Buy Smart With Property Management

We break down why working with a property management company before buying a rental can prevent costly surprises and protect long term returns. We explain how our rental-first perspective complements your agent’s sales expertise so you buy based on real market performance, not hope. 
• Partnering early so sales and rental roles stay clear 
• Walking properties with a renter’s eye not a buyer’s eye 
• Spotting neighborhood red flags that slow leasing 
• Understanding Section 8 and inspection-driven standards 
• Avoiding lead certification issues like peeling paint 
• Setting realistic rent pricing beyond online estimates 
• Sharing good news and bad news before decisions lock in 
• Supporting owners and tenants with a staffed team approach 
• Previewing future topics like vacancy rates tenant screening amenities and pricing 

Just give us a call.

Transcript

Why Bring Property Management Early

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome back to the Rick and Shauna Show. Today we are going to be focusing on partnering with property management companies, focusing more on before you buy your uh property.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

So Yeah, so I just think about this, we talk about this all the time. Yeah. The challenges that owners have when they come into this market. And uh it always seems like they're always kind of behind the curve in terms of just understanding what's happening in the market.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Right.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

So, you know, that's one of the things that, you know, as a property management company, you know, you'd like to see people come into the market exploring a property management company before they even start looking at properties.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

Right. Partnering with, you know, you already have an agent, right? So you think that, you know, your agent should know everything about everything. And really the agent should be able to just focus on the sales, right? They know the listings, they know the market as far as sales go, but partnering with a property management company up front like that is just as important because we know the rental side of things. So, you know, let your agent off the hook a little bit with that. Let your agent be able to do like the sales stuff and make sure that they are focusing on the right buy as far as an investment goes. And then, but piecing that together, right, is a property management company because we're gonna be on the other side of that, giving you rental prices. Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Um like you said before, staying in your lane.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

Yes, it's like we all have always about that.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

We all have we have our expertise. And you know, we can't all be, you know, jacks of all trades. And that's what makes I think that's what makes this work, and that's why we

Sales Agent Vs Rental Reality

SPEAKER_01 1:46

do partner with other agents. Right. You know, that makes sense because they're leaning us on us for their ex you know, our expertise.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Yeah, yeah, for us and for them. Yes. I mean, working together in this industry means that we don't have to know it all, you know. So let them do their job and then, you know, meet up with us, especially before the purchase, because the most important thing is like walking through the house, right? An agent is gonna look at it from a sales standpoint. Great, that's awesome. But from a rental standpoint is a lot different. There are things that we look for because we work with Section 8. Right. So we look for those kind of things. Um there's you know, the lead lead certification, you know, thing that every county has now that you know the the property can't have peeling paint. And if it does, you're in trouble if you know it gets inspected and it does. So we can prevent that. We can prevent that's a huge expense, and we can get into that later about why that's so important.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Yeah, and and the beauty of it is that when we get to see these properties first, even though, as you said, an agent from a sales standpoint, yes, the numbers have to make sense from a sales end, but it also has to be a property that is going to perform well in the market.

Neighborhood Risks And Red Flags

SPEAKER_01 3:02

That's right. So it could be priced right, but it could be setting in a horrible spot. That's right. That's right. Or between two really bad properties or vacant properties across the street. And even though your property's great, um, and it looks nice, um, anybody that comes to see us says, Hey, I love this property, but I don't like what's around it.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Yeah, and how many times do we run into that when you know somebody's already bought a property because they're looking at it on the pic, you know, online, the pictures online.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

And it's just it it looks great.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

It does look great.

SPEAKER_00 3:35

You know, and an agent probably doesn't know to think of that, you know. Hey, it's not really that great looking around, you know, but this house is great. And they're just selling that house. For us, we're renting, it seems like the neighborhood, right? Or you're renting the surrounding area. And that's some of the things through the experience that we've had that we've known to just start looking for. We just have a different eye for things, right?

SPEAKER_01 3:56

And the fact that we're going to have to manage it. Absolutely. So we're never going to like when an owner is on the fence about a property.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:04

I mean, they're going to get the real deal with us.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

Because it's not going to be just, yeah, go ahead and buy a property and we'll just hope for the best. It's like, no, we're going to have to answer for it.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

Because they're going to be looking. They're going to be looking to us when we say, well, hey, we're struggling to rent this place because of where it sits. Yeah. The question's going to be, well, how come I didn't know about that up front?

