Profitable Powerhouse Properties with the AHI Group

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

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  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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  

In Episode 22 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, we talk to Jason Green of Roofstock about the company’s growth, how their platform works and benefits new and experienced investors alike, the impact COVID-19 is having on the market, and more. Keep buying, keep learning, and keep earning!   Episode Highlights: AHI Properties has been partnered with Roofstock since 2017. Roofstock is an online marketplace for people to buy tenant-occupied rental properties, removing geographic barriers to investing in real estate. Roofstock is different from other aggregators because it is more full-service, walking buyers through the process and offering coaching. The platform is now in 35 states so you can compare properties across hundreds of markets. For a property to get listed on Roofstock, it has to first be evaluated against sales comparables and appraised. Roofstock partners with the property manager for every listing to do a third-party inspection. Without Roofstock, buyers often pursue buying a rental property with wildly inaccurate assumptions about what they could earn in rent in that market. Roofstock uses market rent estimates from many different data points to avoid inflated numbers. Zillow has an outsize impact on expectations of market estimates because people take the “Zestimate” as an objective fact. Roofstock is transparent about any repairs or deferred maintenance a property might need so buyers are fully informed, especially since maintenance is the biggest challenge for absentee landlords. Roofstock listings have remained steady throughout the pandemic, though there has been some buyer dropoff. Roofstock has adapted their home inspections for COVID, and both Roofstock and AHI Properties have seen some slowdowns because due diligences have had to be delayed. Some property managers are not renewing leases, but are just granting 2 or 3 month extensions so as not to disadvantage their tenants. Buying and selling portfolios of many properties at once can be a fun puzzle to solve. It isn’t the job of retail agents to know investors. Roofstock only deals with single family rental properties, not multi-family units. New construction homes are prevalent in the market right now and it provides peace of mind for remote investors. Roofstock would like to reach a point where they can pre-sell new construction before it’s complete, but Jason hasn’t really considered selling land itself. They’ve held off on working on properties under construction because they haven’t figured out how to track progress, manage vetting contractors, etc. Roofstock sold all of their 65 initial launch properties and were ready to launch the next product, but they were advised to hold off due to COVID-19. They will soon launch the ability to buy fractionalized equity of an investment property. Roofstock maintains ownership, insures it and manages it. They’re considering trying vacation rental management.   3 Key Points: Traditionally, people have only been able to buy and manage real estate near to where they live, and Roofstock opens up the market nationally. Most retail agents don’t know about the intricacies of investment property world. Maintenance, renovations, and construction are the hardest things for a property owner to manage remotely.   Tweetable Quotes: “We don’t change our underwriting or financials for anyone. It’s based on an algorithm, based on when the home was built, based on how large they are, & we’re not customizing those for providers that don’t feel like it’s showing their properties in the best light.” –Jason Green “The client level services versus consultant level services you provide, that’s what someone needs when they’re looking at either purchasing or selling investment properties.” –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 Roofstock Website: https://www.roofstock.com/

In Episode 21 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, we talk to James Barrett of Tenant Turner about the benefits of this technology to property managers and renters alike.   Episode Highlights: Tenant Turner is a lead generation and tracking software for property managers to centralize their leasing process for rentals and coordinate showings. James Barrett and his co-founders were previously in IT and they also managed a few rental properties. They are affiliated with NARPM and it has been a very beneficial partnership. Tenant Turner offers lockboxes on properties so owners don’t have to conduct showings in person, which is especially beneficial during COVID-19. First-time investors tend to be hesitant about potential renters doing self-showings. Tenant Turner allows you to screen leads so only qualified renters can view your property and be allowed in when you aren’t there. Tenant Turner collects data on renters who submit to qualify for a property and sends reporting to property owners. Other sites like Craigslist and even Zillow don’t screen people for scams like Tenant Turner does. Opening up times for showings allows people who work a traditional 9-5 job to see homes, and allows property owners and realtors to maintain more regular hours. Property managers can adjust the available times for showings for when they’re comfortable. Tenant Turner tracks when tenants arrive at a showing and that information is in your report. Of course, certain small things happen like someone accidentally leaving lights on, so using Tenant Turner still requires property managers to visit their properties for cleaning and regular checks and maintenance. After a showing, the tenant gives feedback to the property manager including a rating, what they liked or didn’t like about the property, and even pointing out issues that need to be fixed by the property manager, like yard maintenance. This has increased the amount of feedback received because it no longer has to be face-to-face and removes the personal barrier to criticizing something. Tenant Turner now works with thousands of property managers in the US and Canada and has processed over 10 million tenant leads and has tens of thousands of lockboxes. Tenant Turner has highly responsive customer service if you’re having trouble with a lockbox or other feature so you don’t get stuck. The lockboxes also allow vendors to access the property. Self-access showings recently surpassed in-person showings on Tenant Turner. The main thing stopping a tenant from renting a property is being able to see the property, so anything that can make that easier is a good business move.   3 Key Points: If you are able to pre-qualify tenants, then allowing them to do self-showings carries low risk. A property manager should not use this technology as an excuse to never check on the properties. You can use feedback to show your potential tenants better properties for them and to improve the properties themselves.   Tweetable Quotes: “The reality is there is gonna be some risk with people gaining access to the property, but what we’ve found is if somebody’s gonna be truly malicious, they’re not gonna go through the hassle of using Tenant Turner.” –James Barrett “What we find is helpful is we’re taking a tool like what you’re providing and we’re balancing it out. There’s always that balance of marketing the property, getting it leased quickly, but then finding a qualified renter.” –Jonathan Cook “We had pre-COVID-19 property management workflows, and now we have, obviously, COVID-19 protocol. And once again this is a key piece of any successful property management and leasing team to have this type of technology deployed.” –Bryan Jenkins   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 Tenant Turner website: https://tenantturner.com/ Learn More about Self Showings with Tenant Turner Email sales@tenantturner.com 

