Embark on a guided tour of the property management landscape with none other than Janice Lozano, an adept who oversees a staggering 200 properties. Our conversation navigates the intricacies of this bustling industry, from the strategic use of software to the nuanced dance of tenant relations. Janice, opting for the meticulous field of property management over the flash of sales, reveals how her approach is not only changing the narrative but significantly impacting the community, including military families.
Unveil the stepping stones from homeowner to landlord, as we dissect how property management companies like Janice's are indispensable in the rental market, making the investment journey seamless for landlords. Drawing from Janice's extensive experience, we shine a light on the critical importance of a meticulous tenant vetting process and share tales from the front lines that underscore the direct correlation between careful tenant selection and investment success. The rental market's current challenges are laid bare, with a candid discussion on the pressing demand for affordable housing and how the pandemic has reshaped market expectations.
Finally, we pivot to the transformative power of real estate education, demystifying the homeownership process for renters and advocating for a collective effort to bridge the information gap. As we dissect the real estate investment landscape, Janice and I offer insights into the wealth-building potential that lies within, irrespective of one's starting point. Concluding with pearls of wisdom for upcoming property managers, this episode is a treasure trove of expert advice, best practices, and a testament to the philosophy of building trust through transparency. Join us for a robust discussion that could very well redefine your view on the rental game.
Key Factors Podcast is Powered by ReviewMyMortgage.com
Host: Mark Jones | Sr. Loan Officer | NMLS# 513437
If you would like to work with Mark on your next home purchase or as a partner visit iThink Mortgage.
Embark on a guided tour of the property management landscape with none other than Janice Lozano, an adept who oversees a staggering 200 properties. Our conversation navigates the intricacies of this bustling industry, from the strategic use of software to the nuanced dance of tenant relations. Janice, opting for the meticulous field of property management over the flash of sales, reveals how her approach is not only changing the narrative but significantly impacting the community, including military families.
Unveil the stepping stones from homeowner to landlord, as we dissect how property management companies like Janice's are indispensable in the rental market, making the investment journey seamless for landlords. Drawing from Janice's extensive experience, we shine a light on the critical importance of a meticulous tenant vetting process and share tales from the front lines that underscore the direct correlation between careful tenant selection and investment success. The rental market's current challenges are laid bare, with a candid discussion on the pressing demand for affordable housing and how the pandemic has reshaped market expectations.
Finally, we pivot to the transformative power of real estate education, demystifying the homeownership process for renters and advocating for a collective effort to bridge the information gap. As we dissect the real estate investment landscape, Janice and I offer insights into the wealth-building potential that lies within, irrespective of one's starting point. Concluding with pearls of wisdom for upcoming property managers, this episode is a treasure trove of expert advice, best practices, and a testament to the philosophy of building trust through transparency. Join us for a robust discussion that could very well redefine your view on the rental game.
Key Factors Podcast is Powered by ReviewMyMortgage.com
Host: Mark Jones | Sr. Loan Officer | NMLS# 513437
If you would like to work with Mark on your next home purchase or as a partner visit iThink Mortgage.
This is the ultimate guide to making informed decisions in the world of property and real estate. So grab a seat and let's uncover the key factors that make all the difference. Welcome to Key Factors Podcast. Let the journey begin, and welcome back to another episode of Key Factors Podcast. I'm your host, mark Jones, and we are powered by ReviewMyMortgagecom, the largest index of mortgage programs in the nation, and the past couple of episodes we've gone down the road of discussing with a broker his perspective of how he came through the business. We've talked about marketing tactics, we've talked about the NAR ruling. We've talked about all different types of things real estate related. So I figured we'd add a little bit of the property management side of things, and I was recently at a awards dinner for Lofi Hilger Group where I met an individual who blew me away honestly and then come to find out she actually manages over 200 properties, asked her on the show and here she is today. So without further ado, I would like to introduce Janice Lozano with rental property professionals. Janice, how you doing?
Speaker 2:Hi, I'm doing well. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. This episode is going to be all about you, and I would love for you to treat me almost like an infant, simply because it's the best way to get solid information without talking over anybody's heads out there listening. I personally have had multiple rental properties and we managed them ourselves. I didn't think it was too daunting at the time, but I can imagine, once you get probably above maybe five or so, it gets a little bit difficult to deal with, and I know that there are tons of people out there right now, both on the investor side and the rental side, that are trying to figure out.
Speaker 1:Number one how do I, how my renter, become a homeowner, and then plenty of actual homeowners that are becoming investors at the moment. I can tell you from experience the last two months, half of my pipeline has been made up of current homeowners that are purchasing a second home or investment home to do this very thing, and one of the first questions they asked me is do you know a good rental property management company? I would always tell them, not really to be honest, but now, moving forward, I actually can. So, janice, if you would tell us who you are, how you got in the business kind of your journey. Start from the beginning, if you would, wow Yep.
Speaker 2:Well, I got started. You know, I worked for a commercial real estate firm and I decided that getting my real estate license would be an option why not? And I got recruited back in 2001, and at that time it was the Guy Chipman company.
Speaker 2:That company is no longer around. It has since been bought out, and I immediately started in the property management field, which is not very common. Most folks are getting their real estate license and go straight into sales, so this was unique for me and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with it and I worked for a company for about five years before I decided that it was time for me to take a leap of faith and start my own journey.
Speaker 1:That's awesome.
Speaker 2:And so I founded the company in 2006. I had a partner at the time and we hit the ground running. We never looked back. First year in business we were making money. That's awesome, and by that point I'd built a reputation with other realtors and other brokers who referred business my way.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:So it was a no-brainer. You know, as soon as we opened the doors, we had referral business. So it was beautiful. I'm a hard worker, yeah for sure. I'm a worker bee and I quickly realized the impact that I wanted to make in this industry. It has such a negative image. You know, anytime people think about property management, it's always the horror stories.
Speaker 1:You're exactly correct so.
Speaker 2:I wanted to change the narrative. You know, one property at a time.
Speaker 1:I like that. That's a cool beginning and I want to kind of go a little deeper on that. And when I say deeper, I mean what was the process of you determining that you wanted to go this route versus going to sell real estate?
Speaker 2:Well, I figured out that I could make money. Ok, and building a portfolio is how you do that, ok. So, and you know, developing processes and streamlining those really helped me be able to manage more and more properties. I'm a real estate broker and I do buyer seller agency. I'm very selective of that. Sure, I'm a small operation, so really it's. You know, I put people in homes, people that can't otherwise buy or choose not to buy. Sure, maybe they're here for a short time. We've got military and we're military city USA.
Speaker 2:So, I figured out a way to really serve my community.
