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Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins explore successful strategies and pitfalls of investing in Real Estate. Bryan Jenkins is a Master Property Manager and the Principle Broker of AHI Properties which has offices in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, and Montgomery AL and Oklahoma City, OK. With Expert Guests we cover all the ins and outs, associated with growing your wealth with Real Estate.
Episodes
Thursday Aug 26, 2021
Episode 32: Nishant Phandnis New Market info
Thursday Aug 26, 2021
Thursday Aug 26, 2021
Episode 32: Market Data with Nishant Phadnis
In today’s episode, hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins talk to Nishant Phadnis. Nishant leads the digital transformation of Rentals.com, a leading single family rental homes online marketplace. Rentals.com is part of the RentPath network of sites that also includes Rent.com and Apartmentguide.com. In April 2021, RentPath was acquired by Redfin.
Episode Highlights:
- Bryan says, “The success of management of a rental asset always starts with the success of having a good resident in the property paying the rent, taking care of the property, and once we have that catalyst in place and the rest, we just manage that piece of it.”
- Sharing a brief about the marketplace, Nishant says, “Unless you are living under a rock right over the past year and a half, clearly things have changed, and the dynamics of how the pandemic impacted our marketplace is probably well aware with everyone.”
- Nishant further adds, “On the demand side, we saw a ton of renters just kind of didn’t know what to do. They didn’t know, so everything was stopped, and then as that shutdown kind of started to reopen right after the three weeks, we saw a tremendous demand spike, particularly in the asset class that is the single-family rental marketplace.”
- “A lot of renters, particularly the ones that are able to work from home, got introduced to a new problem, which is where in their house are they going to work consistently for 40 hours a week?”, says Nishant
- While sharing some stats, Nishant says, “In a single-family rental, there is a lot more space than there is in multifamily. About 60% of single-family renters of rental properties have three or more bedrooms, and that is compared to 8% in multifamily, so you have 60% that have three bedrooms or more and you have 8% in the multifamily.”
- Jonathan inquiries from Nishant “What is the average home in your area? Is it really all three bedrooms? Is this by default?”
- Bryan says, “We are down in the low 20s across five different locations, so it is definitely an indicator of the market and everything going on with the restriction of the supply side.”
- Talking national numbers again, Bryan asks Nishant, “We talked about occupancy, so do you have any numbers based around the market on a national average we see on rentals?”
- Highlighting the demographic shift, Nishant says,” 59% of all new single-family rental home residents relocated from our urban residential area to a server room residential area.”
- Bryan points out, “The shift in strategy, everybody is focused on building rent. You push out to the boundaries so your returns are better, and you kind of balance out how far out can I go and still have the demand their right to ensure that I have success with my investment. But now we’re starting to see a different strategy. People are coming in smaller parcels that have been passed over for one reason or another.”
- Highlighting about eviction moratorium, Nishant and Bryan discuss the nearly 7.8 million evictions in the pipeline. Bryan predicts a pretty high number out of the 7.8 million would be owners that are actually ready to get out of the rental.
- Nishant shares his concern about the affordability crisis. He says,” You have increased rent prices, you have more capital to spend, a lot of investors looking for limited supply, and a lot of these homes are all the new constructions are A-class properties.”
- He further adds, “We have class B&C properties that don’t exist. No new supply coming on that market.” “You have an individual renter who can afford, you know, the significant price increases, so you might have more roommate style affordability structures.”
- Jonathan inquires, “Let’s talk about how do we increase rents and yet still not make something so unaffordable that we can’t put a tenant in place and we can’t find a resident if it isn’t just about adding value?”
- Nishant says, “If as an owner you don’t allow pets, you are just wrong. This way, you are cutting out a tremendous piece of your rental pool, and particularly your qualified rental pool. It is those who established, they have their families and pets.”
- Nishant says, “21/2 % of all owners are institutional landlords; this means only 54% of all single-family rental owners only owned one property.”
- Nishant says, “Working remote 100% of the time, eliminates to your geographic constraints, and we are seeing a tremendous amount of people moving away from the coastal cities to the rural parts of the United States; this is inflating home prices in those areas. It is driving more attractive investment in the areas; more investors will come, more supply will come, and more economic revitalization in those areas will come.”
- Nishant reiterates, “Prices will eventually come down on the lumber construction, and supply will eventually catch up to demand.”