Our team began thinking of ways we could help out our communities during the COVID-19 Pandemic.  We drafted an email asking our property owners and clients to pitch in and create a Rental Assistance Fund to help those truly in need of rental assistance during this crisis.  We wanted to be proactive and help our residents who have lost their jobs due to the virus.  We have established a goal of $10,000.00 which will be used exclusively to assist those residents who have been directly impacted by the virus to include employer shutdown due to COVID-19, reduction in work hours due to COVID-19, reduction in wages earned/paid due to COVID-19. Please Visit our Website www.Ahiproperties.com and follow the link to the fund if you can donate.  For a direct link to the fund please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ahi-properties-rental-assistance-fund?utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2B5806-thank-you-ask-share  

In Episode 20 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, we continue “Market Madness March” with your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins. They discuss the market in Huntsville, Alabama, from how quickly it’s growing to the speed the market is moving.   Episode Highlights: 4,600 jobs will be added to Huntsville with the construction of a new Toyota plant. In regards to manufacturing, the growth of cities like Montgomery and Mobile has primarily been in service to support manufacturing already going on in Huntsville. The FBI and over 60 other federal agencies and contracting centers have locations in Huntsville. The jobs being created in Huntsville aren’t your standard blue collar factory jobs, they’re literally in rocket science—highly skilled work requiring incredibly smart people. Google also has a data center in the area. These are high-paying jobs, meaning property values will go up. Home value has increased by about 9% each year since 2017. These new highly skilled jobs and the growth in overall population means Huntsville will need more support staff, construction workers, police, even Uber drivers. There are over 200 new construction homes that are selling in the $200,000-500,000 range. The market is moving incredibly fast; homes lease at $1,800 a month in a day. You can’t use generic vacancy rates to figure out your profits, you should use local data to get a real understanding of the market.   3 Key Points: Huntsville is unique for the skilled jobs being created there as opposed to blue collar factory jobs. Growth in skilled labor requires growth in blue collar and unskilled labor workforce too, to support the growing population overall. If you want to invest in Huntsville, you have to be ready to move quickly.   Tweetable Quotes: “In any sort of cap rate or return that you’re looking at, you’ve really got to play with the real numbers. And one of those numbers that I really think everybody needs to focus on is that vacancy rate, and maintenance.” –Jonathan Cook “If you want to play in that market, you have got to be ready to pull the trigger. If you want to put an offer on something, you’ve got to do it that day or you lose it.” –Bryan Jenkins   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

In episode 19 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins contribute to their March Market Madness series, putting a spotlight on the Mobile, Alabama market, the many reasons why this real estate market is on the rise, and the plentiful amount of business expansion in the Mobile metro area.   Episode Highlights: March Market Madness is a focus on one of the major housing markets in Alabama every week in March.  Post-Hurricane-Katrina recovery efforts in Alabama allowed for tax incentives for those doing new construction to be able to depreciate 50% of the value in year one.    Mobile is an older seaport city and is where Marti Gras started.   They have under 100 homes in the Mobile market and shows the least amount of lead activity.   The Mobile metro population is 413,800 people.   The cost of living in Mobile is 7% below the national average.   The average days in Mobile above 90 degrees is 81 and the national average is 37.  2018 Airbus decided to do an expansion to their plant and revealed their plans in 2020.   Austol is another big company driving economics in Mobile as well.   Alabama and the Southwest region is the new Detroit for automobile production.   Alabama has the second lowest property taxes in the United States.  Jonathan and Bryan about the Mobile deep water seaport project’s impact on the market.   Amazon and Walmart both have distribution centers in the metro Mobile area.  Look past everything you think you know about a market.     3 Key Points: Mobile is the smallest real estate market in Alabama.   The median price for a home in Mobile, Alabama is $151,000 and has increased 6.3% in the last year.   The median household income in Mobile, Alabama is approximately $47,000 in 2019.   Tweetable Quotes: “We started here in the Birmingham metro marketplace and we almost simultaneously did two expansions and part of the expansion model was to Mobile and that was following Hurricane Katrina.” –Bryan Jenkins  (Mobile) “If the median price is $151,000, you are talking about a deal is probably floating around $100,000. You will be able to get in there at a reasonably low price and this is going to be one of those areas that buying in early is going to make you a lot of money.” –Jonathan Cook “If you are kind of shooting yourself in the foot right this minute because you didn’t buy into Huntsville five or six years ago, then buy into Mobile because this is where that was before.” –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