Speaker 1:So that's very cool, very cool. So opened it in 2006. At that point in time let's say your first year do you remember how many rental properties that you guys were managing at that time?
Speaker 2:It was crazy we I think the first year we were almost at 50 properties.
Speaker 1:Wow, ok, yeah, that happened quickly, it happened quickly.
Speaker 2:You know, one of the most important things that you do when you're looking to start your company is look for software. Ok, the software makes all the difference. I can imagine that, so you can really get a lot of accomplished with that. So yeah, 50, 50 doors is what we had, wow.
Speaker 1:So this year. So you mentioned the software. I would imagine that that is to keep everything organized, to keep all of your ducks in a row. For the most part because, let's face it, when I was managing and my wife and I were managing our properties, it was simple. I mean, there wasn't much that we needed to track down. We had good relationships with our tenants. Give us a call if something breaks and we'll determine what the best course of action. Of course it was in the lease that if it's over X amount, then they had to pay for it, or half, etc. But I could not imagine doing that for multiple properties over and over on a daily basis. Oh yeah, and I know that there are folks out there that are almost overwhelmed even thinking about having one property under management.
Speaker 2:You know it comes down to processes and personality. Okay, also, you know it's you really. You know being a landlord is a huge responsibility and it's one of those things that you cannot take lightly. That software, yes, absolutely keeps your ducks in a row and keeps things running smoothly and our line of work. There's a lot of risk involved.
Speaker 1:Oh, for sure.
Speaker 2:And our job is to minimize that. So there's laws, tenant landlord laws and fair housing laws that we've got to comply with. So we keep everyone on the up and up. You know, you interesting point back in the day you could charge for a portion of the maintenance X amount of dollars. You know, over the course of nearly 20 years, the leases have changed, legislation has changed, Lots of things have changed.
Speaker 1:So in favor of the tenant, I would imagine.
Speaker 2:Well, you know we're still a very landlord friendly state, texas. But yeah, tenant rights and tenant well, tenant rights are on the forefront. There's a lot of advocacy groups that, and for us we quickly and this comes from my background so In our world the landlord is a client right and the tenant is the customer. For us there is always conflict and for us it's bridging the gap and treating those tenants like we would wanna be treated. So if we quickly understood the assignment when it comes to fiduciary responsibility, and so that keeps us out of hot water.
Speaker 1:Treat everybody right. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. So, in the aspect of well, I didn't ask, but I will now what were you doing prior to real estate that even led into this world?
Speaker 2:Interesting. I worked for the Methodist Healthcare System for about five years and I worked my way up to the medical office buildings and they managed all of the buildings, and so for me, I had gone as far as I could in that position.
Speaker 1:And you were on the administrative side, not the. I'm on the floor, I'm a nurse, et cetera.
Speaker 2:Correct on the administrative side managing buildings, and so I decided that I was going to look for another job and I went straight to a temp agency and I landed a temp position with a commercial estate firm and they quickly hired me. I worked my way up with them as far as I could go.
Speaker 1:She was gonna say worked her ass off. But I'm sure she did.
Speaker 2:I was gonna say that I did. And then I reached a point where that was as far as I could go and I learned they were commercial real estate brokers and that for me was like why not, let me try, let me, and I hit it hard. I took all those courses. I really submerged myself in all of those courses.
Speaker 1:And then you went to go practice.
Speaker 2:I got recruited while I was still before I even got my license, and then the rest is history.
Speaker 1:That's very cool. So, that being the case, do you focus just on residential or do you guys also have commercial buildings under your management?
Speaker 2:We have a couple commercial buildings. We're not doing a whole lot of commercial, but we love our commercial clients Okay so let's take these folks the listeners, the viewers on a journey real quick.
Speaker 1:Let's say we've got someone that wants to become a landlord, aka investor. Let's say they currently have a home that they wanna convert to an investment property, but they don't have the time to manage it at all. What would that process look like? And I'm talking about from the time that they say hey, janice, I think we wanna hire you, but we're still not sure if this is right for us, not just the you hiring part, but us even doing this.
Speaker 2:You know, for us, it's about the numbers. The numbers need to work for those folks. I get really excited about the new time investors, landlords. They don't always understand that that's their new title, but it's about educating them. We love being a resource for those type of clients because we want to set the standard and the expectations right from the get go, and our standards are pretty high. Believe it, and so we're looking for solid landlords, not slumpboards.
Speaker 1:I got you yeah, so no trailer park homes.
Speaker 2:Not yet.
Speaker 1:That's where the real money is at here. That's where the real money is. We're looking at one. I love it.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, it's about setting those expectations, giving them facts, giving them data, giving them the management agreement, telling them you know we're a full service one stop shop so we can do everything from the beginning to the end.
Speaker 1:Okay, so now, being that full service beginning to the end, what does that beginning look like? What does the middle look like? What are those things that you guys do to essentially help that landlord? Because if they like it and it's profitable or they break even for me breaking even is still winning as far as taxes go they're gonna wanna do more, they're going to wanna purchase more properties, use, you guys, all that good stuff, but what is it that you guys actually do for that landlord to be able to give them time back, peace of mind, all that jazz.
Speaker 2:Well, we take that entire project off their hands. We start with the marketing. We have professional photography come out and we want to feature the property in its best light.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 2:So we'll start there. Then it goes into the MLS just like it would for sale. We field all that traffic. I like to think of ourselves as we're a medium-sized company, considered a medium-sized company, but we're boutique style. It's very personal for us, right? We're gonna get to know you, your property. We'll do everything from the application process and the vetting process. If I had to say there was one single most important thing, it would be that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2:I have a pretty good track record with that and we don't outsource that. We do all of that internally. Takes a little more time, but we're finding the right tenant for these landlords. So it starts there application process. We move them in the lease agreement, the whole nine yards. We handle the monthly collection of rent, we handle maintenance after our emergencies, we handle disposition of the security deposit. I mean the list goes on and on. Oh wow, and all the way up until move out.
Speaker 1:So the landlord, essentially, is receiving a 1099 at the end of the year from you guys. They're more than likely maybe receiving receipts or invoices for things that need to be paid, like repairs, depending on who's supposed to pay those, that kind of stuff, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Absolutely full transparency with that. I often tell my landlords you're going to hear from me. In the beginning, we're very excited to let you know what's happening. The number of inquiries showings and we found the one for you. And then after that it's no news. Is good news from us? Yeah.
Speaker 1:I like that concept.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you don't need anything, let me alone.
Speaker 1:No news is good news. Let me do what I do best.
Speaker 2:We're providing them with updates.
