SFAA LANDLORD EXPO

HEAR WILLIAM NYE IN PERSON AS THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT THE SAN FRANCISCO APARTMENT ASSOCIATION LANDLORD EXPO!

Come join SFAA and local rental property owners for a free educational event covering all things multifamily housing. Hear from the Department of Building Inspection, the San Francisco Fire Department, and the San Francisco Rent Board. The event will end with a member appreciation hour where you can chat with vendors, including landlord attorneys, plumbers, property management companies, and more. Look for more details at sfaa.org

Date: May 18, 2023

Time: 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Place: Fort Mason Center Gallery 308

Why do our customers have this bias? Because that’s been their experience. We can be different by simply delivering on our promises.

The market is always right. We don’t always know what will or won’t work, but the market will quickly tell us if they see the value in what we are doing. So, pay attention to what the market is telling you because it is ALWAYS right.

Many years ago, Kodak invented the technology for digital photography, but the executives at Kodak didn’t think the market would be interested, so they sold the technology. As we now know, Kodak was completely wrong! Who doesn’t have hundreds of photos in their cell phone? Whether it’s a feature, pricing, or customer service idea, the market will tell you if you are on the right track.

Property management is a team sport. To be great at property management, you must have a complete team working together toward the same goal. No one person can do it all alone. It takes the entire team rowing together to get the results you want. Asset management, accounting, training, marketing, on-site leasing, and on-site maintenance need to work in harmony with one another to produce the right results.

During my career, I have emphasized that the corporate team exists to support the on-site team—not the other way around. As a corporate employee, I consider myself an expense. The people working on-site need our full support.

You can only cut so much before you become negligent. I often see property owners and management companies cutting expenses to have a better bottom line. Be careful. You can only cut so much before you find yourself with a lot of deferred maintenance, on the cusp of being neglectful.

Of course, you should be wise with your spending, but the best way to a healthy bottom line is to make sure you have a healthy top line. If you begin to neglect the asset, it will show—and soon it will be hard to have a healthy top line because the asset is less desirable. Keep your property clean and well maintained.

Training is a necessity, not a luxury. I see this all the time. Owners don’t want to close the office to send their team to a training session because they don’t want to lose a potential resident. This is shortsighted and will not serve your best interests in the long term. A better-trained team is happier, more efficient, and more productive. Investing in training is investing in your team. The more you invest in them, the more they feel appreciated.

Be an excellent communicator. Let your team know what you expect. Make sure they know how to do what you need them to do. Don’t keep your team in the dark.

Rarely do we make mistakes because we don’t know what we are doing. Rarely do we make mistakes because we don’t care.

We make mistakes every day because someone failed to communicate important information, and as a result, we did the wrong thing or failed to do something that we should have done.

Markets will always go up and down. Don’t let the current market conditions throw you off of your plan. Have a smart plan and be consistent in the way you work it. Far too often, I see owners panic when the market softens, and they end up making irrational decisions that can’t be undone. Ride out the storm. Things will get better; they always do. Every business has highs and lows, and the multifamily business is no different. I often see owners and management company executives grabbing for anything they think will right the ship. A key to staying focused is to work on maintaining a healthy perspective. I often remind my audience that the mountaintop is where you gain perspective, but the valley is where you grow.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen an owner purchase an asset or a management company take on a client that they can’t support. Regardless of the unit count, every asset requires a lot of time and attention. Before you add to your load, make sure you have the infrastructure in place to support it without overburdening the team.

A friend of mine took over two properties in a state in which they had zero experience, about one thousand miles from their corporate headquarters. It wasn’t long before they realized they made a mistake, so they found a local management company and hired them to manage the properties for them. It is fun and exciting to grow, but it needs to happen at a pace that allows you to manage effectively. Far too often we think a company is successful because of the size of the portfolio, but that’s not always an accurate way to measure success.

To learn more about William Nye and his services, visit his website: www.billnyeapartmentguy.com