Property Management Brainstorm

As landlords and property managers, have you ever experienced the dreaded “blackout” at your rental property when the tenant utility transfer was not handled properly? This is when you arrive to move your tenant into the home and guess what ... no power!  Even worse is getting a bill a month later and discovering that the transfer never happened and you’re now being billed for tenant’s utility usage. On this episode of Property Management Brainstorm, Bob discusses the process of setting up utilities for a tenant of your rental home and making sure it happens right every time. His guest is Peter Hernandez of Citizen Home Solutions. Peter explains their concierge service for reaching out to tenants and working with with them on the phone to get all utilities established. Topics Covered[2:30] Peter Hernandez introduces himself and describes the services provided by Citizen Home Solutions.[5:50] What is "concierge utility service"?.[8:25] The tenant experience when setting up utilities through Citizen H

We are starting to see them everywhere, “smart devices" installed for home automation. These devices might include thermostats, doorbells, home security cameras, lighting, appliance monitoring and more. Homes are becoming more efficient, secure and convenient. So is it something that makes sense for your rental homes as property manager or landlord?  On this Five Minute Friday, Bob discusses the factors that should be considered, including benefits and drawbacks, before installing smart devices in your home. Some tenants, for example, may love the idea of living in a smart home. Others may find it too “big brother” like if they think the landlord is eavesdropping or monitoring their lifestyle. Which is right for your rental home or property management company?  It is a great topic to get on the table, so here we go, have a listen.Here also is the link to a great episode about home automation, featuring Sean Miller of Point Central, definitely worth listening to this episode too:  Episode 27: Gaining Effi

In FMF #36, Bob speaks to the importance of open communication as a landlord and property manager. This is true with all of our stakeholders: tenants, maintenance vendors, and property owners. One question Bob hears a lot from new San Diego Property Management prospective clients is: Will you keep me informed throughout the rental listing process?  You see, they want to know what is going on!  We’ve heard a lot of stories of property management companies taking on new clients, never to be heard from again unless the client reaches out and makes a connection.Bob explains that at North County Property Group, they believe this is completely unacceptable and one of the reasons they provide an exclusive and value added service to  property owners called the Listing Tracker Dashboard! On a weekly basis, North County Property Group sends a Listing Tracker report to each of their clients with a rental listing that is currently active, vacant and listed with the company. This graphical report provides their clients wi

On this episode of Property Management Brainstorm, the focus is what it takes to build and grow a property management business from the ground up AND the importance of the support provided by our National Association of Residential Property Managers, otherwise known as NARPM (N-A-R-P-M). Bob Preston discusses these topics with his guest, Kellie Tollifson, owner of T-Square Properties in King and Snohomish Counties of Washington State, which she has grown from the ground up. Kellie is also the national president of NARPM so brings a terrific perspective to both discussion topics. Topics Covered[2:25] Kellie Tollifson describes her journey in building her property management business.[6:10] Hurdles and challenges Kellie experienced along the way in her career.[8:40:] Guiding principles as an essential fabric in building a property management company.[14:28] About NARPM and why it is a tremendous resource from property managers. [22:45] Why networking opportunities available through NARPM as so important to the

In this week's FMF, Bob discusses one of the challenges he had in the early days of his company with the delegation of authority … the process of transferring responsibility for a task to another employee. When working in a small company, finding the time to properly offload an aspect of the business to another person, and more importantly trusting that aspect to another person can sometimes be nerve wracking! There are many excuses for it, like: “It takes too long to train them. It’s quicker to just do it myself.” As the company has grown over the 20 years of it's history, Bob has grown personally too in becoming a better delegator. Simply put, without delegation you will never be able to make the organization possible. Bob further explains what he has learned about delegation through the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) which he has adopted at North County Property Group. Here are the simple steps:Make a list of all the things you do with your time, tasks if you will Put each of those tasks