Speaker 1:So you mentioned the most important part in this process and I believe it's the most important part and many processes are going through any phases. It's always the upfront on the lending side of the tracks. There's half ass lenders out there that will issue approval letters without even viewing documents, just pulling credit things of that nature, and I'm an advocate for making sure that the borrower has received their, their notice to give the documents They've sent them in. We've reviewed them, We've met in person or on a Zoom call to go over those so that I can provide them their actual options without any any doubt. I don't like having doubt when I give a borrower this is your approval amount, this is the program that I recommend for you, et cetera.
Speaker 1:And there's times when I have buyers that are considering flipping a home to an investment property or purchasing an investment property and one of the first things or comments that they make after I tell them that I have had rentals, we've done the flips, all that stuff. I practice what I preach so it helps. But one of the first things that they ask is what if I get a bad tenant? What if I get a bad renter? And I can only give from my perspective. In all our time that we've managed properties, we only had one bad tenant and I can't even say she was bad tenant.
Speaker 1:She paid her rent on time, she kept the home clean. She lost her job and couldn't pay for a little while. All I asked her was to keep the home clean. I said I totally understand, let's keep this home clean. You can catch it up. As a matter of fact. She caught it up and then let me know hey, I need to find a cheaper place. We said, no problem, no problem. So that was kind of the worst nightmare event that I had. But what I tell folks is you are the one that picks who lives in your home. At the end of the day, there's a screening process. You get to see their credit score, you get to see their job application, all that but you are the one that is picking that. What's some advice that you would give to someone like that?
Speaker 2:That's a great question. For us, that vetting process is tedious. We're looking at a number of factors and in that instance, the example that you gave, life happened. Life happened For us, it's coming up with solutions. When things like that happen, I don't spend a lot of time in eviction court and, similar to what you did with your tenant for us, you can't live here for free. We want to find solutions If there's programs we can help them with, because we're not trying to displace tenants. When life happens and when we're not able to achieve that, we simply ask them respectfully. And it's a different approach and it's a different thought process, because immediately it's eviction time. Let's serve them notice and while we're firm with that, we want to handle that with as much dignity and grace and ask them to leave at their own will. It's the fairest compromise with bringing these two parties together. In our world, the property management has such a negative. We want to bridge that gap.
Speaker 2:It doesn't have to be tenant and landlords fighting Fentus versus landlord correct. It's about compromise and it's about treating them right and, at the end of the day, it's a win-win for everyone. Correct when we handle it that way? Yeah, so for those folks that are looking and considering property management and all those horror stories hire a professional. We know what we're doing. We hold ourselves to the highest standard while complying with fair housing laws and tenant landlord laws.
Speaker 2:So if you're not an expert in the field, it's not rocket science. What we do, it's not rocket science.
Speaker 1:That's why I have that. There is because a lot of people tend to make things more complicated than they need to be. That's a reminder. This isn't rocket scientist. I'm not a rocket scientist, no.
Speaker 2:It's just, if you just do the right thing and treat people right, the ultimate goal will be achieved. So we feel strongly about that. We communication is probably the number one complaint in our field, and so we're so mindful of that. We want to go above and beyond. We are in a service industry, and when there's no communication, then everything goes out.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:So for us, it's setting standards, setting expectations with all parties, including ourselves, what you can expect from us. So I think, at the end of the day, it's treating people right.
Speaker 1:I think that's a great answer, great response and a great way to put it, because you're right, I mean, going at it too hard could create major friction and, with the laws of the way that they are, that can become a drawn out process that nobody really wants to go through. I believe maybe not even the buyer, the renter, the tenant maybe feels like they have to go through that in order to get out of this situation, when all they maybe needed to do was just come and talk to somebody. The communication piece.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and my history with tenants and this is the history and not every management company looks at it this way, but it was always the tenant is the customer, they're not the client. And oftentimes they were mistreated and I identify with that because in the real estate world, property management is the step child, so to speak, Mistreated, misunderstood, and we don't want that. We don't want that in our line of work. We want a positive impact.
Speaker 1:No, that's good and it makes sense all the way. Ok, so now let's talk about some I don't know nitty gritty stuff. Let's just skip all of this stuff that I've got written down here. I've got some questions. So, in regards to the fact that San Antonio and you can see on your page there, statistically we're 46% of the housing stock is tenants, renters, owned by investors, whether it be big investors, your corporate investors, your BlackRock, or individual mom and pop investors, but that's a pretty big percentage, 46% out of 100. I mean, whoa, that's quite a bit, it's a lot.
Speaker 1:That being the case, are you guys seeing oh how do I put this without being too crazy? Are you guys seeing a drop in the rents because there's not enough tenants out there to satisfy the appetite of what is there? Does that make sense?
Speaker 2:Yes, it does, interesting. In our market today there's a surplus of rentals.
Speaker 1:We are definitely having to make price adjustments in order to stay competitive, because properties are just staying on the market way too long and we're seeing that go around at the moment, and I don't know if it has to do with interest rates, because most of those investors own the home prior to that rate height, so it definitely they've got room to come down within that. Or is it something that goes hand in hand with why we live in San Antonio? It's affordable, there's plenty of opportunity here. And or, number three, is it the fact that more folks coming to Texas, san Antonio in general, are buying instead of renting Because they have the cash?
Speaker 1:I mean, you've got folks from California, washington they're coming here, florida, that just sold their home, cashed out a chunk of change and are buying homes left and right, and yeah, and you've got a lot of the market that are not necessarily the market but the choir, so to speak. That is saying that transactions are down. Statistics don't lie, it is what it is. But there's still plenty of homes on the market, just not enough in the right price ranges, right Price brackets.
Speaker 2:I will agree with that. Our average price point is about $1,800.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay.
Speaker 2:So it's very difficult to find people want to be in the 1,000 price point, 1,200 price point, I mean it's even difficult to be in the 1,500 price point.
Speaker 1:That's what we've seen. Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 2:And get good quality right. But there's something out there for everyone. There is definitely a surplus of these rental properties and these tenants. I'm excited about it because our market is finally starting to pick up a little bit it is. It's the first time in a minute. It's seasonal, the summer months, military city, usa, that's when people move. Usa yeah, pcs season, so we're excited about this time right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so let's see here I'm going to jump around a little bit with this. So the average being 1,800 a month, and that sounds about right because we went through covid and rates dropped, rent didn't necessarily drop. Then it actually went up and it left a huge gap. For all of those folks that you're talking about, that need the 1,200, 1,300, maybe tops, but I believe that they are still on the wrong expectations. It's like they have the expectations prior to the covid situation and haven't yet adjusted to what's happening now, if that makes sense. So, that being the case, do you think that it is because of, I don't know, social media? What do you think is the cause for these people not to understand that? This is where I need to be. I'm going to compromise for now, and then we'll continue to move up if that is the case.