- Nishant says, “Demand in the market is super high, I think it is a good time to make a smart decision with your investment. It is a good time to be an investor, and ultimately, it is a good time to be a renter or resident.”
3 Key Points:
- Nishant shares his valuable insights on the rental increase. He says, “When you have high demand high occupancy, lot of owners take advantage of that. Single-family rentals have increased by 5.3% year over year, so rent prices have grown 5.3% year over year on average this year versus April last year.”
- Jonathan, Bryan, and Nishant discuss high demand, high rent prices investors are attractive, but still companies face challenges on the supply side.
- Bryan asks, “In terms of eviction moratorium, there is going to be some adjustments. Do you have any predictions, whether it’s based on the information you have seen? You know what the next 12 months are going to be like?”
Tweetable Quotes:
- “In terms of occupancy, the national average is growing.”- Nishant Phadnis
- “10-15 twenty years ago, in this space, the only way to buy a property was to find that owner who was willing to sell to you that allowed you to kind of turn it into a rental property.”- Nishant Phadnis
- “There are a lot of things that the new normal has introduced to us.” - Nishant Phadnis
- “You have to adapt to the audience you serve.” – Jonathan
- “The pandemic and work from home situation has pushed people in the direction of being space conscious.” - Bryan
Resources Mentioned:
- PPP Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PPPwithAHI/
- PPP Twitter: https://twitter.com/PPPwithAHI
- Nishant Phadnis: Website | LinkedIn
- Podcast Editing
Wednesday May 26, 2021
Triple Win Philosophy
Wednesday May 26, 2021
Wednesday May 26, 2021
Why we do what we do and the Triple Win!
In today’s episode, it is just the hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins. Today they go back to the basics – “The concept we work with daily basis, why they matter, why we do what we do?”
Episode Highlights:
- Jonathan says, “Recently, we worked with many industrialists and presentations during consulting with several people. But the thing we both keep bringing up, and we have a lot recently, is the Triple Win Philosophy.”
- Bryan says if we discuss tenants and landlords, it is important to create stickiness to keep tenants to stay longer.
- He also talks about creating an environment where the owner wants to take a longer period for a triple win policy. Herein all three client, resident, and property management companies are getting benefited.
- Bryan talks about the 450 work orders that his company manages.
- Jonathan talks about their team members and how capable they are in staying top of class.
- When talking about his company (AHI Properties), Jonathan says it is very solid.
- “Our team is incredible when we look at every aspect of it.” says Jonathan.
- Jonathan points out if investor adopts the philosophy of triple win, it will help them to meet their expectations and answer “Why are we doing this?”
- Jonathan answers, “What happens when someone places a tenant in an overpriced home?”
- Bryan says, “If a property is overpriced, a well-qualified candidate is not going to apply for it.”
- Jonathan and Bryan give specific examples on the importance of adhering to the triple win philosophies.
- Jonathan gives details about the resident benefit packages that AHI offers.
- A good tenant is no longer looking for a house; now, tenants are just looking for a house in a general area that gives good value.
- Bryan talks about the idea of all three-party wins. He also says that AHI has always been fair to its customers.
- Jonathan talks about the reason why tenants get angry when rent is increased.
- Good tenants are better profit; they make more money for homeowners. Jonathan calculates the value of a good quality tenant.
- If you are an average investor, a tenant pays for the property, and for a month or two, everything looks great.
- The tenants sign the lease, but they sight monetary problems after a month because of security deposits and other expenses. According to Jonathan, this does make sense.
- Jonathan and Bryan discuss the stories that tenants tells for late payment of rent.
- Jonathan and Bryan talk about the bad management side of the business for late or irregular payment of rents.
- Bryan talks about the reasonable benefits between owners, tenants, and property managers.
- There are many things that is not someone’s job, but still one can do it if it is not a lot.
- Bryan talks about the difference between a proactive and a reactive manager.
- Bryan says the answer to “Why we do, what we do?” is because we love what we do.
3 Key Points:
- Jonathan and Bryan discuss the triple win philosophies. It is as if someone is looking at a new procedure or rolling out a new system to create stickiness to keep tenants staying for a longer period. When it comes to triple win philosophies, the client, resident, and property management company all gets the benefit.
- Jonathan talks about the resident benefit package and what it does to the homeowner.