Built to Last. These are three simple words that communicate a powerful punch. It is actually the name of a a book written by James Collins and Jerry Porras in 1994. Bob explains how he was given the book 25 years ago by his boss at the time, Bill Krause, who had been an executive at HP and was the CEO of the start up where Bob was working in Silicon Valley. Bob still has the book to this day and the words “Built to Last” still resonate with he applies them to his property management business.In this episode of Five Minute Friday, Bob describes his journey of jumping off the Silicon Valley treadmill as the Chief Marketing Officer of a public company to return to San Diego to be closer to his family and forming his property management company, North County Property Group. The core principles from "Built to Last" are still being used by Bob today as he has grown his business from a strong foundation of core values he learned 25 years ago in Silicon Valley. Connect with Bob Prestonhttps://www.propertym

On this episode of Property Management Brainstorm, Bob discusses home wellness as an essential part of healthy living with Andrew Smallwood, Director of Sales at Second Nature. One aspect of home wellness and healthy living is regularly changing filters on heating and air systems (HVAC) for improved air quality within a rental home. Second Nature, provides an easy and automatic way to get the right air filters for your rental properties and to get the air filters changed on time, every time. Doing so can be especially important for property managers and landlords in keeping the HVAC systems in rental properties well maintained.Topics Covered[2:15] Andrew Smallwood introduces himself and what he does for Second Nature.[4:10] Finding and changing air filters - why can this be a hassle for property managers and landlords?[9:25] Is there a regional aspect to the frequency and need for changing air filters?[13:45] Why is air quality in a home so important and what are the pollutants that we may breath in within a

On this week's FMF, Bob shares some fun news about his personal involvement in the industry association, the National Association of Residential Property Managers, also referred to as NARPM. Bob has taken office as President of the California State Chapter of NARPM, known as CALNARPM, for the 2020-2021 term.  Bob shares his thoughts about CalNARPM, the other people involved on the leadership team, and the CALNARPM State Conference and Tradeshow scheduled for March 31 - April 2, 2021.The CALNARPM Leadership Team for 2020 - 2021:Bob Preston, President, North County Property Group (ncpropertygroup.com)Bob Davie, Treasurer, San Diego Residential Property Management (sandiegorpm.com)Donna Gary, Secretary, Progressive Property Management Service (ppmdavis.com)Mark Scott, Past President, Encore Realty (encorerealtysd.com)Anne Lackey, Affiliates Director, Hiresmart Virtual Employees (hiresmartvirtualemployees.com)Ally Kubarych, Communications Committee Chair (ncpropertygroup.com)Call for Nominations is Still Ope

Hello Brainstormers!  Wishing you all a very happy and safe 4th of July holiday. I'm taking a pause in broadcasting for a month or so while I'm on vacation during the first half of July.  Property Management Brainstorm full episodes and Five Minute Fridays will back be back on the air with great content again as of early August, 2020. Thank you so much for subscribing, listening and supporting Property Management Brainstorm!  We will catch you soon in early August!Bob Preston, podcast host.Connect with Bob Prestonhttps://www.propertymanagementbrainstorm.com/This episode is always available for listening, sharing, or download at Property Management Brainstorm. Subscribe to Property Management Brainstorm on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart Radio and YouTube.

In this episode 31 of Five Minute Friday, Bob shares with his listeners one of the most common questions he gets from prospective clients: are we locked into a long-term property management contract? The answer is and has been, for the 20-year history of his company, an emphatic "no".  Bob calls this his Satisfaction Guarantee. If for whatever reason a client is not satisfied, they can discontinue North County Property Group's services at any time on 30-day notice. Bob further explains that from his perspective, life is too short to be in business relationships with people who are angry or disatisfied. Besides, it rarely happens that an owner wants to cancel and it is a competive advantage when bringing on new clients, especially when the property owner is coming from another property management company he has already fired. This cancellation policy holds Bob and his staff to what he calls an "SLA", or service level agreement to keep owners and tenants happy. Connect with Bob North Co