In Episode 18 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, kicking off “Market Madness March,” your host Jonathan Cook interviews Kim Furlow, a Realtor with AHI Properties. They discuss the details of the Montgomery, AL property investment market, from its biggest industries, transportation, and cultural attractions.   Episode Highlights: Montgomery is a better market to buy in than Birmingham if cash flow is your priority. The median value in Montgomery is $120,000 with a median rent of $900. This gives you an income of about $11,000 per year, with under $1,000 in property taxes each year. Montgomery has the first North American Hyundai production facility that employs around 1,300 people and has an economic impact to the state of over $4 billion. Maxwell employs about 17,000 military, civil service, and contract personnel, with about 34,000 students going through there every year. These major employers mean housing demand is extremely high and makes Montgomery a great place to invest. Montgomery is within 600 miles of ⅓ of the entire United States population. It is centrally located to major interstates, an airport that accommodates 350,000 travelers each year, access to major rail systems, and the Alabama River giving you access to the port city of Mobile. Montgomery has a rich history and a lot of cultural sites including Martin Luther King Jr.’s home, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and more. A large conference and recreation center is getting built in Montgomery, which will further expand development and construction. There has been an 8.5% increase in tourism in Montgomery in 2018 alone. $15.5 billion were spent in the tourism industry in Montgomery in 2015, before many of these developments even happened. There are also A class homes in the suburbs outside of Montgomery, in towns like Prattville. Just in the first 6 weeks of 2020, they’ve seen a 10% increase in rental properties in the Montgomery area.   3 Key Points: Montgomery has low taxes and high potential for cash flow, so it’s a great place to buy rental properties as an investor. People are more likely to stay in a city that has things to do and feels like a community in the way Montgomery does. Montgomery is at the point in its growth that Birmingham was at around 10 years ago, so now is the time to invest.   Tweetable Quotes: “We’re taking a lot of these historic homes & properties & renovating them, keeping the old touches & adding a contemporary flair, & folks want to be in those areas—walking distance to downtown, to a lot of these activities, the nightlife, it’s growing exponentially.” –Kim Furlow “When you add the Legacy Museum and other historic points of interest on top of the theatre and the baseball and this huge venue, you don’t have to drive to Birmingham or Atlanta.” –Kim Furlow   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 Email Kim at kfurlow@ahiproperties.com 

In episode 17 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins interview Nishant Phadnis from RentPath. Nishant discusses housing supply and demand, market statistics and trends, and more.   Episode Highlights: RentPath is the company responsible for the Apartment Guide books that were printed before the Internet, and is now a fully digital company that also owns Rent.com and Rentals.com. About ⅓ of the entire United States rents their home. Rental supply has grown primarily because demand for home buyers has declined. The average of millennials buying a home is 34-35, when it used to be 24. Because there’s little demand for homes to buy, those properties aren’t being built. Millennials prefer renting because of the flexibility and affordability it offers. Landlords who don’t allow pets are instantly limiting their tenant options. Property managers should treat their decisions like they are the renter/homeowner; don’t just paint the one wall with scuffs, paint the whole room. Laundry facilities is the number one amenity renters search for, followed by air conditioning. If you have more capital and better cash flow, you’ll get a better return on your investments and be able to add more properties to your portfolio. The Southeast is seeing a lot of job growth and there’s still a lot of land to buy, so there is a lot of opportunity. Many people are searching “homes for rent near me” rather than homes for rent in a particular city.   3 Key Points: The types of properties being built are shifting from single family homes to multi-family units to match demand. Landlords should think and make decisions from the perspective of a tenant. As the demand side slows down, people are getting more innovative on the supply side.   Tweetable Quotes: “You’re giving yourself a different classification of tenant than you would like. You want your tenants to want to live in that home. That’s their house, not your house that they’re borrowing for the term of the lease, that’s not what that is.” –Jonathan Cook “We see that more and more, is what renters are filtering upon when they come to our website is in-unit washer/dryer or accessibility. It was a surprise to me because we would have thought it was privacy or things like granite countertops.” –Nishant Phadnis   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 RentPath website Petscreening.com  Nishant Phadnis Linkedin

In episode 16 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins interview Charlene Minor from Bailey & Hunter LLC, and Joe Levio, AHI Properties’ Leasing Manager in Oklahoma City. They discuss the vetting process of Section 8 tenants, potential benefits to participating in the program, and more.   Episode Highlights: You can have the best property out there, but if it doesn’t have tenants, you aren’t going to make any money. 80% of Charlene’s portfolio involves housing vouchers. Every housing authority is going to have different requirements for tenant approval. With Section 8 tenants, you can’t charge more than one month rent for a security deposit, and you can’t charge extra fees. One big objection to Section 8 tenants by property managers is a perceived inability to get a tenant out if they violate the lease. There are a lot of misconceptions and generalizations people make about Section 8 tenants that are incorrect and harmful, like assuming they are more likely not to pay their rent on time. Charlene does a home check for Section 8 tenants in their current home to assess cleanliness, pet screenings, whether they have a car, etc. There may be slightly higher cost up front to approving a Section 8 tenant, but that money is made up by the longevity of that tenant in the property. If your voucher tenant has failed their inspection, they have to complete any repairs they’re responsible for within a certain amount of time or they’re removed from the voucher program. In some cities, if the landlord doesn’t complete repairs they’re responsible for within a certain timeframe, then the tenant’s rent can be abated. Often, you can get higher than market value rent from Housing Authority tenants. Whether your tenant is a Section 8 tenant or not, you should know who they are so that you don’t expect, for example, an elderly person to crawl into a loft to change an air filter. It can take the housing authority a couple of months to make banking transitions if you make changes. Certain investors will find participating in the voucher program particularly beneficial.   3 Key Points: The tenant approval process for Section 8 tenants is similar to an average tenant. There are protections in place for property managers and landlords with Section 8 tenants. Working with the housing authority and Section 8 tenants is not as scary as it seems.   Tweetable Quotes: “Just like with any other investment, with real estate we always recommend you have a reserve available for those big items. The big ticket item I mentioned was the septic, that’s several thousand dollars.” –Joe Levio [I think] “The Atlanta housing authority is desperate for houses because they have so many people with vouchers & not enough landlords participating. So they’re offering much higher rents, they’re offering leasing incentives… they’re doing everything possible.” –Charlene Minor “It’s all about treating the tenant well and trying to understand the tenant. Like Charlene said, you’ve got to know your tenant. It can’t be a blanket ‘all tenants are the same.’ No they’re not!” –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 Charlene Minor Contact Info: Phone: 770-912-6496 Email: Charlene@baileyandhunter.com