- Jonathan gives insights on “Why we do, what we do?” As per Bryan, it has always been a focus on maximizing long-term benefits for the clients.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “If we use the triple win philosophy to measure what we are doing, we will be more successful.” - Bryan Jenkins
- “If a property is overpriced, a well-qualified candidate is not going to apply for it.” - Bryan Jenkins
- “Our team is incredible when we look at every aspect of it.” - Jonathan Cook
- “A good tenant definitely matters.” - Bryan Jenkins
- “If you are reasonable with a resident, the resident is going to be reasonable with you.” - Bryan Jenkins
Resources Mentioned:
- Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com
- PPP Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PPPwithAHI/
- PPP Twitter: https://twitter.com/PPPwithAHI
- https://www.sayrhino.com/
- Pinata
- Podcast Editing
Monday May 17, 2021
Pinata with Lily Liu
Monday May 17, 2021
Monday May 17, 2021
Hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins welcome Lily Liu and Jimmy Quintana. Lily is the Co-founder of Pinata, and Jimmy is the account executive.
Episode Highlights:
- Pinata is a rent reward platform designed for renters and property management companies in mind.
- One of the best features of Pinata is the real-tangible rewards that renters get.
- In addition to that, Pinata has recently started reporting red payments to credit bearers.
- Jonathan shares, he always stays a step ahead when it comes to positively speaking about Pinata.
- Those of you who don’t know Pinata has really grown as a company in the last few years.
- Lily talks about Rent Rewards - When a user notifies that rent has been paid on time every month, Pinata gives them a series of rewards. The renters are the end-users of the application.
- When a new tenant sign-up they also get rewarded. The rewards range from $25 to $30 gift cards.
- Renters also get Pinata Cash – an in-app currency that renters can use in the reward center.
- Pinata’s product team is always looking to introduce fun and delight in the app, so that it becomes user friendly.
- Bryan points out that the concept of Pinata is refreshing. The app is easy to implement and user-friendly.
- Jonathan and Bryan are currently working on the tenant benefit programs.
- Not just tenants, Pinata also has programs to benefit homeowners.
- Lily lists the top three unique, customizable rewards.
- Renter lease signing, replacing air-filters, snapping a photo of the property, maintaining the lawn are some of the customizable rewards that Pinata offers to its users.
- Initially, Pinata started with the single-family space, but this year Lily’s target is to get to the multi-family space as well.
- Jonathan talks about the geographical spread of Pinata in the US.
- Lily points out that “There is no area in the US that Pinata doesn’t cater to.”
- Jimmy explains, “The beauty of the system is - it not only rewards the tenants, but it also brands Pinata and rewards the homeowners. “
- As a final note, Jonathan shares that he has not come across any other company like Pinata. It is such a stepping-stone about what anybody else is offering.
- Jonathan and Bryan joke that they are not getting any Pinata cash for promoting the company.
- What Pinata offers is unique, and one can earn rewards following some simple steps.
3 Key Points:
- Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins talk about the trajectory of Pinata and how positively the company has grown over the years.
- Lily explains in detail about “Rent Rewards”, as it does not exist anywhere else in the market as a class of service.
- Lily talks about “How easy it is for tenants to sign-up for Pinata?”
Tweetable Quotes:
- “Pinata is focused on creating stickiness not only with the tenants but also with home-owners.” - Jimmy Quintana
- “Pinata’s app is not only intuitive, but it is also fun for the users” - Lily Liu
- “Pinta’s app is technology-enabled and cutting-edge; signing-up is really easy.” - Jimmy Quintana
- “Pinata benefits all parties involved bet it homeowners, tenants or the brand itself.” - Jimmy Quintana
Resources Mentioned:
- Pinata
- Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com
- PPP Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PPPwithAHI/
- PPP Twitter: https://twitter.com/PPPwithAHI
- Podcast Editing
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Atlanta Investment from a PM Point of View with DD Lee
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Monday Oct 26, 2020
In Episode 29 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins welcome DD Lee of Skyline Properties in Atlanta. They discuss the differences between the Birmingham and Atlanta markets, how COVID has impacted operations and the markets, what has stayed the same, and the value of a NARPM membership.
Episode Highlights:
- The Atlanta market is 3 times as big as the Birmingham market.
- DD says that before COVID, if a tenant was late on rent, they would receive a form letter and be charged a late fee, but since COVID happened, they no longer charge late fees and they have a dedicated team member who personally calls each tenant and offers a payment plan.
