Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Recruiting Great Tenants- Your Team Is Only As Good As Your Players
It’s been said the most important part of major college coaching is recruiting. A team’s ultimate potential is limited by their talent level. Sure, good coaching can make good players better, but great players are the reason teams win championships and are consistently good.
I started thinking about this the other day when a friend of mine called. He told me that a friend of his bought a property management company inCharlotteand it is proving to be a nightmare. The company he bought has sloppy books, awful employees, and a large cache of substandard properties that are in disrepair. But most importantly, they have a lot of tenants that have not been paying rent and have stayed in the houses rent-free for months. His friend is watching his investment go up in flames as he tries to salvage what’s left.
This made me think. What would be the characteristic that would be most important to measure the strength of a property management company? Is it good employees, growing cash flow, long-term contracts in place, sound business procedures, or something else? They are all obviously very important. But what’s the ultimate key to success?
As I thought more about it, my head began to hurt and my mind drifted to sports:
Why did Coach Nick Nolte agree to buy Ricky a new truck in the movie, Blue Chips? Why are there so many recruiting scandals in college athletics? Why do I read about “tampering” charges in the professional leagues when teams illegally contact players when they are not allowed? Why are college coaches only allowed to send potential recruits a limited number of text messages and are restricted on how often they can call them? Why do coaches work harder in the offseason traveling to visit recruits than they do during the season? Why do the Charlotte Bobcats think they can rebuild the team with late round draft picks?
Then the answer occurred to me. The players are the most important thing. They directly dictate the success of a coach. If a team has great players, they will be a good team (no matter the coaching quality). That is why recruiting is so important and organizations are willing to push the envelope on wooing potential stars.
As a rule, every top-tier athletic team puts a premium on signing great players. And this is the same mentality that top-tier landlords and property managers, like you, must have to build a strong property management company and investment portfolio. It’s about getting great tenants for your properties. They will directly dictate your success.
When a great tenant applies for a property, it is imperative to let them know that you want them. You need them. You will treat them like gold if they would just sign with you (on the lease). Text and call them every hour (there are no contact restrictions in business, only the weirdness factor of over-communication). Add incentives. Buy them the pony they always wanted, as long as it is munching the grass in your rental home’s yard! Let them know your love will never end if they can out down a deposit today.
Great tenants provide so many great benefits! They pay on-time and in full providing consistent cash flow. They take care of the properties so they don’t fall into neglect. They let you know if your employees are lacking or slacking. They even take care of minor repairs on their own!
Your team, investment, and/or company is only as strong as the players it has signed. Maniacally pursue the best, get them under contract, and rest will take care of itself!
Brett Furniss is the President & Owner of BDF Realty (“Charlotte’s Most Innovative Property Management & Investment Company”), and Rent-To-Sell Realty (“When You Need a New Solution to Sell Your Home”) which specialize in rent-to-own (lease options) and rent-to-sell homes. His newest book, A Real Estate Agent’s Complete Guide to Representing Rent-To-Own (Lease Option) Tenants (Delight Clients, Fill Vacant Homes, and Earn $2,250* Upfront! (*Minimum!)
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: Why Your First 2 Weeks of Dating are Exactly Like the First 2 Weeks Your Rental is Listed
Early impressions can be very telling. In relationships, they can save you a lot of time and heartache.
For example, when you first start dating someone, the first 2 weeks really are pivotal. One really wrong move and it is over, right? So, it is important to pay attention and try to figure out how to stand out (in a good way…). It’s also important to figure out what they really think of you, as they usually won’t tell you outright. Do they think your nervous tic is endearing or pathetic? When you bring up your issues, are they full of concern or pity for you? Do they plan to keep you around or jettison you when something better comes along?
Here are some potential early impressions and what they really mean:
1. “She hasn’t laughed at any of my jokes. However, her over-the-top cackles at the 16-year old valet’s tasteless joke, and then the waiter’s corny repartee, seem to mean that she is straight-faced with me only. I think she cracked a smile when I told my tried-and-true “dog-napping” story (10-minutes of absolute hilarity, if you ask me), but it could have been a result of the 12 text messages she had sent and received during its duration.”
Translation: You are really unfunny (to her, at least) and she is seeking more entertaining companionship elsewhere. Save yourself money and abort this relationship (before she drives off with the valet).