In episode 15 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins interview Phil Owen and Mark Ennis, CEO and Director of Operations at Onsight Pros. Phil and Mark discuss Onsight Pros’ model, what to look out for in property inspections, and more.   Episode Highlights: Onsight Pros is a third party property condition reporting company that does move-in, move-out, and periodic reports on properties. The company serves as a neutral party between property managers/landlords and tenants. A move-in report establishes a baseline for the condition of the property to use to compare against move-out reports. Onsight Pros does not make a judgment about the conditions of the property; a decision about whether it’s normal wear and tear or tenant damage is left to the landlord. One of the biggest property condition issues to be aware of is the presence of pets. Onsight Pros doesn’t just test the battery of a smoke detector, but they simulate a real smoke emergency to make sure detector sensors are functioning properly. Onsight Pros conducts business in 20 cities in 10 states. Move-in reports document every square foot of the property whether it’s damaged or not. Onsight Pros can make repairs to things like smoke detectors, air filters, etc. when they’re there for an additional charge, invoiced to the management company.   3 Key Points: It’s important for Onsight Pros to remain a neutral party in documenting every detail of a property’s condition. Leaving the property uninspected for the entire duration of a lease leaves room for tenants to behave badly and cause more damage than if there is a stated expectation that there will be periodic reports. You need to document every inch of a property to establish an effective baseline for its condition.    Tweetable Quotes: “We teach our folks to tell the story of the property. So if there are a lot of nail holes in the wall, we have to be able to tell that story. We want the property manager and owner to be able to understand. So it’s not an overview, it’s going to be 4 or 5 pictures.” –Mark Ennis “How in the world that HVAC lasted 8 years like that I don’t know—but those are the things that can cost you a lot of unnecessary money that you can prevent by being on the property every 6 months.” –   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 Onsight Pros website: https://www.onsightpros.com/

In episode 14 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins interview Brian Flaherty, COO of Global Strategic. Brian discusses Global Strategic’s philosophy, how businesses can use their services to outsource administrative tasks, and more.   Episode Highlights: What is Brian’s background and how did he get involved with Global Strategic? Virtual assistants are a huge factor in Brian being able to move forward in his work and scale his business. Any company could stand to outsource some of their work to a virtual assistant to take some administrative tasks off the plates of their managers. One major benefit to using VAs is that you can free up one property management company to work with your portfolio across markets, which provides consistency and transparency instead of working with different companies with different workflows. It’s best to look for a full-service outsourcing company that handles documentation, hiring, training, etc. for you.   3 Key Points: Scaling your business requires some investment before the payoff, and a virtual assistant is a good way to do that. There’s a substantial difference between hiring your own VA and outsourcing all VA hiring and training operations to one company. Outsourcing allows you to reinvest your savings in time and money back into your clients.    Tweetable Quotes: “Any single organization can outsource a minimum of 10% of their entire staff. So a 10 person company can easily outsource one, maybe two positions.” –Brian Flaherty “Take advantage of these tools that are out there. If you’re properly leveraging all those things, you’re going to have some savings, those savings are passed on as a competitive advantage to your clients.” –Brian Flaherty   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 Brian Flaherty Mobile: 732-232-4341 Global Strategic: Website: http://www.globalstrategic.com/ Toll-free Number: 855-731-4966, Brian Flaherty ext 1001 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlobalStrategic

In episode 13 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins interview David Lightfritz of Atlantic Properties Inc. and Kelly Allred of Global Strategic Business Process Solutions. David and Kelly discuss new technologies and services in the property management world, how they use virtual assistants to increase efficiency, and more.   Episode Highlights:  What are David’s and Kelly’s backgrounds? Virtual assistants can span any industry. David makes sure to have a weekly check-in call with his virtual assistants and to call them by the title of the role they’re fulfilling rather than calling them a VA. For property managers, a VA helps offload administrative tasks so they can focus more on the investors and clients. Technology now allows people to buy properties without ever being there in person. Tenants only care about your office technology insofar as it affects their experience, like ability to pay rent online. David and Kelly discuss new technologies and services like HelloRented that allow property managers to cut down on the time properties are on the market and not making money. What are the benefits to getting tenants into a rental property more quickly?   3 Key Points: It’s important to integrate your VA’s with the rest of your team and workflow. An Assistant Property Manager should be trained on basic questions that tenants may have, like how to fix an overflowing toilet, so that tenants don’t have to wait. Technology can allow your tenants to have a greater ease of experience and for property managers to have a greater return on investment.    Tweetable Quotes: “We start that with a new client, we ask for their if-then’s. Most clients know their immediate if-then’s, and we develop those if-then’s as we move along with them… You know, where do we go if this happens?”  “It’s definitely is more than just your FICO score that makes a difference.”    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 https://www.hellorented.com/ David Lightfritz Phone: 678-640-1768 Email: David@kurznergroup.com Kelly Allred Phone: 336-263-8434 Email: Kelly.Allred@globalstrategic.com 