- Both AHI and Skyline have been looking at a tenant’s entire situation and trying to be more flexible.
- Skyline’s average property rent is $1600-1650.
- Class A properties have been the least negatively impacted by delinquency and Class D has been impacted the most, but Class A has been doing worse with rentals overall.
- In Atlanta, the average time a property is on market is only 14 days.
- DD thinks COVID has benefitted the southeast US because people who lived and worked in the northeast now have the flexibility to keep their job and work from anywhere.
- Skyline has had 111 move-ins this year so far, which is really high for them.
- DD has not had to change much as far as Skyline’s leasing operations because they were already using Tenant Turner for self-showings.
- If a tenant who’s moving out is uncomfortable with Skyline showing the property while they are still in it due to COVID, they will wait until the tenant moves out.
- There are benefits to using technology like Zoom because now more people understand how to use it so it allows property managers to do things more efficiently.
- There has been an increase in sight-unseen leases, and DD is adding a lease addendum for that circumstance.
- Inventory in Atlanta is still limited.
- An average 3BR, 2BA house in the Atlanta metro area will be about $200-250k for early 2000s construction.
- Atlanta’s cost is prohibitive for a lot of investors but is still a lot more accessible than other major cities like New York or LA.
- Skyline has a set lease renewal increase of 3%, and right now 7 out of 10 are renewing their leases.
- They are getting more move-out notices this year, and DD speculates it’s because people want bigger houses and nicer upgrades.
- Maintenance requests have increased, seemingly because people are spending more time in their homes to notice issues.
- Skyline makes a home truly move-in ready by having utilities already on.
- Concierge services like utility activation and the ability to pay bills and do all related things in a single portal will create stickiness for your tenant.
- Tenants are willing to pay more in rent for better services and in order to save money on move-in costs.
- NARPM allows best-in-class property managers to share ideas and raise the bar for the industry as a whole.
- Being part of the NARPM community helps you to find the next service or tool to improve your business, and to problem solve with colleagues.
- Something DD found through NARPM is Pinata, an incentive-based, free service to tenants that allows them to earn points every time they pay their rent on time that can be redeemed for gift cards and other rewards.
- NARPM members have a level of professionalism that non-members typically do not.
- The NARPM community has been even more valuable during COVID.
- If you are renting out a property in a state where you don’t live, visit the NARPM website to find a property manager.
3 Key Points:
- Now that people are able to work remotely, we’re seeing a big move out of major northeast metro areas into the southeastern states.
- More people are willing to rent a property sight unseen, and are willing to pay a premium for convenience and other concierge services.
- A NARPM membership gives you access to a community of the best in class property managers to learn from.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “People who realize they’re gonna be stuck in their homes indefinitely, they are upgrading to a better model, they are upgrading to a bigger house. So all of those things contributed to our wonderful leasing rate this year.” –DD Lee
- “Nowadays, people want convenience. They will pay a premium for convenience.” –DD Lee
Resources Mentioned:
- Check out our website ahiproperties.com
- Buy, sell, and own investment properties the way the pros do it with www.roofstock.com
- Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com
- PPP Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PPPwithAHI/
- PPP Twitter: https://twitter.com/PPPwithAHI
- Pinata: https://www.pinata.ai/
- www.skylinepropertiesga.com
- info@skylinepropertiesga.com
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
PM Operations During Crisis
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
In Episode 28 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins discuss strategies and services they have used to support their operations during COVID. They also share insights about treating your tenants like humans and approaching property management in an empathetic way while still protecting investors.
Episode Highlights:
- An important KPI is the percentage of rent collected, but that is less useful during COVID.
- It’s sometimes better to look at your entire portfolio’s vacancy rate, delinquency rate, etc., instead of looking at individual properties.
- Their immediate action when COVID became urgent was to make their operations as safe for themselves, their tenants, and their vendors as possible, including unaccompanied property showings.
- Unaccompanied showings made sense as a way to remove friction before the pandemic, and they’re happy they had already started using Tenant Turner to make that happen.
- They seek to eliminate financial barriers to entry for tenants.
- Simple Bills saves tenants money by eliminating utility connection and disconnection fees.
- They’ve started using a photo editing service for property pictures that allows them to put a fire in a fireplace, adjust the lighting, add furniture, etc.