Speaker 2:You're referring to the renters. You know, I'm not sure how to answer that question. There's housing out there and those price points. We're seeing a lot of landlord owner managers, we're seeing a lot of that in that price point and I think that's probably because they're not paying a management fee. But the things that work hand in hand with something like that is you're not going to get the quality of service that you would with a property management company.
Speaker 1:And I definitely agree with that. I mean somebody that is this is not what they do for a living. They're flying by the seat of their pants, doing the best they can. I would imagine, just like I did, but they don't have all the checks and balances, they don't have all the experience, all the solutions to the issues that have already come up, like you guys would have if they were under management, I would imagine.
Speaker 2:It's true, and even when it comes to maintenance, they can delay and prolong. That's an expense, and sometimes they're not prepared for that and unfortunately in situations like that the tenant suffers but the landlord's like, well, you're only paying $1,200 in rent.
Speaker 1:What else do you want? What else?
Speaker 2:do you want? You've got to wait a week or two for hot water, that kind of thing Eash. Yeah, we definitely need more housing. We need more affordable housing.
Speaker 1:I have to agree.
Speaker 2:I do, but we've got a lot of apartments that have come up, oh my gosh, they're everywhere and they're still building.
Speaker 1:I was driving out the other day down a road I hadn't been and I'm like when the heck did they put this massive apartment complex? They're everywhere, yeah.
Speaker 2:And a feedback that I get from the apartments. Now I don't know that we have affordable housing with apartments, because the feedback that I'm getting is it's just as expensive as renting a home without the privacy without.
Speaker 1:And then, just like everything else, it's about location and everybody wants to be in this area where it's cool or to what they think. But what comes with that is a higher price. You're going to pay for it. You want to view higher price.
Speaker 2:Like anything in life. Right, you get what you pay for. That's true. You're going to get what you pay for.
Speaker 1:That's very true.
Speaker 1:I want to talk about COVID for a bit, because you essentially were in the thick of things when it was going on and I haven't had the opportunity to talk to someone that knows and has been through that side of things.
Speaker 1:I know on the mortgage side of things there were so many mortgage forbearances and what that means and those of you out there listening. When someone puts their mortgage in a forbearance it's a period of time to where they don't have to make a mortgage payment but that interest is still compiling into their loan. Many times, once the forbearance period is over, that balance is kicked over to the end of their mortgage loan and essentially it doesn't go away. You still owe that money, but when that happens the note that's due to the investor is still due. So in turn the investor or the servicer of the loan is still having to pay that mortgage, regardless of whether they're receiving income or not. I relate that to the tenant landlord concept because regardless, if that landlord has a loan on that property, they've still got to pay it, regardless of whether they're receiving rent or not. Then you put the tenant's rights within that and it becomes pretty tough to navigate as a landlord, I think, but I'd love to get your thoughts on it.
Speaker 2:COVID was an interesting time for us.
Speaker 2:I think everybody went into shut down and freak out mode and for us it happened in the middle of the month and it was us learning how to navigate through this. We started working remotely at that time, so we had quite a few different projects to try to navigate. We quickly jumped in the driver's seat and looked at it like people first. People first. That was the model in the office, and so we started doing research. Rental assistance came into play. There was a lot of money You're talking about, like grants, grants.
Speaker 2:You know the city of San Antonio. I love San Antonio, I'm born and raised here. We have so many resources for tenants, and so for us, it was coming up with solutions. We don't just want problems, we're looking for solutions. And so we found programs, many programs where we could initiate that process. I will tell you, throughout our portfolio although we had a because we had quite a few tenants that were, we had essential employees tenants and many that were not they got laid off and, whatever the case may be, we didn't have to displace anyone other than one house through our portfolio, and I would tell you that that person was the exception to the rule. They were what's the word I mean?
Speaker 1:I've got plenty of words. They were naughty, okay.
Speaker 2:They were naughty and they worked the system a little. Ah, he will put it that way.
Speaker 1:No, that's a great way to put it, because I believe that there are a ton of Americans out there that worked the system, that didn't really understand what it did. Trickle down effect, but go ahead.
Speaker 2:I will tell you I was so proud of our tenants and so proud of the portfolio and I think everybody understood the assignment. How are we going to work collectively to try to get, Get us?
Speaker 1:Over the hump yeah.
Speaker 2:Right. So for us it was seamless. It was seamless, we had the one.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:But everyone else, every landlord got paid, nobody went without payment.
Speaker 1:Very cool. So just to kind of recap, grants as a reminder, you guys are funds that are allocated by the city, state, the municipalities, county sometimes, but they are essentially funds that do not need to be paid back because they have earmarked them for X, y and Z reason, similar to down payment assistance funds. You've got bond that you have to pay back grant. You do not. But that being the case, 200 plus properties under management, you've got a ton of landlords that I'm pretty sure went. Oh my God, what do we do? Because I'm sure they're not going to pay. And then a month later, shit, they lost their job. They're for sure not going to pay. Right, it was.
Speaker 2:Landlords were nervous rightfully so and our job was not to create panic. We weren't going to worry until we had to worry. So, we asked them to trust the process, allow us to help facilitate the solution, all the while keeping open transparency and communication with them, and it worked out in our favor.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like that as an additional value add to what you do, simply because there are a ton of landlords that didn't have a resource, like you, that were going crazy and didn't have the solution Even though the solution was there. They didn't have the resources, they didn't have the know-how, the access to what you guys put in place to help your clients.
Speaker 2:We're, you know, is treating people right. You know it was treating people right, telling them what their options were, and no one was displaced. Wow, no one was displaced.
Speaker 1:Wow. So if we were to compare, let's say, and I guess I should only just do San Antonio, you guys just do San Antonio, or is it all of Texas?
Speaker 2:We do San Antonio, we do New Braunfels, we do Floresville, siblo, okay, you know all the way around.
Speaker 1:So San Antonio and surrounding, right? So if I were to ask comparing San Antonio and surrounding to what you see in the media, because we don't know data-wise I haven't looked it up or anything like that, but it was a nightmare all over the country in these places where landlords I feel didn't have very many rights and tenants were like you said they were, they were beating the system. So to speak?
Speaker 2:They sure were. Yeah, they were we. Well, once they understood that we, no, we're not going to not let you pay, Right? We're going to look for solutions. So I think there were a few that tried to get a little creative but, we just simply didn't allow it to happen.
Speaker 2:We wanted everybody to do the right thing. It was about doing the right thing and working together to accomplish that, so we're really proud of that. I can't imagine what other people were going through, because it really was a collaborative effort. Sure, we had to initiate paperwork, the tenant had to initiate paperwork. It was us working together for that payment to come through, and it was beautiful.