Bob continues a series of podcast episodes dedicated to the topic of security deposits. For most landlords, security deposits continue to be a highly challenging aspect of leasing rental properties. Laws are changing, tenant move-in costs can be prohibitive, and security deposit deductions can often lead to conflict. Bob discusses these challenges with Derek Merrill, Co-founder and CEO at LeaseLock, a company promising to eliminate the need for security deposits.  Topics Covered[2:20] Introduction to Derek Merrill, LeaseLock and the concept of "zero deposits" through their Lease Insurance products.[8:00] Landlord/tenant laws having an impact on alternative approaches to security deposits..  [12:00] Are flexible financial aspects of leasing here to stay due to COVID-19 pandemic?[16:15] Derek explains the competitive differentiation of Lease Insurance when compared to surety bonds and other solutions.  [21:00] The process of filing claims through LeaseLock is discussed as opposed to deducting charges

What is corporate responsibility and why is it important?  In episode #30 of FMF, Bob explains why he believes in the concept of corporate responsibility for his business as a property management company at North County Property Group. The objective is simple ... be accountable for our actions to our stakeholders and local communities.During the current times of COVID-19, Bob explains how North County Property Group began to rethink its philanthropic pledging as part of their corporate responsibility program. The company decided to start its own direct giving fund called NCPG Cares for the benefit of tenants in need of assistance due to financial hardship during the Coronavirus pandemic. Have a listen to learn more about NCPG Cares and how the company makes a contribution each time a new property is added to their San Diego property management portfolio. Connect with Bob North County Property GroupLearn More About NCPG Caresncpgcares@ncpropertygroup.comThis episode is always available for listening, sharing,

On this week's FMF, Bob discusses the lingering impact of COVID-19 on tenants who have suffered a job loss, decreased work hours, medical expenses, or other loss of income. Many laws and local ordinances have been implemented to protect tenants with eviction moratoria if they have had financial impact due to the coronavirus. There have been no laws established, however, which  give tenants a free pass or restrict a landlord from recovering rent at a future time. As landlords and property managers, what then should we do?Bob gives an overview of what he considers to be the two primary options: rent forbearance and early lease termination. He explains each and provides the pros and cons of the two approaches as solutions for tenants with financial impact from coronavirus.  Connect with Bob North County Property GroupThis episode is always available for listening, sharing, or download at Property Management Brainstorm. Subscribe to Property Management Brainstorm on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher,

On this episode, Bob discusses legislative updates in 2019 and 2020 that impact California landlords with Tracey Merrell, Managing Attorney of Education, at Kimball, Tirey & St.John (KTS). Along with other updates, Tracey provides a thorough review of the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482) which imposes rent caps and just cause eviction restrictions for residential rental property throughout California.  For advice with specific issues, please contact an attorney. Legislative updates discussed are not exhaustive and the interpretation of the laws may change.Topics Covered[3:00] This episode is within the context of CA landlord/tenant law.[6:10] Tracey reviews the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482) pertaining to Rent Caps and Just Cause.  [20:10] Tracey explains the notice required for rent increases over 10 percent (AB 1110).[22:25] Temporary roommate situations to persons at risk of homelessness are now a law under AB 1188.  [29:20] AB 2343 changes 3-day notices in the way that the days are cou

On this week's FMF, Bob discusses the concept of lagging indicators and considers if there might be a maintenance surge coming for those of us managing rental properties. As a quick definition, a lagging indicator is a data point that tells you what has already happened.  Most of us in managing our rental properties focus on lagging indicators in the form of financial statements to track rent collected, revenue, bank balance, and profitability.  Bob explains that a lagging indicator he has been watching lately is the number of worker orders (maintenance requests) being received monthly. His company tracks this, along with other data points, on a monthly report that is produced by our accounting department. Maintenance request volume has been trending down starting in February and continuing down by 20-30% in March, April, and May. This is an interesting anomaly but it is logical to assume that the service issues aren’t disappearing… they are waiting to be submitted. He encourages listeners to be prepared

