Entryway’s Post

I lasted 3 years managing my 104 tenant real estate portfolio with my last third-party property manager. And I wasn't getting the results I needed… It was frustrating. It was costly. And I faced a string of evictions, over $22,000 in related fees, and severe damage due to poor tenant screening. Why? 1-  Lack of effective tenant screening led to problematic tenants. 2- The third-party company wasn't incentivized enough to prioritize my properties. 3- The company's broad client base meant my individual success wasn't their focus. Last December, I made the decision to hire my own in-house property management team. - I had to overcome the challenge of establishing a new team from scratch - I had to deal with the initial financial strain of transitioning from third-party to in-house - I had to go through a string of hires - And most importantly, I had to take accountability. But today: - I’m empowered. - I’m in control. - I’m seeing better results. Big lesson here: → Incentives Matter. It’s hard to have a company think like an owner when you pay like an employee. Turning a tough situation around has been totally rewarding. Here’s to taking charge and making things work! 🙌

On March 6th of 2023, about one year ago, I officially began working with the crew at Appreciate A short story: Initially, I joined as head of sales. The goal was to drive business for the product at the time, a vc backed 3rd party property management solution that promised transparency and high level analytics around your rental properties. The pitch was to optimize an industry (3rd party property management) that was/still is completely broken, fragmented, and left behind. It was a compelling pitch that I believed so strongly in that I left the prior startup I had and left my old life in Austin behind to start fresh in mid Missouri. I moved to operations soon after. 12 months later…. I could not have anticipated how fast things would change. What we’ve achieved since I joined: - we hired great people - Pivoted the business when we identified we had only a few months of runway left before insolvency + the fundamental problem we were solving wasn’t the game we were meant to play - We let some great people go - We found product market fit with a new strategy: building a tech enabled real estate company - We rebranded (check out appreciate.io for the new direction) - We’ve slept on cockroach infested floors to turn around some of our north star assets creating ~$2m in capital gains within a 6 month period - We unlocked a path to profitability with the current portfolio we own and manage (took burn down from ~$50k+ to breakeven by growing to ~$15m AUM), and taking pay cuts well below market rates to put the business needs first - We’ve identified Kansas City as the market that will unlock our growth - We’ve doubled down on the core team that can take this idea and build it into something truly exceptional A little bit about the path from the weeds: - We’ve grown revenue 268% since January of ‘23 - Our rents under management at our peak before pivoting was $172k per month, and we were making $35kmrr. That was with a 3rd party management structure - After we pivoted, our rents under management fell to $80k and our revenue fell all the way down to $20k mrr. we fired almost all of our 3rd party customers…except ourselves. The remaining portfolio we were managing was primarily owned by @Nick and soon to be Appreciate - The new strategy became owning what we manage and aligning incentives - a big reason we wanted out of property management. - We purchased 2 sub institutional assets in Kansas City and stabilized the 3rd large one already located here. - By December, our rents under management climbed all the way to $115k, and we had our new highest revenue month ever with MRR reaching $35.4k! surpassing our July peak when we were managing much more rent volume It’s been a hell of a ride. The tech we’ve built has driven a lot of the decision making that has led us to today. And now…we are fundraising! If you know anyone investing in proptech & Midwest based startups, I’d love to chat and connect them to the team if it’s a fit

Are you ready, Property Managers? 🌸 The spring surge in rental activity is on the horizon, fueled by warmer weather and the end of the school year. Prepare for a busy season in #multifamily by optimizing operations, introducing seasonal promotions, and leveraging temporary staffing support. Explore our top tips below! #work4bgsf #propertymanagement #propertymanagers #multifamily #rentalsurge #springsurge #leasing #rentaldemand #staffingsolutions #staffingsupport

Are you ready, Property Managers? 🌸 The spring surge in rental activity is on the horizon, fueled by warmer weather and the end of the school year. Prepare for a busy season in #multifamily by optimizing operations, introducing seasonal promotions, and leveraging temporary staffing support. Explore our top tips below! #work4bgsf #propertymanagement #propertymanagers #multifamily #rentalsurge #springsurge #leasing #rentaldemand #staffingsolutions #staffingsupport

Are you ready, Property Managers? 🌸 The spring surge in rental activity is on the horizon, fueled by warmer weather and the end of the school year. Prepare for a busy season in #multifamily by optimizing operations, introducing seasonal promotions, and leveraging temporary staffing support. Explore our top tips below! #work4bgsf #propertymanagement #propertymanagers #multifamily #rentalsurge #springsurge #leasing #rentaldemand #staffingsolutions #staffingsupport

Are you ready, Property Managers? 🌸 The spring surge in rental activity is on the horizon, fueled by warmer weather and the end of the school year. Prepare for a busy season in #multifamily by optimizing operations, introducing seasonal promotions, and leveraging temporary staffing support. Explore our top tips below! #work4bgsf #propertymanagement #propertymanagers #multifamily #rentalsurge #springsurge #leasing #rentaldemand #staffingsolutions #staffingsupport

Are you ready, Property Managers? 🌸 The spring surge in rental activity is on the horizon, fueled by warmer weather and the end of the school year. Prepare for a busy season in #multifamily by optimizing operations, introducing seasonal promotions, and leveraging temporary staffing support. Explore our top tips below! #work4bgsf #propertymanagement #propertymanagers #multifamily #rentalsurge #springsurge #leasing #rentaldemand #staffingsolutions #staffingsupport

Are you ready, Property Managers? 🌸 The spring surge in rental activity is on the horizon, fueled by warmer weather and the end of the school year. Prepare for a busy season in #multifamily by optimizing operations, introducing seasonal promotions, and leveraging temporary staffing support. Explore our top tips below! #work4bgsf #propertymanagement #propertymanagers #multifamily #rentalsurge #springsurge #leasing #rentaldemand #staffingsolutions #staffingsupport

Are you ready, Property Managers? 🌸 The spring surge in rental activity is on the horizon, fueled by warmer weather and the end of the school year. Prepare for a busy season in #multifamily by optimizing operations, introducing seasonal promotions, and leveraging temporary staffing support. Explore our top tips below! #work4bgsf #propertymanagement #propertymanagers #multifamily #rentalsurge #springsurge #leasing #rentaldemand #staffingsolutions #staffingsupport