2. She is mesmerized by my every word. She can recall what I said last week in the greatest detail. She tells me that I am the greatest at everything. When I was fired yesterday, she swore that was incontrovertible proof my company didn’t deserve me. She says I’m smart to keep a belly because the winter months are coming and it is actually “sexy.” Hollywood actors and models are “fake”; she likes me because I’m “real.” My annoying idiosyncrasies are “cute” and I’m “untraditionally handsome.”
Translation: Carpe Diem! She likes you. Strike while the iron is hot and lock her up while she is still in this momentary fog!
So, early impressions from dating are good indicators of relationship success. The same is true of the signs received from the first 2 weeks your home is on the rental market.
1. No one is responding to the rental ads about my home. If your home had feelings, it would be locked in a bedroom alone eating bon-bons and watching “Bridges Over Madison County” right now.
Translation: The home is priced too high, the pictures in the ad are either non-existent or awful, there is potentially no contact information contained in the ad, the ad copy is off-putting, or a combination of the above. Fix and repost the ad.
2. I’m getting a lot of showings, but no one is applying.
Translation: The home is either priced a little too high and/or its condition does not back up what is presented in the ad.
3. I’m getting deluged with showings and applications.
Good! But your home is probably priced too low.
4. Real estate agents don’t respond to my follow-up calls and e-mails after they show my home.
Translation: Your home does not back up what is in the ad; typically, it is dirty and might look like a college fraternity house or an early 1800’s boarding home. They are upset that they wasted their time (and gas) to visit your home and look bad in front of their clients.
5. Your home gets a decent amount of interest and a good application is submitted and accepted within 30 days.
Translation: Your home was priced and marketed appropriately. Bravo!
Though early impressions are never 100% full proof, they are usually on point. Paying attention to them and making adjustments early can save you a lot of headaches, heartache, and money!
Brett Furniss is the President & Owner of BDF Realty (“Charlotte’s Most Innovative Property Management & Investment Company”), and Rent-To-Sell Realty (“When You Need a New Solution to Sell Your Home”) which specialize in rent-to-own (lease options) and rent-to-sell homes. His newest book, A Real Estate Agent’s Complete Guide to Representing Rent-To-Own (Lease Option) Tenants (Delight Clients, Fill Vacant Homes, and Earn $2,250* Upfront! (*Minimum!)
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: Better to Rent or List Your Home for Sale? 3 Question Litmus Test
This seems to be a FAQ these days. As a property manager in Charlotte, we get many calls from people asking themselves this question.
I didn’t think there was a one-size-fits-all answer to this, but I was corrected. It just seems to come down to who you ask.
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: Importance of Getting Paid from Rentals in the Next 5 Years
According to an article in Barron’s this month, the future of the real estate market is in rentals for the next five years. Most real estate agents are hoping this news is akin to the Bush White House claiming the existence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD); hopefully, it is just another example of faulty American intelligence.
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: Wouldn’t You Want the Market to Know Your Rental is For Sale?
However, in an increasingly illiquid market, most wanna-be sellers are turning to the rental market to decrease the short-term pain of monthly payments on their vacant homes. What they really want to do is sell (and not of the short variety).
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: Rent-To-Own- A Great Lead Generator for Traditional Brokerage!
During the webinar, the host asked the presenters what percentage of their company’s revenues came from lease options. The other presenter quickly answered, “100%.” I thought about it and said “15-20%”; afterwards, I felt like a fraud. Why was I asked to participate as a “lease option expert” when 80-85% of my company’s revenues derived from elsewhere?
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: Which is Better? Colts or Saints? Sale, Rental, Rent-To-Own, or a Combination?
Super Bowl time is here which means there will be rampant speculation about which team is better. Most people from Indianapolis don’t think there is anyway Peyton Manning will let them lose, while New Orleans fans think that destiny is on their side. Of course, no one knows exactly who is right, but that doesn’t stop them from arguing about it non-stop for two weeks.
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: How Rudy Giuliani Gained Market Share during 9/11
“I just spoke to that guy last week; he was going to look at houses with me. Now he won’t take my calls and has reportedly been cavorting with a member of another realty firm. Scandalous!” (Unhappy Charlotte Realtor who just lost a client)
When the September 11th tragedy happened, everyone was shocked. I was living in New York City at the time and was up in Stamford (CT) that morning on a sales appointment. It was surreal.
Learn More