The Property Management Mastermind Show

I love offering listeners fantastic benefits, such as some great discounts for products, with new offers coming all the time! You can see a complete list at propertymanagementmastermind.com. For all of these offers, use the discount code “Brad” to secure your discount.

One more announcement before we get started! Our newest product at Property Management Mastermind is the Business Development Toolkit. In 2017, RentWerx organically grew by over 360 homes. In 2018, we’re on pace to grow another 500 homes. And best of all, we’ve done all of this without going out to meet the people and earn the business one door at a time. Tune in to learn more, or check out the toolkit online! If you aren’t completely satisfied with the product, we’ll give you a 100% refund.

Today, I’m joined by two guests: Krista Peterson with Culture Index, and Mark Thompson, a property management company owner out of Cincinnati, Ohio. The reason I have both on together is that Krista will talk to us about how to analyze employees using the Culture Index, and Mark has implemented that into his business and can give us real-world feedback on how it works.

Getting the right people in the right seats is one of the most important factors in growing your business, as well as one of the most difficult. This is why having a personality assessment for your employees, such as Culture Index, can be a key component in shaping the team that can take your property management business to the next level.

As Krista points out in this conversation, when you come from this perspective, the traditional hiring process is backwards. When you start by looking at things like work experience or school history, you’re missing out on the most important fact: the personality component. When you filter applicants for a job by personality first, and then go through the other items on their resume, you can find someone who’s a perfect fit for your team while spending less time on the hiring process.

Tune into this episode for a fascinating conversation into a tool that has the potential to transform your property management business. You’ll learn about some of the features and benefits of Culture Index, what happens once you become a client, why using your gut might not be the best way to be successful, and best of all, how you can get a 30-day free trial of Culture Index!

Here’s where you can find Krista and Mark:

Culture Index

Krista Peterson on LinkedIn

EquityTeam

Mark Thompson on LinkedIn

Show Notes

[02:06] - Brad introduces this episode’s guests, Krista Peterson and Mark Thompson.

[04:07] - Krista tells us more about herself and what Culture Index does. Mark then talks about whether he has seen any improvements so far.

[06:05] - What else is out there that’s similar to (or competition for) Krista’s product?

[10:00] - Krista points out a key difference between Culture Index and other companies: they’re in the solutions business, not just a testing company.

[13:45] - Mark talks about what he’s learned about writing a good ad.

[16:14] - How long does it take Brad to onboard a property manager?

[17:47] - Mark gives an example using his main maintenance vendor, with whom he’s been talking about the power of this process.

[19:43] - Is Mark cringing at all or concerned over the results for some of his team members?

[21:30] - We hear more about the amount of time it takes to onboard somebody, and how Krista’s team can help.

[24:37] - Brad takes a moment to address the haters out there and their potential objections, and Krista explains how what she does is data-backed.

[26:27] - What are the next steps for a property management company owner who’s interested in finding out more? Krista answers, then talks about their fee schedule.

[30:01] - Mark points out one of the benefits that got him interested in talking with Krista: that she was referred to him by another property manager, and clearly understands the business.

[32:42] - A forced-choice test increases your error rate, Krista points out, and explains why this is the case.

[34:10] - Mark shares a quick story about hiring a virtual assistant.

Links and Resources:

[email protected]

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I love offering listeners fantastic benefits, such as some great discounts for products, with new offers coming all the time! You can see a complete list at propertymanagementmastermind.com. For all of these offers, use the discount code “Brad” to secure your discount.

One more announcement before we get started! Our newest product at Property Management Mastermind is the Business Development Toolkit. In 2017, RentWerx organically grew by over 360 homes. In 2018, we’re on pace to grow another 500 homes. And best of all, we’ve done all of this without going out to meet the people and earn the business one door at a time. Tune in to learn more, or check out the toolkit online! If you aren’t completely satisfied with the product, we’ll give you a 100% refund.

Chrysztyna Rowek is a regional vice president for NARPM, in addition to what she’s doing in a management company in western Washington. Chrysztyna studied to become a Spanish teacher, but instead, started a cleaning company. Her company was hired to do the cleaning for a property management company, and after several years, the property management company’s owner offered Chrysztyna a job there. She got her real estate license, then bought the property management company.

In the 12 years since then, Chrysztyna has bought several other property management companies. In hindsight, she would have made these acquisitions differently, and offers words of wisdom to listeners who are interested in acquiring a company. Regardless of these difficulties, Chrysztyna is still torn on whether she prefers organic growth or acquisitions. In addition to property management, Chrysztyna has also started an in-house maintenance company, Athena Property Services. She’s passionate about finding affordable housing for people who are living on fixed incomes, and keeping people in their houses whenever she can.

If you have any questions about how to do tenant screenings, this is a fantastic episode for you as well. Chrysztyna and I will take a deep dive into how to do tenant screening successfully and productively by relying on the criteria you’ve set instead of basing your decision on factors that may be unreliable. Factors that shouldn’t make your decision for you include things like your intuition, car cleanliness, and sometimes even lack of rental history or criminal history. If this surprises you, listen in to learn why!

Tune in to this episode to learn how Chrysztyna found the property management companies that she acquired, the top few things you need to know and do when you’re buying a property management company, her thoughts on tenant screening, best practices and some challenges for dealing with insurance, and much more.

Here’s where you can find Chrysztyna:

Chrysztyna Rowek on LinkedIn

Athena Property Services

Lighthouse Cove

Show Notes

[02:06] - Brad introduces today’s guest and the topics of conversation.

[03:19] - This morning, Chrysztyna offered a communication class for the San Antonio chapter, she explains.

[05:05] - Chrysztyna talks about her background and her management company in Washington.

[07:44] - How did Chrysztyna find the various property management companies that she acquired?

[10:04] - We hear more about how the process of buying a company takes, and what to expect from the experience.

[13:16] - Does Chrysztyna prefer organic growth or acquisitions as a growth model?

[16:34] - Chrysztyna shares her thoughts on how different (and better) her acquisitions would have been if they had been on a NARPM standard of accounting.

[19:30] - We go back to the topic of Chrysztyna’s presentations, with her talking more about the tenant screening process.

[22:45] - Chrysztyna has heard property managers say that if they see someone has a dirty car, they know that that person won’t be a good tenant. She and Brad then discuss how they screen and approve tenants.

[27:28] - Brad emphasizes a key point from this episode: you set the screening criteria, and then you live by it.

[28:18] - What software platform does Chrysztyna use to get tenant screening done?

[31:21] - Chrysztyna shares her best practices when it comes to notifying applicants that they were declined.

[36:24] - Let’s talk about move-outs! Chrysztyna is doing particularl...