- Jonathan and Bryan believe there needs to be some mortgage relief for property owners who are extending human empathy and understanding to tenants who are struggling to pay rent during the pandemic, and while evictions are halted.
- They found their leasing rates increased because people wanted to move as quickly and efficiently as possible so they could get into a house and stay there to hunker down.
- Not everyone will have the capacity to implement all of these tools, particularly the higher cost tools.
- Times change, technology changes, the market changes, and you can’t pretend that isn’t true; you have to evolve and respond to changing conditions.
- They charge a lease renewal fee because as property managers they do more than just sign off on a lease.
- It is impossible to avoid some pushback from tenants when you raise rent, but you can help alleviate that tension by explaining the reasons and demonstrating how you’re still giving them a deal compared to market value.
- They provide essentially a report card to tenants based on how many times they’ve been delinquent on rent, any damages, and other lease violations, to calculate how much of a rent increase should be made for a lease renewal.
- Tenants get benefit of the doubt, because it’s physically impossible to live in a house and not, for example, discolor a carpet; that doesn’t mean a tenant is irresponsible.
- Look at all of your operational data and look at what is most easily made automated.
- If you have the availability and means to hire a best-in-class property management firm that is focused on technology and processes, Bryan strongly suggests you do that.
3 Key Points:
- The usual KPIs may not be useful during COVID without added context and a human touch.
- It is vital to be open-minded and flexible about changing technology, changing markets, and changing industry standards.
- Your goals as a property manager should be to create stickiness for the tenants while protecting the investors’ assets.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “There’s a reason that we do this podcast, there’s a reason that we do everything that we do—it’s designed to not just grow, but it’s designed to get better, to constantly improve. Because it’s a conscious choice to not improve.” –Jonathan Cook
- “Why did a tenant that would have been a 9 out of 10 tenant for the majority of their lease suddenly drop to a 6? Oh, COVID happened, they lost their job… There is some human element that has to be associated with it.” –Jonathan Cook
Resources Mentioned:
- Check out our website ahiproperties.com
- Buy, sell, and own investment properties the way the pros do it with www.roofstock.com
- Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com
- PPP Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PPPwithAHI/
- PPP Twitter: https://twitter.com/PPPwithAHI
Monday Oct 12, 2020
Seth Kelly and Blue Ink
Monday Oct 12, 2020
Monday Oct 12, 2020
In Episode 27 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins welcome guest Seth Kelly from Blue Ink. They talk about the many benefits of electronic signatures, why you should choose Blue Ink, and more. Learn about their security features and all the ways e-signatures can help your business.
Episode Highlights:
- Blue Ink is an electronic signature provider that is more secure than other comparable software.
- Seth used to be a property manager.
- In the first demo of the software Seth saw, it had an avatar reading the contract to you as you signed the document, and it impressed him so much he was sold immediately.
- During the pandemic, electronic signatures are especially useful as a means of reducing in-person meetings.
- Some people who are less comfortable with technology have been hesitant about e-signatures because of their fear of fraud.
- Jonathan and Bryan see it as a customer service issue with clients and making them happy and comfortable, but fewer and fewer people are requesting hard copy signatures.
- Blue Ink is just as secure as email or online shopping, if not more so.
- For investors whose entire full time job is buying and selling homes, especially investors who buy property online, e-signatures are crucial.
- Using e-signatures saves a lot of time and money by eliminating the need to mail documents back and forth.
- Other use cases for e-signatures that Blue Ink has seen are human resources, employee onboarding and education.
- Blue Ink offers greater cost savings and better customer support than any of the big box competitors out there.
- Blue Ink allows you to create templates out of your regular documents.
- Blue Ink has an incredible and responsive support team, with an average response time of less than 3 minutes.
- When someone signs a document, Blue Ink captures the IP address and geolocation, plus senders have the option of adding up to 3 additional layers of security and verification.
- Additional verification includes a two-factor authentication PIN, a selfie, and uploading your photo ID.
- In the UK, documents of transference no longer require notarized signatures but will accept electronic signatures.
- The audio narration of the documents on Blue Ink can be set up in any language you need—a university in Toronto uses it for their international student housing complexes.
- On an annual basis, Blue Ink does 7 figures worth of signings, with their biggest month being around 320,000 signings.
- They’ve seen 250% growth average year over year.
- Blue Ink considers it their goal to make electronic signatures as accessible as email.
3 Key Points:
- Electronic signatures are safe and secure and pose very low risk of fraud.