Speaker 1:And it was providing peace of mind for the tenant and the landlord simultaneously. I mean, what a cool feeling to be able to go okay, I've got 10 rental properties, shit's about to hit the fan and Janice is in the background going I've got you, don't worry.
Speaker 2:We were nervous, but absolutely, because once we, once we understood the assignment with people first and let's take care of them and what we're.
Speaker 1:It was, and even further. Your clients knew that was your stance because that's what the MO was when they met you guys as a company coming into it Right.
Speaker 2:We're don't just pass on problems to our landlords, it's about they look to us, the professionals, for solutions. So thinking outside the box was huge for us.
Speaker 1:I used to say think outside of the box until I came up with just build a bigger box to think in. Oh okay, Everybody makes fun of that. But then I'm like, oh yeah, Well, I've got a bigger box. Anyway, there's nerd stuff. So if someone were to ask you guys to become clients of you all, what are they looking at expense-wise? I know in the past when I checked into it, it was like 10% or something along those lines each month of what the rent is, but we're going to keep everything organized, et cetera, et cetera. What does that look like for someone that is considering doing this?
Speaker 2:So management and leasing fees are negotiable. Okay, we'll want to leave it at that. Okay, right, we don't have a set price. But one of the things that I pride myself in is my fees have been the same for as long as I've been in business for about 17 years. Okay, so for us, and it's how can we incorporate more services and we're doing a lot more project management?
Speaker 2:when it comes to make-readies and things like that, because it's again setting the expectations, setting the bar high. I can't demand the highest rent within those market analysis if the property doesn't match that price Right.
Speaker 1:If that makes sense, it does yeah.
Speaker 2:So those kind of things work hand-in-hand. But we don't. Part of our deal is let us show you what we can do. We don't require any of our landlords to pay anything upfront. It's let us show you what we can do. Yeah, let's put the house on the market, let's lease it for you, and then that's. We'll collect our fee from the first month's rent. We offer two types of services Okay, so it's full property management, and then the other is full leasing services. Okay, okay, so those are two things. But we don't. We don't require anything Like we'll put our money where our mouth is. I like that. We'll put our mouth where our money is.
Speaker 1:Nope, the other way around. You had it and you nailed it the first time. Yes, that's awesome, okay. So, that being the case, we've talked about how you got into the industry. We've talked about what it is that you guys do your claim to fame, expectation wise, what people can expect out of real estate property professional, rental property professionals and I've gotten your opinion on some things, and I want to go deeper on the opinion side of things, since you get to see so many tenant client interactions or situations. Me being in the mortgage industry. I've got gosh hundreds of buyers sitting on the fence talking about rents too much. I can't afford this. And we just talked about how rent in itself is almost the same as a mortgage payment, so to speak. What are you seeing out there in regards to your current book of business and how much of that is converting each year, maybe to home buyers?
Speaker 2:You know that's interesting. We don't just deal with people that have credit issues, and I see this firsthand. They're very qualified to buy. They don't want to buy. They don't want the responsibility of home ownership. So, we see a lot of that. And then the short-term rentals with military. Clearly about… 20% of our portfolio will convert to purchasing. Okay, by the time we get notification, we're not. Tenants aren't usually willing to disclose that information right away. They're working behind the scenes with a realtor.
Speaker 1:Yep, they don't want you to know until it's time, until it's time.
Speaker 2:And then they give me their required 30 day notice and then we're putting the house back on the market in an effort to minimize the vacancy Correct. So it's interesting. It's interesting what we see, because we see so many people with just A plus credit not buying.
Speaker 1:Right. So, that being the case, I want to see what the comparison to renting a property not an apartment, but a property as opposed to, let's say, buying a home, because there are certain requirements for a mortgage, and my understanding is that they are not that different, but I'd like to see what do you guys typically require, or what do your clients require you guys to check off in order to let them pass the check, so to speak?
Speaker 2:Well, interesting, we don't-.
Speaker 1:How much down those types of things?
Speaker 2:Well, so for us landlords, don't get to decide that, okay.
Speaker 1:We're the experts of the field. I like it Okay.
Speaker 2:And so for us, because we follow fair housing and because our standards are high and above that of an individual, we're gonna tell them who the tenant is, what their situation is and whether they qualify or not. We want to really avoid discrimination at all costs possible. So when there's something that's questionable, we will consult with the landlord and tell them with full transparency. This is what the situation is. Are you willing to take the risk or not?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then that's the direction we take.
Speaker 1:Now is that a situation to where, if the risk let's say lower credit score, tenant or applicant would they consider more money upfront, higher rent, these types of things, to combat that? Or what are the typical minimum requirements that you're seeing? That's a good question.
Speaker 2:We will never ask more than rent. I don't believe legally you can do that. Once you're advertising for a rent, that's it. You can do in some cases to make it work is ask for additional deposit. Okay, that's sometimes what we will do to make it work. It doesn't necessarily mean that they're bad tenants but, they're high risk.
Speaker 1:That's what I was getting to is the high risk, for example and you can tell me if I did this wrong back in the day but if we had a tenant that applied, we felt like they had good job history, they got good money in the bank, but the credit wasn't the greatest. Well, the credit thing, that's almost an intangible concept because it's fluctuating, all that stuff. I don't know what happened in your past, so if it was, at a certain point, I would ask them for two months, rent upfront to hold in deposit in addition to their deposit. They were happy to do that because we were saying, yes, is that the same concept with you guys?
Speaker 2:It is. It's like an insurance policy. You hope you don't have to use it. It's fully refundable, but because you are considered high risk for us. Those credit issues. Life happens whether you like it or not. So for us we're looking for folks that have decent credit, have awesome rental history. For me that's the golden ticket. Another landlord willing to vouch on the kind of tenant that you were is the golden ticket. So in income they need to gross at least three times the rent.
Speaker 1:Three times the rent I like. Okay, three times rent and typical credit score. What will we say?
Speaker 2:I'm glad that you say that, because I get that question a lot. I don't have a minimum score. Their score could be down in the dumps because medical student loans Sure. That doesn't mean they're not gonna be a good tenant, because they might have an awesome rental history, so I won't discount that completely. For us it's the whole package.
Speaker 1:Everything.
Speaker 2:We wanna work with people when it all possible, so we don't have a minimum. I know many people in my position do have that, but that's my take on that.
