By: Brent Voepel
Nine years ago, I quit my job in advertising and began dedicating my career to property management. I wanted to be a great property manager, and to accomplish that goal, I aimed to have cutting-edge software, hard-working employees, and a modern office space. Despite experiencing many obstacles and uncertainties, I managed to build a qualified team and meet my goals. Today we manage over 1100 units and have 40 employees. But it doesn’t stop there, we are still growing!
However, during these nine years, I’ve realized I want to be more than just a great property manager. I want to be a Wealth Manager. To do that I need to ensure amazing performance for our clients’ real estate investments, mitigate risk, and exceed clients’ expectations. So, this is a new journey. We are a team of Wealth Managers, focused on residential real estate investing. Voepel Property Management serves as experts, representing clients through acquisitions, maintenance, and property management. Overall, we are committed to producing long-term wealth. How do we do this?
- Build an amazing leadership team.
- Reduce risk by providing expert maintenance support
- Use advanced technology to analyze the market
- Pay attention to performance metrics
- Treat our customers well
Build an Amazing Leadership and Support Team
Property management is a service-focused industry. Assuring our clients and residents are fully supported is critical. When hiring new employees, I didn’t always have specific criteria. I was relatively open and would accept most people because I thought enthusiasm was enough. But, my perspective has developed over the years, and now I realize there must be an extensive list of criteria for incoming employees. Not only should candidates be enthusiastic, but they should also be dedicated, willing to share core values, carry personality traits that match the position, and have qualified experience. We have high standards and will not settle for less.
Reduce Risk through Expert Maintenance Service
Real Estate Wealth Management requires a secure plan for property maintenance. Originally, about 90% of operational problems were related to maintenance. I didn’t always have in-house technicians. The workers’ compensation insurance, schedules, and inventory management seemed risky. However, in time I realized that a successful property management company needs a dedicated maintenance team. It’s operationally necessary and allows us to control cost and quality. Though we still work with general and specialty contractors for some projects, our expert technicians, provide professional and efficient service. As a result, we are continuously expanding our list of services.
Analyze the Market and Use Data to Guide Acquisitions
We didn’t always have a solid solution for acquisitions or liquidating Real Estate assets. So, I’ve discovered that the best way I can protect a client is to get involved in the initial process and be a resource before acquisitions happen. Now, we are a team of skilled individuals that leverage an immense amount of data to assist our clients in making logical investment decisions. We use math and specific information to determine optimal investment opportunities. Of course, we have varying clients with different strategies, but we want our clients to understand what to expect every time, including the rent range. This allows us to offer a comprehensive strategy and mitigate risk throughout the buying process and develop a plan for maintenance and capital improvements.
Develop Processes that Enhance Performance Metrics
An efficient process is absolutely imperative to making it through even one day in property management. We have painstakingly developed processes over the years and revisit and modify them quarterly. For every 100 units added, we must rework our strategies to support that growth to maintain and improve key performance indicators (KPI). KPIs drive team members to develop skillsets and promote productivity. That’s why we are always improving.
Focus on the Residents. They Provide the Revenue.
Our team focuses a lot of attention on our clients and equally focuses on our residents. They are our customers, who provide the revenue for our clients, and it’s important they’re supported and treated with respect. I explain to my employees, “If the home isn’t good enough for your families, then don’t move the tenant in.” We have a standard of excellence and provide reliable resident communication, emergency maintenance, and quick general maintenance responses. We’ve developed a preventative maintenance program, all with the intention of improving the customer experience.
In closing, I am continually developing and evolving services. There is always room for improvement. But I know exactly where I what to be professionally, and I feel like now more than ever I know exactly how to get there. We have the right people, tools to use and we care about Wealth Management.