- E-signatures can benefit many different industries, not just real estate.
- Electronic signatures should be an accessible technology just as common as email.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “Electronic signatures really should be a bulletproof opportunity to execute documents, contracts, agreements.” –Seth Kelly
- “The power of Blue Ink, and the intention, is to create a notary process that’s done electronically, that’s even more capable and more error-proof because it’s not human.” –Seth Kelly
- “Electronic signatures should be like email… We really have embraced that concept. We don’t think that use of electronic signatures should be so prohibitive that you can’t take advantage of that key benefit.” –Seth Kelly
- “Clients want that ease of use. They don’t want to come into your office to sign a document, wait for the mail, or any of that.” –Bryan Jenkins
Resources Mentioned:
- Check out our website ahiproperties.com
- Buy, sell, and own investment properties the way the pros do it with www.roofstock.com
- Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com
- PPP Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PPPwithAHI/
- PPP Twitter: https://twitter.com/PPPwithAHI
- www.Blueink.com
- Email Seth: seth.kelly@blueink.com
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Tim Wallace and Point Central
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Monday Oct 05, 2020
In Episode 26 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins welcome guest Tim Wallace from Point Central. They discuss how amenities like smart home technology create stickiness for tenants, how Point Central works, and more. Find out what the benefits to this are for property managers and how you can get the system installed at your properties!
Episode Highlights:
- Point Central is a subsidiary of alarm.com that is strictly focused on the property management space.
- AHI likes to be on the cutting edge of technologies that could improve the experience for their staff and tenants.
- Tenants aren’t merely people who can’t buy a home for whatever reason and so they have to rent; there are many reasons a person may choose to be a renter.
- Point Central is smart home technology that serves as an amenity for tenants and helps with security for everyone.
- They offer keyless entry, app-controlled thermostat, doorbell cameras, alarm systems, geofenced actions, and more.
- Point Central uses z-wave technology instead of wifi or bluetooth because particularly for vacant homes, property showings, vendors or contractors, there may not be accessible wifi.
- For the alarm system, Point Central integrates with alarm.com.
- Tenants often ask about installing a Ring doorbell or Nest smart home system or something like it, and it’s better for the property manager to install something correctly once than to install, uninstall, and reinstall different things for different tenants.
- Point Central has decreased their prices a lot in the past few years in response to feedback from property owners.
- Your monthly subscription is usually between $10-20 per month.
- A lot of property managers are adding $4-7 per month on top of the subscription fee for tenants to pay.
- Scheduling and the ability to control your heating and cooling remotely can save you hundreds of dollars on your energy bills.
- All devices on alarm.com and Point Central are completely wireless.
- Cloud storage for video captured from security systems is included.
- Property managers can mark their properties that are connected to Point Central as either vacant or occupied, and it will affect the permissions and billing.
- Point Central allows you to pull reports, set up scheduled reports, and they can also help you develop the reports you need.
- You get a dedicated customer success manager to help train you on all the features of the system.
- You can use the doorbell camera, motion detector, and other hardware as burglary deterrents at vacant properties even if it isn’t connected to anything, and you can move this hardware between vacant properties as needed.
3 Key Points:
- Smart home technology is an in-demand amenity for tenants.
- Using Point Central can be turned into a profit center for property managers and can save tenants substantial money on utilities.
- Point Central systems provide extra security for vacant properties.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “It’s really about what services you can provide to the tenant and create that stickiness factor.” –Bryan Jenkins
- “People are putting in these doorbell systems, people are putting in these Alexas, people are putting in these Nests, they’re doing it anyway. They’re doing it in properties that they’re renting. Just do it for them and do it right.” –Jonathan Cook
- “We’re billing straight to the property manager and we’re giving you guys the opportunity to go back to the tenant and choose what you want to charge them. It’s turned into a profit center for you.” –Tim Wallace
Resources Mentioned:
- Check out our website ahiproperties.com
- Buy, sell, and own investment properties the way the pros do it with www.roofstock.com
- Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com
- PPP Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PPPwithAHI/
- PPP Twitter: https://twitter.com/PPPwithAHI
- Point Central website: https://www.pointcentral.com/
- Email Tim: Timwallace@pointcentral.com
- Call Tim: 801-326-9299
Monday Sep 28, 2020
Covid Reset
Monday Sep 28, 2020
Monday Sep 28, 2020
In Episode 25 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins give an overview of today’s real estate investment markets in the context of COVID-19. They discuss what you should look for when searching for investment properties, how to make the most of your money, the benefits of being hyper-local, and more.