Speaker 1:And it is thrown around quite often the concept of well, we've gotta have a minimum of this credit score, we've gotta have the one first month or second month rent to be able to give, and that in itself almost compares to buying a home. So what are your thoughts on, I guess, advocating for home buying within the renters world? And the reason why I ask is you and I know how to build wealth in this world. I mean, we can work our ass off all we want, but if we don't have anything else that's working for us at the same time, we're chasing our tails. So, that being the case, especially in San Antonio, where we have average credit score of about 660, average household income of anywhere from 65 to 70,000, and that's combined income it's like the only way for these people to gain wealth down the road is to buy a home, and we're seeing a lot of fear and a lot of objections that we have to overcome.
Speaker 1:But I believe that it has a lot to do with uneducated buyers, and I don't mean they're dumb, they're just not educated on this side of the tracks. Their parents never owned a home, so they don't understand what equity even means or looks like or how to access it and leverage it. What, in your opinion, is? I can't say the cause of that, but and you've already mentioned that some of these people, they just don't want to. Okay, I buy it to a certain extent, but what I found in my experience is the ones that say they really don't want to are the ones that don't know that they can.
Speaker 2:You know you're right about that. That is a scary time for people. It's such a huge commitment and responsibility and people, I think, naturally want to stay complacent because it's easy, it's comfortable. Right. So the difficulties with that is letting them know yes, you can. We oftentimes will have conversations. I've negotiated many deals where the tenant purchased the rental and it turned out to be a win-win. They didn't think that they could.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Again it happens all the time it does.
Speaker 2:We're working together for solutions. We can make it work as long as both parties are willing to compromise. Talk about the compromise. I don't, in my experience again. Normally, by the time they come to me, it's already too late. They've already made the decision to buy.
Speaker 1:And what I see, and I am one of those lenders that will prepare the realtors that I work with with a paper application. So when they're out, hey, they get a rental opportunity for somebody. Take it. I mean at the end of the day, yes, I get that it doesn't pay you 3%, but that is also a new customer or a client in your book of business that eventually will purchase. But I'll equip them with a paper application so that if they're out, just ask the question have you considered buying instead of renting? Because what I found is a lot of renters that are renting don't even know that they can buy, and that's kind of how that conversation goes. And then they end up with me. We get the options out of the way and they're like well, I didn't know I could even buy.
Speaker 2:So many people are surprised by that. I will tell you that I love being a resource in my community with brokers and other agents, and so often I quickly found that showing properties wasn't the best use of my time, so I outsource that out. Any new agent, get off the thing Showing, here you go, yep.
Speaker 2:Here you go, here's a lead. I want you to work my stuff first and then do with them what you will If you wanna get them qualified. And those agents have come back to me and said oh, this worked out, they're gonna buy. And I love that. And there's not a referral fee for me when it comes to that. I'm not looking for that, but I love that they can capitalize on that.
Speaker 1:Now.
Speaker 2:I will tell you, not all realtors do a good job keeping up with their portfolio, even with the rental. I mean, it's yeah, you put them in a rental and you eventually want to get them to buy.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:But there's not a lot of agents that work that very well.
Speaker 1:I think you're right. In my experience I mean from a bird's eye view perspective you wonder if there was a way to solve the education crisis with all the renters. It would almost be, and this is far fetched, but I'm gonna say it anyway. It would almost be a coalition of property management companies coming together and saying look, every month we're gonna hold a seminar, I don't care if you're that company or this company, we all are in the same kind of line of work with the same goal and intentions in mind, but we're gonna hold a home buyer seminar for all of our tenants out there. We'll invite them all.
Speaker 1:Doesn't mean they're gonna show up, but we're going to have special guests educating them, talking to them about the benefits of purchasing, the comparison, et cetera, et cetera, which gives an additional benefit. It also kind of goes hand in hand with your mission statement, so to speak, Because, let's face it, there's not a lack of people that are looking to rent. I don't believe that there is. And then that's kind of what I tell my customers when they ask me well, what if I can't find a tenant? I'm like that's like you acted. I don't know, I don't even know what to compare it to, because it's you will find a tenant.
Speaker 2:There's plenty of them out there, unless your house is falling down. There you go, that's right.
Speaker 1:There's plenty of folks out there that are looking for housing and can qualify for it, so what are your thoughts on something like? I know it's far-fetched, but I'm a dreamer.
Speaker 2:I love it because they're going to buy anyway.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Whether they use you or not, they will buy. I love the concept of that. I would love. I'm not sure I'm a landlord Right, I've been a tenant. I try to wear all my different hats to really have a fair assessment of the. You know those positions. I think. A landlord as a landlord, we'd be nervous. Oh, you're taking my tenant.
Speaker 1:That's exactly why I was hesitant to even say it, but at the end of the day, like you said, they're going to buy anyway, why? Not get them involved and educated so that they buy the right way? Because me, if I'm the landlord, no big deal, I get it. I mean, at the end of the day, rent's going to go up anyway next year, so I might as well get an opportunity to get that new rent in.
Speaker 2:We're actually looking into like a pilot program, to see if that's going to work or not, to test the waters and see what kind of feedback we get from landlords. You're right, there's no shortage of renters, it's. You know, if you're going to be the lifer renter, fine, but for those that want to eventually convert to home buying, you know, for us we want to see you have some experience in the rental field, in apartment complex, wherever, before you come to single family Sure, because it's a whole different piece right, absolutely, you're not the maintenance man to convert your own.
Speaker 1:That's right, you've got to change your own light bulbs. That's right, that's right. And if you don't, you ain't got no light. That's right, no big deal.
Speaker 2:So that's interesting to me and I love that and I'm. That is something that we're looking into.
Speaker 1:Okay. So yeah, I mean, let me know if I can help in any way on that, because that's a cool concept in itself that you guys know what the risk in doing that is. You're going to, if it works, lose tenants to owning, which is a plus for everybody, except for the landlord in this case. But the landlord has a bird's eye view perspective of how all of this works, or they wouldn't be a landlord Right, and they can cope with the understanding that there's plenty more tenants coming.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and the things that I I tell my so in the rental world. You know, repairs, maintenance, deferred maintenance, those kinds of things in a rental property. They can range from anywhere from five, seven to 10 years. We don't really want long-term tenants in our property?
Speaker 1:Yeah, cause then you can't raise the rent on them.
Speaker 2:I mean you well you can't well not only that, but it's the normal wear and tear and as a landlord you absorb the cost of that when you go too long. So having turnover is a good thing.
Speaker 1:It's a good thing, that's right.
Speaker 1:It's a good thing, as a landlord, and I would imagine that it allows you, as the tenant, to depreciate it at a different rate of return versus your. Yeah, it was in there for five years. Okay, well, you're only getting two out of the five years concept. Yes, hmm, that's. That's a pretty cool concept to think about as a whole, and I just thought about it while we were talking here. But, yeah, I'd like to see what that world would look like. Let's see. What else do I have on the agenda here? Ooh, challenges. Let's talk about some challenges. What kind of challenges have you faced within the world that you operate in?