In episode 12 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins interview John Bradford, CEO and Founder of PetScreening.com and the Owner and Founder of Park Avenue Properties LLC. John Bradford discusses how he created PetScreening, the various value that the service provides, and how it has been able to expand.    Episode Highlights:         John Bradford shares his background and his career path.          What makes the real estate industry such a really friendly industry?          How did the idea for PetScreening.com come about?          What is the importance of making sure pets are registered and allowable in a property?           What makes PetScreening.com distinctive?          John Bradford discusses how PetScreening.com monetizes its service.           What are the benefits of PetScreening.com?          How do property owners who are going to self-manage use PetScreening.com?          There is no need for pet restrictions and breed restrictions.          People who maintain their breed restrictions tend to have a higher number of animal requests.          What are the top breeds?           How many households tend to have pets?          John Bradford discusses HUD in their role of protecting the public.     3 Key Points:   Make sure your property manager is a member of NARPM (National Association of Residential Property Managers).    PetScreening.com has the first national database of incident reporting. You can report pet damage, pet biting, repeat poop offenders and off-leash offenders.      You can create different community landing pages with your PetScreening.com service.     Tweetable Quotes:     “There are 46 million rental assets in the US, and of those 46 million, about 11 million fall under what we call single-family residential. So those are houses, condominiums, townhomes.” – John Bradford     “We are approaching 1 million rental assets across the country that have self-registered with our service. They have come of our website and signed up. We have a team of about 11 people.” – John Bradford     “The ‘no-pet profile’ is free to everyone. The ‘animal profile’ is free to everyone. The only way PetScreening can even monetize our product, our service, is by charging the pet owners the $20 or $15.” – John Bradford   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 John Bradford: Linkedin PetScreening.com ParkAveProperties.com

In episode 11 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins talk about pets in your rental property. Pets are the “pet peeve” of the property managers and landlords, so should you allow your tenants to have them or risk excluding a large percentage of applicants?   Episode Highlights: Pets are a huge part of the rental market. The main reason you should allow pets is because such a high percentage of applicants have pets. You hardly see pet damage with any magnitude, it’s usually small things. What types of pets you should charge pet rental fees for. The types of fees you can charge renters for pets. The most common applicants you will receive will have dogs or cats. The risk factors of having dogs or cats - bites, damage, and allergies. The worst-case scenario of allowing pets in a rental property. The two approaches to dealing with pet damage either a refundable or non-refundable pet fee. If you have pet damages that exceed the pet deposit you can tap into the security deposit. A non-refundable pet fee can be banked as an income stream. Whether you should charge the same fees based on the size of a pet. The benefits of pet rent to your cash flow. How to go about pet screening and some recommended services. Emotional support animals are regulated by HUD and service animals are regulated by ADA. You cannot charge any fees, deposits, or other rent for service or emotional support animals, but you can go after the damage. Some of the better-qualified applicants are the ones with pets. Whatever your strategy is, these pet guidelines apply to your property.   Key Points: Pets are a giant part of the rental market and 63% of AHI property applicants have pets. You need to be careful about how you structure your pet deposits or refundable and non-refundable pet fees. Pet rent is a great way to make more money on your rental property.   Tweetable Quotes: “If you don’t allow pets in your rental property you’re excluding ¾ of the rental market.” -Bryan “An owner can have as much control over the pet screening process as they’d like.” -Bryan “Allowing for pets lets you get a little more than what the market allows for.” -Jonathan   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. Recommended pet screening resource petscreening.com. Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com

In episode 10 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins talk to Chris Warren from Portfolio Properties. Chris is a client of AHI Group and talks about how owning rental properties doesn’t have to be a side hustle, you can really make an income buying and renting homes.   Episode Highlights:   How Chris started with rental properties and why he selected Alabama to purchase his rental properties. The process Chris goes through starts with picking the market. Why Chris bought houses that were fully rehabbed and top of the market. The differences in returns in an outside market versus the market you live in. Whenever there’s a range on a home you have to look at the lower number. The biggest hurdle selling a tenanted property investor to investor. Keeping your tenant comfortable and happy will make them more likely to stay. How to cut down on wasted time with applicant approvals. You need to be sure that you can stand behind the work of your general contractor. How to build a contract when selling a home to a tenant. How to make money when there are so many taxes and fees. Don’t assume that just because a house is on a turnkey providers website that it’s automatically a good deal. Why an independent analysis of the product is extremely important. Why it’s so important to find a turnkey provider like Chris when you go to buy. How Chris looks at providing a property to somebody. Why Chris is so highly selective about the properties he buys. The biggest challenge is to find the right houses in the right neighborhoods at the right rate. How putting an extra $1,000 into a home can save you a lot of grief in the long run.   Key Points: It’s okay to buy a property that’s been turned into a finished product. A major benefit of a management company is that you don’t have any applicants who aren’t qualified. Be careful with properties that are already tenanted.   Tweetable Quotes: “What you know is a very small part of your success, it’s all about who you know.” -Chris “The two people who will make you the most money and save you the most money are your property manager and your contractor.” -Chris “If a property is not something I’d sell a relative or a close friend, I’m not going to put an offer on it in the first place.” -Chris   Resources Mentioned: Check out our website ahiproperties.com Check out Birmingham Insurance Group online or call them at (205) 616-1107 Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com Contact Chris at Chris@PortfolioPG.com