Episode Highlights:
- Jonathan and Bryan give an overview of the markets today, with everything that has taken place this year with COVID.
- There has been an increase over several years in built-to-rent homes.
- Some neighborhoods that have properties that used to sell for very little money have skyrocketed in value and they’re seeing much higher than usual appreciation in value.
- A good market is simply one that makes money, and a bad market is one that doesn’t; it has nothing to do with whether you would want to live there.
- When you’re looking for an investment property, you need to find a local expert, usually a property manager, who pays attention to data beyond sale price to give you a much better sense of cash flow.
- Use hyper-local data to find where your money will be best spent.
- It took the real estate industry several weeks to sort through all the implications of the CARES Act and CDC guidelines.
- AHI is able to track highly detailed KPIs, beyond cap rates.
- Bryan says in addition to needing a market-specific expert, you should have both a 10,000 foot view and a 1,000 foot view; balance the macro and micro.
- Use all the tools at your disposal and choose the best tool for the job.
- A property manager’s job is to maintain your investment and help you get the highest return possible.
- Roofstock has created the category of e-buyer, and has necessitated a lot of additional education.
- Property managers maintain relationships between the people on a lease.
- Real estate is a mainstream investment now.
3 Key Points:
- The markets are strong right now despite COVID.
- Find a local real estate investing expert to help you direct your money.
- A property manager’s job is to help you maintain your investment and the relationship between you and your tenants.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “What is a bad market? One that will make you no money. What is a good market? One that will make even more money.” –Jonathan Cook
- “It’s a client measuring our performance. So we internalize that. We want to optimize performance within our operation. So that’s why we monitor it.” –Bryan Jenkins
- “We are here to bring to our listeners expert knowledge through our lens, which is the one that hands the money to the investor at the end of the day.” –Jonathan Cook
Resources Mentioned:
- Check out our website ahiproperties.com
- Buy, sell, and own investment properties the way the pros do it with www.roofstock.com
- Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com
- PPP Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PPPwithAHI/
- PPP Twitter: https://twitter.com/PPPwithAHI
Monday Sep 21, 2020
Rhino to the Rescue
Monday Sep 21, 2020
Monday Sep 21, 2020
In Episode 24 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins speak with Eric Krauss of Rhino. They discuss the benefits of using Rhino as an alternative to traditional security deposits, how to get set up and onboarded with the platform, and why you’re doing it wrong if you aren’t signing up for Rhino as soon as you hear this episode!
Episode Highlights:
- Rhino is a cash security deposit alternative for renters that allows renters to pay a small monthly fee for an insurance policy that accomplishes the same thing.
- This can increase applicant pools, leasing velocity, and more.
- Rhino will approve anyone a property manager approves to rent.
- In addition to the monthly payments, Rhino also offers the option to pay for the entire lease term up front.
- If you put down a security deposit, you run the risk of that landlord holding your money from you.
- To sign up, a renter will receive an email from Rhino with all their information populated, they’ll be asked for some basic information, and receive their quote.
- Property managers can advertise their partnership with Rhino in their listings.
- Rhino also reduces work and overhead for property managers in terms of returning money to renters.
- A tenant does not have to choose your property, and your houses are your houses, so think instead about what makes people want to rent from your property management company?
- Eric sees Rhino as an advocate for renters.
- Rhino currently has about 1 million units on the platform.
- Some landlords are now offering Rhino at the point of lease renewal, which allows them to return security deposits back to tenants, which has helped landlords with retention.
- Onboarding is often the barrier to entry for property owners.
- How long onboarding takes with Rhino is really dependent upon how available you make your property management staff; it takes a very short amount of time once you get started.
- Rhino covers loss of rent, damages, and fees—anything you normally would retain from a security deposit.
- You can file claims mid-lease instead of waiting for the end of the lease term.
- They ask for one piece of evidence with a claim.
- You are able to set policy terms individually per tenant.
- Rhino is able to write a policy for anyone, not just tenants who would already qualify under traditional terms.
- To renters, this looks like an amenity, but it comes at no cost to the property manager.
- It literally takes tenants under a minute to sign up.