Speaker 1:And it can be from the tenant side or the landlord side and the reason why I asked this is I want to give the folks out there that may be truly considering this as a additional way stream of income, creating additional cash reserves, et cetera, because I think the misunderstanding or misconception with first time investors is they think that they're going to become an investor and start making money. The idea behind it is is you have someone else paying off another mortgage, you get the benefits of the write offs, et cetera. If you're cash flowing, fantastic, great, don't spend it. Why? Because the extra hundred $200 a month isn't going to do anything for your life yet. The idea is pay it off. Then that $1800 a month coming in minus your taxes and insurance, that's residual income. But from the aspect of goodness, I forgot I was going with that Dang, it was good. Yeah, the issues what kind of issues have you experienced A lot? Bring it on.
Speaker 2:We have a lot.
Speaker 1:Everybody grab your popcorn.
Speaker 2:Well, first and foremost it's setting those expectations with both the tenants and the landlord. Sometimes they don't always get it. They're not really interested in doing business with the slim lords For me. I care way too much about properties that I don't own. I can't care more than you do as a landlord.
Speaker 1:I love that you said that.
Speaker 2:That's part of what I tell my clients or potential clients. Sometimes with the investors, it's all about the numbers and it's not so much about the people. Some of the challenges that we face is I've got brokers and agents referring business brand new construction homes in communities with an overage of rental properties. They set these expectations with rent that you're going to get $2,000 in rent. I got to bring them back down to reality and tell them yeah, we're going to get you $1695.
Speaker 2:Yeah, $1695 sounds better than $1700. It sure does. It sure does. Those are some of our challenges Getting them to understand we're not privileged in that conversation. On the front end it's not until I've already have it in my portfolio and they think they're getting $2,000. For us those are challenging times. It has affected our market, many property managers I network with a number of them because we're having to do these price adjustments. We have unrealistic expectations. Also with tenants. Challenges with them is getting them to understand that we're the middleman, so to speak.
Speaker 1:Don't kill the messenger.
Speaker 2:Don't kill the messenger. It's a balancing act. We're trying to keep a landlord and tenant working.
Speaker 1:Relationship, that's right.
Speaker 2:Yes. Sometimes the landlord has the right to say no and the tenant has a hard time accepting that we're no, it's not your home. A lot of the challenges that I also get are from realtors. I don't understand why we're subject to this kind of screening criteria. We don't even go through this in the buying process. What people don't understand is people trust me in many cases with their largest investment Correct?
Speaker 1:We don't take this lightly right it starts with, based on the business army prices. Why is it in many cases harder to get a rental property than buying a home? You've got an individual in many cases that is the owner of that property. More than likely it's their only, or one of maybe two or three that they don't have the extra funds. More than likely they don't have all this. We're just checking a box and you're on to the next and the servicing goes somewhere else and it's all taken care of and insured, etc, etc. Like the buy side, we've got investors that are backing us. It's packed with mortgage insurance that, if something happens, no, they're not protected, but we are, so the risk is mitigated. On our side where, as a landlord totally different they're flying by the sea with their pants on their own out on that island trying to figure it out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, usually that's the case, Taking them right and again just it probably sound like a broken record. No, I mean that's what it is. It's setting those expectations and it's repetitive. It's repetitive until they finally get it. But the risk is high. Landlords assume all the risks.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, they do so somebody damages the property.
Speaker 2:It makes me think about the times where foreclosures were really crazy around here and those homeowners would take it out on the property and do damage. And it's not the bank's fault. You failed, but you know. So for us it's just, it's the risk, it's understanding that the landlord assumes all of that risk and that's why our vetting process is so tight.
Speaker 1:Right, right, I mean it. I don't know if it drives me crazy or if I just get a bad taste in my mouth when I see these I don't know movements of renters that are against the landlord as if they're the bad guy in this situation, when every person in America if you've got income two years, you've got a little bit of assets, you've got a credit score that you've maintained kind of you can buy a house and do exactly what that actual landlord is doing right now. I'm an example of that. No college degree. We bought our home 100% financing USDA years ago 130,000 that we converted to our first investment property. Didn't know what the hell I was doing, but at the end of the day I knew that I wasn't about to sell this house and not capitalize on potential equity that I could have if we were to hold it another five years.
Speaker 1:That's awesome to hear. We did that multiple times and it worked out to our benefit. I tell people all the time we wouldn't have the wealth that we have just from the money that we make. I'll be honest, do we make good money? Absolutely, but we work our ass off. But we also spend good money to have what we have and to do life.
Speaker 1:So if we hadn't created the idea or understanding of having the investment properties and getting our options which me, being in the business it was easy to get my options Let me figure out what makes sense here until we started flipping and that was a whole different ballgame. But it was understanding that this is the ticket to stopping the generational curse of I don't have money to leave to my kids. I mean, I'm hoping that my parents started that then, but that's not a conversation that we typically have. My brother, we're like we're going to start our own because we know that we want to be able to leave something for the kids. I know their parents didn't and their parents' parents didn't. So it was like at some point in time we've got to stop this. And it is now ball in my court to make the decision to take that risk, et cetera, et cetera, and I'd much rather go through life knowing that I took the risk and failed versus I never took the risk at all.
Speaker 2:That's so exciting to hear. That is something that really excites me, because when I talk to potential clients, I tell them you know, acquiring real estate is not easy for everyone. And once you have it and you're considering all your options whether it's going to be sell or rent why not? It's a business. Your title changes. You're not a homeowner anymore, you're an investor, you're a landlord, it's a business. I'm running that business for you.
Speaker 2:I'm going to tell you how to do it. I'm going to maximize your investment, I'm going to be mindful of those expenses and you're paying me to tell you the truth.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:This is how it works, so you know I love that and it charges my battery.
Speaker 1:I love it. Yeah, it charges my battery because it's not easy. It's a true story. I'm super transparent, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's not easy, and if you're in a position to do that and you've got somebody paying down your mortgage, I mean it's a no-brainer.
Speaker 1:That's right, and a lot of folks will say well, what if something happens? Then sell the damn property.
Speaker 2:What if something could happen? Yeah, it could happen when you live there.