SPEAKER_00 4:26

That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

You know, so that's one of the places that, you know, we can avoid, you know, many of these mistakes. It's, you know, we're never going to avoid all of them.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

No.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

Um, but there are things that we can do to put an owner in a much better place.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Yeah, no, for sure. We we talk about this, I don't know, probably once a week at least. So, you know, it's just a matter of location matters in a rental big time. And then, you know, you've got your your rental pricing. So, you know, that's the other big thing is making sure that you're not putting any guesswork into it. You know, let us actually help you do the the realistic numbers. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

And those are tools. They're tools that it that we use as well. You know, we use the Zillows, um, we use the online tools that are out there, but the difference is we know that's not necessarily what the properties are renting for. So it gives us a starting point that we can evaluate that and say, okay, this is what the market is saying, but it doesn't necessarily

Rent Pricing And Expectations

SPEAKER_01 5:30

mean that that's what the property is going to rent at. Yeah. And it has to do with all these things that we just talked about. Condition of the property. If the property is in great condition, can we stretch it? Of course. We're going to do everything we can to stretch that price for an owner and to get that rent that they need to get. Um, but you know, you have to understand all those things that go into that pricing. And the market is going to tell us.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

So even though an owner says this is what I need to get, hopefully what we're doing is avoiding that situation where they've got this expectation that might not be realistic. Right. Then we're the ones that kind of give them the bad news to say, oh, you know, we're going to struggle to get that price, and the decision has been made. You know, so now you're kind of like, you know, playing from a place of weakness instead of strength.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

Right, correct. And that's where we come in. And here, listen, I want to, you know, public service announcement, agents, we're not trying to kill your deals, right? I think a lot of agents are kind of afraid to partner ahead of time just because we might be bringing the realistic side of things, but we're only here to help because what does that do? That gives them repeat business, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:43

Yes, it's not one and done.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

No.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Because that's the worst thing that can happen for an agent is the fact that somebody says, Well, I should have never bought this property.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Right.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

And they find that out sometimes just because of what you said. We're going to give them the information. Yeah. Um, we're going to tell them what's really going on with the property, and sometimes it doesn't line up.

SPEAKER_00 7:01

That's right. Let us help you.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

Yeah. And if it doesn't, then that could create a problem. But you know, bottom line is we're trying to all win here. We want the agents to do well because some some of our best referral partners are agents. Yes. Um, so we want to continue that, but um we also have uh I should say loyalty to the client. Absolutely. To look at what's really going on with their property.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:27

And sometimes, you know, we have to be the bearer of bad news.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

Correct. Yeah, because like you said, we deal with it long term, and you know, we are not here like property management companies.

Telling The Tough Truth

SPEAKER_00 7:38

I think, you know, some people think, well, you just collect my rent, right? Well, not here we don't, not at Icon Property Management, we don't, you know, we we have a full staff and we're departmentalized and everyone has their own lane, right? Yeah. And we're here to give you a team of experts uh before you buy. And if it's after, it's fine. We're gonna just work really hard to get you back on the right track. You know, we might have to deliver some some tough news. Yeah, tough news, but um we're gonna deliver it and we're gonna work with you. And you know, I think that's really something with Icon property management that we have is that we have a team of people that have been in this business for a really long time and we we're here to help.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

Yeah, you know, all the way around. Yeah, no doubt. And that that is one of the things that is sharing that bad news as much as you don't want to do it. It's so important you do because an owner needs to stand and understand where they're at. Right. And the only way we can get that property back to performing is understanding it. So it's not that we won't take uh, you know, as a property manager, we won't take owners that are have stressed property. So we do it all the time. We do it all the time. Yeah and then that's what we're here for. Right. There's a reason they're coming to property management, right? Right. There's there's a few things, but one of the major ones is is that they are in a situation they need help. Yes, and that help could be many things.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:04

It could be, you know, that their property is in poor condition and they need somebody to help them to get it up to speed. Um, you know, it could have been mismanaged. Yeah. I mean, there's many things that it could be all of those things.