In episode 9 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, your hosts talk about building your team. When it comes to buying your properties, flipping them, or renting them you’re using a lot of energy. You need a good team around you as you buy properties and attempt to make them profitable. Learn what a property management team actually does and why they are more than worth hiring.   Episode Highlights:   The essential parts of buying a property and making money from it: financing, property management, sales brokerage. You should always engage the management firm and know those people before you close on a property. When you’re building a team, let it be a team - part of your team will inevitably be your tenant. You have to know what your goals are as an investor. The best way to go about finding a general contractor. A property manager can’t keep a client if they’re treating them poorly. Monthly rent can either bring in or deter renters with as little as a $50 monthly difference. Accidental landlords commonly think that a management company only collects the rent check and takes the call when something breaks. You have to be sure to get the right management team on your side because some will only do the bare minimum. What you get for full-service management is 24/7 coverage. The vendor network knows when to report suspicious activity including sub-leasing. When property owners come in and are excited to learn and get moving, then property managers are happy to help! Don’t piece your team together after you’ve already identified a property. Each home is its own individual business. Don’t show a property without power, water, or gas in it. Build a trusted team, use them for what you’ve hired them for, let them be the expert. Details about the upcoming property management summit - geared toward property managers, realtors, and brokers.   Key Points: You need to know that your property management program has good, sound practices before you close on your property. Most people don’t think they can negotiate a rental price so you have to price right the first time. When someone has a professional reputation the deals start flowing over to them.   Tweetable Quotes: “We’re in it for the long-haul relationship.” -Bryan “Negotiation is only possible in an area with too much supply.” -Bryan “We’re in the management business to be a partner and help make the property as profitable as possible.” -Bryan   Resources Mentioned: Check out our website ahiproperties.com Check out Birmingham Insurance Group Start earning passive income with Roofstock.com Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com

In episode 8 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, your hosts are joined by Tom Horn, a real estate appraiser in the Birmingham area. Tom talks about appraisals, how he conducts his business, and what adds the most value to the property.   Episode Highlights:   Learn about the property management summit AHI is putting on in Birmingham on June 5th, 2019. Why appraisal is one of the most important parts of the buying/selling process. How to identify comparables that will support or disprove a property value. You have to look at what services and initiatives are coming into an area to get a picture of what property in the area is worth. The first thing that comes to mind when Tom sees a property that’s fully updated and outfitted. How to know what kind of finishes to put in your rental home. How Tom collects rental comps and how that differs from sales value. Where Tom gets his information for his workflow. Whether bathrooms and kitchens are the most valuable upgrades in a property. The valuation of a retail flip in a higher rate market. How to approach different properties in different ways based on classification. Zillow is great at reporting home sale prices, but what’s very inaccurate is the Zestimate. Whatever the market holds is the most a home is going to go for. Look at your market an know what it holds from a rental and sales standpoint. The value of a good property management team and other local partnerships are extremely important. Buy in an area that’s under restoration - if you buy in earlier you may stand to reap a greater reward. The biggest and most important thing to know is market value - what kind of margins you’re working with and how much you want. Know what properties are selling for and know what those properties are. One simple thing you can check on your appraisal to be sure it’s valued properly.   Key Points: Using comps is not a matter of averaging the top three, there are a lot of factors that go into how a comp supports a property value. Don’t have the biggest or most expensive house in the neighborhood. Market absorption is vitally important with the greater impact on the sales side.   Tweetable Quotes: “It’s not just one or two things an appraiser looks at, it’s a lot of things.” -Tom Horn “If someone wants to sell at the top of the market, the house has to look like what’s at the top of the market. “Curb appeal has an impact because if two homes are identical the buyer will choose the one with better curb appeal.”   Resources Mentioned: Check out our website ahiproperties.com Check out Birmingham Insurance Group Start earning passive income with Roofstock.com Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com Get your appraisal questions answered and learn more about Tom Horn at birminghamappraisalblog.com Call Tom Horn at 205-243-9304