Speaker 1:So, matter of fact, it's not what if something happens, it's when that something happens, because it's going to regardless.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, and this is how we will handle that. Yeah, it's setting those expectations and it, you know, and it's you. That extra hundred dollars you were talking about, that you net, you know what are you going to do with that. Set it aside.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:It's your nest egg, it's your maintenance. It's when you've got deferred maintenance. It's time to paint on the exterior. It's paint Time to paint on the interior, mm-hmm. And then you place the flooring. You keep up with the property.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:And before you know it, that house is paid off. Yeah, you can do whatever you want with it, that's right. You want to leave it to your kids. You want to sell it to pay for their college education. What do you want to do?
Speaker 1:That's right, you know to have options is beautiful, absolutely, and it's something that most believe is not even possible. But we're here today to tell you that it's not only possible, but it's within reach, absolutely. You just got to ask Let me get my options.
Speaker 2:Give me chills, give me chills, it is, and don't let anyone tell you you can't. I like that and when you talk to people like you you know getting them qualified right Real options, that's right Real options so.
Speaker 1:Well, janice, this has been great. Let me see how we're doing on time. Okay, we're doing real good on time. So, to wrap this up, I want to give you an opportunity to fill in the, let's say, novice agent or even experienced agent that is considering starting a portfolio, so to speak, and I know it's been a while since you started something like this. But what kind of advice would you give to someone like that? Because I believe that what you are doing and have done has created a massive book of residual income for the future. That is a set it and forget it. If you set up all of the checks and balances, all of the technology, all of the streamline tools to make what you do fairly simple, to a certain extent, you're still dealing with people. You're still dealing with the situations and our different personalities and all the things in addition to when the shit hits the fan, you guys have to be the ones to clean it off.
Speaker 2:I love this question, mark, because there's enough pie for all of us and for those agents or those landlords that are building their portfolio and wanting to start go for it. But the first thing that you want to do is get software, get good software. That's where you start and start developing your processes right.
Speaker 1:And when you say processes, take us through, that you don't have to give us your secret to the equation, your secret sauce, but by all means it's.
Speaker 2:What is your screening criteria going to look like? We use promulgated forms for our lease agreement and for the management agreements. Use the forms that we have. Don't reinvent the wheel. Attend conferences, join local groups. I'm a part of the National Association of Presidential Property Managers. I really believe in this organization. It's us setting us aside from the herd, so to speak, right when we are the true experts in our field.
Speaker 2:So dive into the education, learn about the property management, take the courses, get good software, have your systems. What are you looking for in screening criteria? And making sure that it follows fair housing laws and tenant landlord laws. Make sure you're not. I don't think the Texas Real Estate Commission cares that you didn't know. Your job is to know.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's exactly right.
Speaker 2:So just really educate yourself and with the lease, and decide what your niche is going to be right and treat people right. Be honest and transparent right from the beginning. When you leave very little room for error we're human things will fall through the cracks. But if you say you're going to do something, do it. That's exactly what I say Take the high road.
Speaker 1:Do what you say you're going to do. When you say you're going to do it, absolutely.
Speaker 2:So that's exciting. There's enough pie for all of us, so it's exciting. I'm a mentor for many people and that's kind of what I love, and I have just discovered that that's my passion. A new passion, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's very good. Well, I mean and a lot of people believe that you're supposed to just know what your passion is up front, and if you don't figure it out, well, then you're just not going to have a passion. I believe that's BS. I think you need to just do more things in life until you find that thing that you actually love doing and find a way to make money at it.
Speaker 2:I agree. I agree and building meaningful relationships and networking. I'm very appreciative to be here because this is not my normal personality I like to hide behind the computer. But networking, you never know and some of the best clients and deals that have come my way have been from properties, or really from properties that I thought maybe that might not be a good fit in my portfolio but I'm going to go anyway. So those have been extremely beneficial. Take a chance. Take a chance.
Speaker 1:Take a chance and adopt the experience. I mean that in itself is an experience that you can say you went through and good, bad or indifferent, you still went through it and can live to tell the story about it in any situation. Yeah, I'd like that you mentioned that as well.
Speaker 2:You'll quickly realize what works and what doesn't work and you can be open to change quickly. I don't want to use the word hate, but when I hear realtors, that's the way I always did it. Well, it's time to change.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:You got to always be willing to grow and learn and evolve.
Speaker 1:Here's one If you always did what you always done, you're always going to get what you always got.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:How about that? All right, all right, all right, that's awesome, janice, you crushed this. So, ladies and gentlemen, guys and girls and everybody listening, this is Janice's first podcast and I want to think that she crushed this. Janice, thank you for joining me. Really, and again, thank you for treating me like an infant with this and allowing me to ask so many questions, because I believe that there's a lot of folks out there that believe they know what it's like to understand property management side, or there's a lot of folks that are advising their clients on the tracks of property management side, but they have not actually experienced it themselves. They don't know all the nuances, they don't connect with someone like yourself to be able to refer it to, so they're just giving advice that may or may not be accurate. That being the case, is there anything else that you'd like to add?
Speaker 2:I mean, by all means, anything you want to add Okay, so for those realtors out there that think that they're servicing their client by listing the home, because how hard could it be to find a tenant, stop, you don't have the resources, you don't have the experience and you are not doing a service to your client by advertising for them and thinking, oh well, I'm not engaging in property management because, you are and you put yourself in that position.
Speaker 2:So if that's something that you really want to do, learn about it, educate yourself on it, take property management courses at the board the San Antonio Board of Realtors. But otherwise, if you're not willing to commit to that, stop.
Speaker 1:I love that. I love that you said that. Thank you, and I mean, as mentioned before we started, this show is all about transparency, being honest and telling the truth, no matter how difficult it may seem or sound to somebody else. That being the case, ladies and gentlemen, I mean, there's over 46% of San Antonio's real estate market is made up of rentals. So I would go as far as to say that you as a homeowner, if you are considering buying, but the fact that interest rates are higher you may not get as much for your home that you're currently in that you would like to see. If you've got cash reserves saved up, let's see what your options are in converting that property into an investment property. Who knows, three, five years later, you may have already paid down seven years worth just by using your tenants' funds to cover that.
Speaker 1:For the realtors out there, I would start giving this as an option, both as a person that's going to list a home, because then that shows that you're not scared to give real advice and for those of you tenants out there that are on the fence about purchasing, get your options. At the end of the day, what's the worst that can happen? You continue renting. You're already doing that, at least find out what it takes to raise the generational curse off of whatever has been on your family, so that you can grow some wealth for the future to come. Janice, again I want to thank you for joining us today. That was some good information and I'm sure the listeners found plenty of nuggets. Yeah, anything else you want to add?
Speaker 2:No, thank you for having me. This was an amazing experience.
Speaker 1:Great job, first time on a podcast. Can I breathe now? Yes, you can. Guys and gals, we will catch you on the next one.