SPEAKER_00 9:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

But you know, that's the goal is just to give good information, educate owners on where their property's at, and help them be as profitable as they can be.

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Yeah. You know, bottom line.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

Bottom line.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

That's it. We want to be able to, you know, deliver the good news.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Yeah. And part of that too is, you know, a lot of times, you know, people don't think about it as much, but you know, yes, we want we, you know, we want to do a good job for the owners, but we also want to do a good job for the tenants.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

You know, we want them to have a good place to live, safe place, you know, we want to be responsive to to their needs as well.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 9:53

So it's it's a two-way street.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

For sure.

Call Us Before You Buy

SPEAKER_00 9:55

Yeah. So circling back, you know, partnering with a property management is important before you buy a property. Uh, just give us a call. We don't even have to have it under management yet, right? We will answer all the questions. We have done this countless times where we've had people referred to us or they just see us, you know, online or whatever, and they give us a call and they just start picking our brain, and we're gonna give the information. Um, it's one of the best things that we know how to do here is to get you to a spot to help you propel forward, right, profitably. So that's that's what we're here for. You know, the questions are going to get answered. We have loads of experience in these markets, and we've just seen so many different ups and downs in this this you know industry and constant change. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Constant change. That's what's always happening. And that's one of the other things that we bring to the table is understanding what those changes are and trying to stay ahead of them. Correct. But to sort to circle back, like you said, is you know, the most important thing is really before you even think about buying a property in a market, you know, the best thing you can do is talk to someone like us to have a good understanding of what it what it is. So I I would say ultimately have your property management company in place prior to you even thinking about putting an offer on the property.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

Absolutely. 100%.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

So once you have that manager in place, it becomes much easier. Yeah. Because they're gonna go out, they're gonna look at this property, and they're going to share the good news and the bad news because they know they're gonna have to manage it.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

Right. Well, they should be anyways.

SPEAKER_01 11:40

They should be. That's right. They should be.

SPEAKER_00 11:43

So, you know, some of these topics that we've touched on, I know we just kind of, you know, went through really quickly. So we wanted

What We Cover Next

SPEAKER_00 11:50

to let our listeners know that uh we will be having subsequent episodes more, you know, covering these things a little bit more, like your your vacancy rates, like your tenant screening, like your locations, like amenities, how to price a property. There's so many topics that go with this particular this particular episode, but we are going to We're gonna break it down.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

Break it down for yeah, that way we're not here for two hours, you know, on one podcast that can get Yeah, because you could literally for you know, the the topics that fall underneath this, you could probably spend, you know, half hour on each of them.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Um just because there's a lot and some of them more than others, but there there's many things that fall underneath that, and it probably is gonna make a lot more sense if we just break those down.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

Yeah, yeah. Well, even um even going back further, you know, before that, when somebody is brand new and just thinking about getting into this market. Like they haven't really, you know, done much yet. They've done their research and they've they've they've you know dipped their toe in the water, but they need a lender, or they need an insurance agent, or they need just guidance in general. We're gonna have those people on too. Um so all of those things is what makes us, you know, the Rick and Shauna team and icon property management, in my opinion, just a little bit a step of ahead, right? Or a step ahead of the yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

A step above, yeah, because yeah, above it. And I think that's that's a great point, is that you know, these contractors, um, the people that we've learned to lean on in this market to help make us successful. And you know, honestly, to help them make them successful as well. They're in this market, they have businesses in the market, they have their lanes that they're in, their expertise and expertise it comes in their lane. Yeah. And um we bring a lot, we'll be able to bring a lot of those people to you.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Right.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

Um, and help help you with your business. So some of them you may not even have thought about, to be honest with you.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

True.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Many, you know, when it comes to lenders and title agencies, there's there's a lot of stuff that's uh involved in this, and you may not have thought about it.

SPEAKER_00 14:04

Right. Well, and that's what we're here for.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

That's what we're here for.

SPEAKER_00 14:07

That's it, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:10

And um look forward to uh going through some of these things that we've talked about today and uh upcoming episodes, so stay tuned.

SPEAKER_00 14:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

And uh we'll move this forward.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Yeah, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

Thank you.