. The experience matters. I want to be informed and be in the know. A good PM balances communicates the good and the bad updates and likely leveraged some technology to do this. 

Peace of mind is the last piece of the puzzle. Is my PM changing the furnace filters, checking in on the property and do they have integrity? If yes, you can be at peace and let the pro do their job. 

Thoughts? Did I miss anything? 

@James Ross I can help you choose which PM is the best in Colorado Springs, CO with objective data. Shoot me a dm or email - happy to help. 

@Bill B. am I correct to assume you self manage? 

@Khari F. when they ask the existing tenant if they’d like to renew the lease. If they agree, great, raise the rent and sign another 12 month term. If they decline, go ahead and start marketing the property to minimize vacancy loss. 

@Mike Dymski agreed. Do you self manage or have a professional PM? 

@Bill B. some really good points. The great PMs are marketing renewals 90 days out. The excellent PMs are marketing properties prior to the existing tenants moving out. I agree that DOM isn’t the whole picture but it’s a huge part of the picture. 

Don’t most investors assume 5% vacancy loss when they underwrite? That’s 18 days, not 40. 18 is good, 40 is bad. 

Now - imagine if there was a way to have full transparency and see these numbers for your existing PM or when you’re hiring one. Average rent, where they manage existing units, average days on market, average time to completion on maintenance, etc. This is what I’ve built and will be available later this year… 

@Theresa Harris great question. The average in Indianapolis is 23 days on market over the past year.