In episode 7 of Profitable Powerhouse Podcast, learn how to get your 1% on the investment property you just bought. In episode 6 of Profitable Powerhouse Properties your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins talk about how the market you choose to buy in affects your property and scope of work.   Episode Highlights:   Why you might choose to buy a C-class property as your rental investment. It’s good to have an area where some of the homes are owner-occupied, especially in a C-class area. What it means when a general contractor talks about a package deal. How to give your property the “it” factor. Every rental market you’re looking at has a bottom and a top and you need to identify the investor ahead of time. Some necessary rehab scopes for properties on the bottom of the market. AHI recommends that their clients add deadbolts to a property if they don’t already exist. Color of the house makes a difference when renting to tenants - you want a consistent color throughout. It’s better to spend a little more up front than to have tenants who are upset with the house and how things work. The longer you can keep your tenant intact, the more profit you can experience. People form their opinions the moment they see the property whether in person or online. Adding some landscaping or gardening can up the “it” factor on your property. Learn some good choices for finish options and why it makes a difference to have updated finishes. How Luxury vinyl tiles look like hardwoods but for a fraction of the price. If you’re buying an old door frame with old hinges, pop on some new ones, it’s a minimal expense. All the little tweaks you do to you C property could bring it up to a C+. If a property already has something that’s kind of custom that’s something you may want to restore or highlight. You have to think about if you were buying a home to live in it, what would you be looking for? In today’s marketplace, people don’t want to come in and improve. Homes that aren’t held to a higher standard are going to get bypassed for the ones that are better and more of a blank slate. If a tenant has a great experience they’ll turn into more renewals.   Key Points: Buying a C-class property can be very profitable, you need to understand the community and scope of work. If the windows on rental are not operable that is a deal breaker for AHI, windows that don’t work are a safety issue. When you have a cheap rehab it’s easy to notice and says you didn’t have a plan going into it.   Tweetable Quotes: “Every rental market you’re looking at has a bottom and a top, you have to identify the investor on the front-end.” -Bryan “It’s our job to mitigate risk and reduce risk for owners.” -Bryan “A tenant needs to be able to envision their life in the rental house, and neutrals help accomplish that.” -Bryan   Resources Mentioned: Check out our website ahiproperties.com Check out Birmingham Insurance Group Start earning passive income with Roofstock.com Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com

In episode 6 of Profitable Powerhouse Properties your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins talk to Richard Davis and Jason Henderson of the Birmingham Insurance Group (BIG). Richard and Jason launched BIG back in July of 2018 and have partnered with AHI. Learn about   Episode Highlights:   Anyone with an insurance license can send you a policy, but BIG will make a team effort to protect your assets comprehensively. BIG can offer coverage in all 50 states, and they have clients internationally. You don’t have to use AHI Properties to use BIG for Insurance. Why investment coverage is different from standard homeowners insurance. When you put a tenant in your property, make sure that they have tenant insurance. Many property management companies don’t enforce tenant insurance, but that backfires in many situations. Renters policies defend not only the renter but also the owner on behalf. The reality is that on C-F grade properties there will be more claims. BIG represents multiple carriers depending on the state and the grade of the property. It’s possible to do a per-location liability limit with an independent stand-alone limit. By separating business from personal, your losses won’t impact the rate on your personal properties. BIG insurance policies include loss of rent on properties up to $75,000 a month - this does not include evictions. Who needs a flood policy and why - if you’re in a flood zone the lender may require it. BIG does a thorough review of your needs or budget to be sure that you’re not insurance poor but you get the coverage you need. You could spend thousands of dollars between foundation leaks and sewer backups. The difference between preventative maintenance and risk management. What valuation is on a property and how it’s determined. To estimate your premiums on properties in Alabama - on the low end $85 a square foot, on the high end $125 a square foot. Someone new to investment ownership needs to talk to an agent about how much to cover their home for. The rubber meets the road when the claim happens, people are stressed, and money’s involved. What to look for in your policy:Coverage limits Deductible structure Liability Limits The information you gave the agent to rate your property Share your current policy information The benefits of a master policy format - reporting form or an annual policy.There is no exclusion for a vacancy. You will only be charged for the properties you have scheduled on your policy. Each master policy is a 12-month policy. Each policy stands alone and you can add and remove them throughout the year. How the insurance company uses the law of large numbers and why it works in your favor. Why AHI requires that vendors that do work on the property have certain limits of coverage. From a risk management standpoint, we need to make sure that what you’re signing dovetails with what the policy says. Insurance, risk management, and property management are a part of preparing for positive cash flow. If something is not covered, then it’s not going to hurt your rates so file the claim.   Key Points: The difference in an investment program and a homeowners policy is the volume and the amount of coverage you’re getting. A benefit of separating your investment properties from your personal properties is that your losses won’t impact your personal rate. Preventative maintenance is doing your due diligence and risk management is your plan when something does occur.   Tweetable Quotes: “Investment insurance provides another layer of protection for both the tenant and the owner.” -Jason “It’s possible to be insurance poor, we want to avoid that happening.” -Jason “Know your market, and know where you’re buying - that will help dictate what you need to be insured for.” -Jonathan “If it were my rental property, I wouldn’t go below valuing it at below $100 a square foot.” -Richard “Diversify your portfolio, but not your insurance.” -Jonathan “If something is not covered, it’s not going to hurt your rates.” -Richard   Resources Mentioned: Check out our website ahiproperties.com Check out Birmingham Insurance Group

