鈥淵ou can be a great property manager,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd still get fired because you didn鈥檛 deliver on the owners鈥� expectations.鈥� It can be particularly tricky if they themselves haven鈥檛 articulated their specific goals or--even worse--one partner didn鈥檛 talk something over with the other. 鈥淚 made that mistake once, 20 years ago. I never made it again.鈥�
Today he says he interviews prospective clients as much as they interview him, and if it鈥檚 a domestic relationship, he makes sure he has both partners in the meeting. 鈥淰ery often, they don鈥檛 know the answers to the questions you鈥檙e asking,鈥� he says, 鈥渟o you have to know how to draw it out of them. In effect, you鈥檙e acting like their counselor.鈥�
They may want the world and all that鈥檚 in it, he says, expecting 鈥渁ppreciation, cashflow, tax benefits and pride of ownership. And I explain it鈥檚 rather like an orange. The more you squeeze it, the less juice will come out of it.鈥� Do they have kids going to college? Then cashflow might be the main goal, he explains. Do they plan to refinance? Then the goal should be to raise the net operating income (NOI).
DeCarlo, who has been an 乐竞体育赛事直播 senior instructor who also taught property management at a local community college, has been plying the private ownership waters for years. JD Property Management currently boasts a portfolio of roughly 60% residential and 40% retail. His residential owners typically hold between 20- and 30-unit buildings, and the retail landlords are similarly small, strip malls mostly, under 50,000 square feet.聽
Unlike the larger real estate companies, which come to the table with budgets and strategies, private owners often have no budget at all. It鈥檚 an understandable lack, since they aren鈥檛 pros at this. 鈥淚f extra money is called for,鈥� he says, 鈥渢hey might tell me to take it out of the cashflow.鈥�
Which obviously is not a preferred practice, and DeCarlo doesn鈥檛 believe in asking for that extra capital. It鈥檚 the responsibility of the property manager to flag potential problems, such as roof replacements. 鈥淵ou never want to ask your clients for money,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our job to anticipate need.鈥�
Not a big believer in handholding, he emphasizes that 鈥渁nticipating the need is the way you hold hands.鈥澛營t鈥檚 an approach that speaks directly to his communications strategy. DeCarlo plays on the old KISS formula and says his communication mantra is 鈥淜eep it short and simple.鈥� In addition to monthly P&L statements, his shop prepares a one-page summary of expenses and income and flags any delinquencies. 鈥淢ost people don鈥檛 even read the statement. They鈥檒l just read the summary.鈥�
And of course, they鈥檒l cash the checks. 鈥淭hey know they鈥檙e supposed to get a $5000 check every month,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l call if the check is for $2000 before they realize I paid their property taxes that month.鈥澛�
However, there was by necessity considerable handholding on the commercial side during the pandemic, when we were all navigating through uncharted waters. 鈥淚t was challenging to explain that in some cases we might have to give away three months of rent to keep a tenant afloat and in place,鈥� he says. He would have to explain that the alternative was either to face a force majeure action or live with a vacant space for a year until they found a replacement.聽
It was particularly tough for new owners whose first-time purchase of an investment property was poorly timed and coincided with the start of COVID. Now (at least barring an upsurge of variant strains) they鈥檙e looking to raise rents, which is 鈥渁 tricky proposition in California due to the moratorium,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e explain as clearly as possible that it will take time, but we will make their investment a profitable operation.鈥澛犅�
Those initial interviews are fact-finding missions, and DeCarlo says his goal is clarity and trust--for all parties involved. As a well-seasoned professional, he feels the trust factor necessitates that he bring a younger team member with him to show prospective clients that continuity--and savvy--will not be a long-term issue.聽
That trust is the glue of longstanding relationships, he says: 鈥淚 won鈥檛 work with people I don鈥檛 trust.鈥� Neither does he expect potential clients to enter an agreement if they don鈥檛 feel right about the way things are done at JD. And that鈥檚 perfectly fine. After all, he concludes, life is too short.
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鈥淎nticipating the need is the way you hold hands鈥� with smaller private owners, says Joe DeCarlo. 聽