- Rhino policies are a three-party agreement between the landlord, the tenant, and Rhino, so if a tenant attempts to cancel a policy, Rhino notifies the landlord to confirm.
3 Key Points:
- Rhino comes at no cost to property managers but provides a massive benefit to tenants.
- Using this service broadens your pool of potential tenants.
- Rhino provides additional security beyond a traditional cash deposit by notifying landlords if a tenant attempts to cancel a policy.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “It’s not just people that can’t necessarily afford a security deposit. It doesn’t matter if you can afford a security deposit or not. Why would you pay a security deposit when you have Rhino as an option? Why would anybody do that?” –Jonathan Cook
- “A happier tenant makes a better kept and maintained property, makes a better investment for an investor or homeowner.” –Jonathan Cook
- “This isn’t set for just the A-class properties for your approved renters, if there’s a certain credit score we won’t write them a policy, that’s just gonna create a hiccup in your system and make people upset that you’re offering a service they can’t end up using.” –Eric Krauss
Resources Mentioned:
- Check out our website ahiproperties.com
- Check out Birmingham Insurance Group online or call them at (205) 616-1107
- Buy, sell, and own investment properties the way the pros do it with www.roofstock.com
- Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com
- Rent relief GoFundMe
- Rhino Wesbite
- Email Eric: eric@sayrhino.com
Monday Sep 14, 2020
Birmingham Market Highlight
Monday Sep 14, 2020
Monday Sep 14, 2020
Covid had us backed up a bit and we finally have our Birmingham Market highlight episode published...
In this episode recorded in April, and finally published in... September... we go over not only the highlights of the Birmingham Market as well as how we were handling the Covid-19 situations.
In Episode 23 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins discuss the real estate investment market in Birmingham. They talk about the impact of COVID-19 on the market, the benefits of C-class properties, and the importance of working with an expert if you’re a beginner investor.
Episode Highlights:
- The housing crisis right now is the opposite of the 2007-2008 crisis, in that we currently have a housing shortage.
- Businesses are closing or scaling back, but other companies are necessities and are growing.
- How businesses operate is going to change moving forward, and companies may not need large commercial properties anymore.
- In 2019, the Birmingham market was really strong, growing the most in April.
- In February and March 2020, the Birmingham market leased double the number of homes as the same months in 2019.
- Rent and mortgage rates have dropped, so now is an excellent time for investors to get higher class properties for their portfolio.
- They recommend diversifying your portfolio if it’s an option for you.
- In Birmingham, there are east side and west side C-class markets, and they are significantly different.
- There are some towns and neighborhoods in each of these markets that they highly recommend as profitable areas for investors.
- These areas see significant property appreciation because of their proximity to the Birmingham city center.
- In flips, rehabs, and renovations, the focus right now should be on home office space due to the changing work environment in the pandemic.
- There are places outside the main high value areas in the west side market where you can buy a home for under $10,000 and put a tenant in it to get some cash flow, but Jonathan strongly recommends finding somebody reputable to guide you through the process.
- Birmingham is a great city to start in as a new investor because it has every type of property you might be interested in and could be an effective gateway to expanding your portfolio in other cities.
3 Key Points:
- The rental market in Birmingham is doing better right now than it has in recent memory.
- There are options in Birmingham for if you want to invest a small amount of money as a first time investor and can get quick, steady cash flow, or if you want to make a larger investment for greater appreciation of value.
- This is an opportunity for investors to seize the moment for finding good deals on properties and being confident they can lease them quickly.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “You probably have to consider this in your rehabs, your remodels: the focus being on office space in the home. Given the current situation, given the new work environment, putting more emphasis on that.” –Bryan Jenkins
- “There’s a place you can go and you can spend almost nothing, and you can put a tenant in the property. You can make some cash flow. If that’s all you’re concerned with, if that’s what you want to do, it’s really easy and quick to do.” –Jonathan Cook
- “Most of the time that I’m actually working as a realtor, that’s my discussion. That’s who I’m talking to, is people who’ve got about 100—that’s what I can comfortably spend. Help me aim this $100,000 in a direction. Find me a few things to show me what I can do with it.” –Jonathan Cook
Resources Mentioned:
- Check out our website ahiproperties.com
- Check out Birmingham Insurance Group online or call them at (205) 616-1107
- Buy, sell, and own investment properties the way the pros do it with www.roofstock.com
- Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com
- Rent relief GoFundMe