On this week's FMF, Bob makes a fun announcement that he is now an RMP!  Some of you may be wondering, what the heck is that? Those listeners who are property management members of NARPM likely already know.  RMP stands for Residential Management Professional, a designation awarded by the National Association of Residential Property Managers.The RMP designation is earned and awarded to individuals who successfully pass through an application process to document their of years of property management experience, NARPM and industry education, and service to the association through volunteer activities. Bob also explains that he is continuing his learning and leadership to the next level and has applied for the next designation level called the MPM (Master Property Manager)! Bob also announces a new leadership role, having accepted the nomination as “president elect” for Cal NARPM,  the California State Chapter for NARPM. More to come on Bob and his involvement at the state level when Bob takes office as Pre

As a landlord or property manager, have you ever wondered what it would be like to rid yourself of the need for security deposits? For most landlords, security deposits are one of the most challenging aspects of managing a rental property. It can be conflict laden at the end of a lease and in most states there are rigid regulations and laws which must be followed on when and how the deposit needs to be returned to the tenant. On this episode, Bob's guest is Casey Winter, Vice President of Partnerships at Obligo, a company which provides a way for people like us, landlords and property managers, to rid ourselves from the burden of security deposits. Topics Covered[2:35] Casey tells us about himself and what Obligo is all about.[4:45] Bob and Casey discuss the pros and cons of insurance solutions and surety bond products for replacing security deposits.[9:15] Open banking technology and how it helps Obligo provide their "deposit free" leasing solution.[13:00] What are the costs, who pays, and are

On this week's FMF, Bob explains why he believes it's a mistake to not acknowledge the COVID-19 pandemic on a company website. Call it reality marketing. He further offers his rationale for placing a pop-up on the North County Property Group home page to communicate available resources which may be helpful to their stakeholders. Here is a copy:As the COVID-19 crisis continues to have an impact on our stakeholders (tenants, rental applicants, property owners, and maintenance vendors) North County Property Group has never been more aware of our purpose and responsibilities related to property management.As we get through this pandemic together, here are some resources which may be helpful to our NCPG stakeholders:Virtual Tours of Property Listings: Narrated tour videos and 3D/360 degree digital tours to allow for viewing our property listings virtually.Direct Cash Payments: You may be eligible for up to $1,200 for individuals, $2,400 for married couples, and $500 for each child through the CARES Act:U

In the State of California and many cities throughout the country, including right here in San Diego, a housing crisis has emerged in which many citizens have become homeless or live in substandard housing. Simply put, housing that people can afford may now be more out of reach than ever. On this episode, Bob discusses the housing crisis with California State Assemblymember Todd Gloria. Assemblymember Gloria is also running for Mayor of San Diego, on the ballot in the November 2020 election. Topics Covered[2:30] Todd introduces himself and talks about his journey toward a career in San Diego and State of California public service.[6:00] Bob and Todd discuss the 60 Minutes segment about the housing and homeless crisis in Seattle and how it compares to what is going on in San Diego.[8:00] Caring for the homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic.[15:00] New housing development needed to keep up with population growth in California.[17:55] The CASA Act and other Assembly Bills championed by Todd to prioritize afforda

Last week on FMF Bob talked about being the Lighthouse, a metaphor for being a strong leader to guide your team during times of crisis like this current Covid-19 pandemic. On this week's FMF, he pleads with you to not be the opposite of being the lighthouse.  Don’t be a weenie!Weenies are whimps, lack resolve, and avoid tough decisions. If this is you and you are a self-managing landlord, it may be time to consider hiring a property management company.  For all of us in this industry of real estate investing, owning rental homes, being a landlord, or property management, I firmly believe that those who take the time now to streamline and restructure the way they are doing things will emerge at the end of all of this stronger than ever.  You must have the willingness to make tough decisions you’ve never made before.  You can do it!  The solutions are often simple, their just not always easy to implement.Here is a tip: Build a Start/Stop/Continue list. On a piece of paper, create three columns, and at the