In this 5th episode of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties with the AHI Group, hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins from the AHI Group discuss the differences between A-Class, B-Class, and C-Class properties, renovations situations, the benefits of HOA, the often-forgotten issues with gutters, and the importance of diversifying your portfolio. Episode Highlights: What is a good general range for C-Class nicely rehabbed properties Why are the majority of the properties that AHI Group manages A-Class and B-Class What are the differences between B-Class and C-Class properties How often is Bryan getting 1% on a B-Class property Jonathan and Bryan discuss gutter What are some nightmares that can occur with gutter issues Which problems are property owners responsible for Why are the benefits of owning B-Class and C-Class properties over an A-Class What are the long-term gains for a property that appears to be breaking even It doesn’t only matter what you invest in a home, it is also about the market pull What are the benefits of an HOA What is involved in paying HOA dues Curb appeal’s value is more than just marketing for your property Have good partners and systems in place   3 Key Points: C-Class properties in the areas of AHI Group are typically $70,000-100,000 B-Class properties are the sweet spot for equity gain and monthly cash flow. Statistically, maintenance numbers for C-Class are higher than a B-Class, which is higher than an A-Class. Tweetable Quotes: “One of the things that we focus on within our management portfolio is diversifying that.” – Bryan Jenkins “What we were doing was we were buying A-Class properties to do lease-backs to corporations and fully furnish those and provide lawn service, chemicals and maid service.”– Bryan Jenkins pppwithahigroup.podbean.com “An HOA means you have a governing body in charge of your neighborhood.” – Bryan Jenkins Resources Mentioned: Check out our website ahiproperties.com Twitter: @ahiproperties Facebook: AHI Properties Linkedin: AHI Properties

In episode 4 of Profitable Powerhouse Properties your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins talk to Deb Newell, a property manager who runs Real Time Consulting Services for the rental industry, and Jen Stoops is the Senior VP of Park Avenue Properties. Deb and Jen talk to your hosts about diversifying portfolios and avoiding common pitfalls in the rental property space.   Episode Highlights:   Pitfall #1: Thinking you can manage your own property without hiring a property manager. Pitfall #2: Don’t get locked into one market. What NARPM (National Association of Residential Property Managers) is and why it matters. Everyone at AHI Properties is a NARPM member who is being educated. The pros and cons of going to one city and buying all of your property there. You need to have a team behind you and referrals are the best way to do that. How to identify a good property manager vs. a rent collector and tips for vetting them. Investors look for problem solvers in their property management service. The biggest concerns for property owners is tenant selection, maintenance, after-hour calls, etc. The cost difference between having a long-term tenant vs. a problem/short-term tenant. The type of flooring you should choose for your rental property. When property owners are less emotionally invested in a property they’re more likely to consider allowing pets. How to make sure you have good policies in place that are relevant to all markets. The different types of personalities that work in a property management firm. You need to get to know someone in whatever market you’re going to. People, Process, and Technology are the three things that are really important for a successful property management firm. If you’re investing in a rental property, it’s best to pay someone to make sure its managed properly. Anyone who doesn’t choose a property manager because of their fee structure is making a big mistake. There are two different operational processes, but they’re all geared toward the same end goal. Why referrals are so important and the highest compliment.   Key Points: Where you buy your property and how you build your portfolio matters. Your property manager should be transparent every step of the way. You need to get to know a property manager in whatever market you’re going to.   Tweetable Quotes: “A good property manager is going to be willing to meet with you, try to stop by their workspace if possible.” -Bryan “When investors are looking to manage different markets themselves they are overlooking the efficiency of property managers.” -Deb “People, Process, and Technology are the three things that are really important for a successful property management firm.” -Deb   Resources Mentioned: Check out our website ahiproperties.com Check out Birmingham Insurance Group

Wouldn’t it be great to build a nest egg from your couch? Your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins talk about the local market, the national market, and the tools you’ll need to buy your own rental property from wherever you are in the country.   Show Notes: About the AHI Group how - big they are and how much property they manage. The one thing Jonathan loves about working at a real estate brokerage. What is the point in spending money if you’re not making money in properties? Where people can go right now if they want to buy a property and you don’t know a local expert. How INVESTimate is the “Amazon wishlist” of rental property. Bryan and Jonathan are driven by the education piece of the industry. The benefit of using a company or service to hunt out rental properties for you. Jonathan and Bryan walk through the process of finding, purchasing, fixing up, and renting properties. Why you should allow pets in your rental properties. Some great flooring options for rental properties. The importance of the rule of 1%. Why using a local agent is important when making a real estate investment. How to do a combination of a national provider and the local provider on the ground. As an investor, you have to know what will drive your rate of return. How to retain existing rental property tenants. Contact AHI Properties with questions about investment properties or platforms.   Key Points: You will get better deals when you go investor to investor. By the time a property is on mainstream services, it’s not as good of a deal anymore. Buying local is important, but you need to know how to work with both national and local providers.   Tweetable Quotes: “If you want to buy rental property you need to get an idea of what’s going on in the market and find out the economic drivers.” -Bryan “The NMLS is valuable, but the real value is buying stuff that’s off-market.” -Bryan “Where else can you make 12% a year on investment other than real estate?” - Jonathan   Resources Mentioned: Check out our website ahiproperties.com Check out Birmingham Insurance Group Get started with rental property at Roofstock.com Learn more about INVESTimate.com Learn more about Epic Real Estate Learn more about Real Wealth Network

  Andrew Smallwood Director of Sales for Filter Easy joins your hosts Jonathan Cook and Bryan Jenkins to talk about preventative maintenance of investment properties. There are pitfalls and other traps people can step into when it comes to investment property ownership, find out how to avoid these pitfalls and take care of problems in advance.   Show Notes: Address maintenance before it becomes an issue. Keeping your renters happy can keep them renewing leases for years to come. About Filter Easy and what they do for rental properties. Statistically the number of renters that don’t change air filters - roughly 90%. Why everyone should be changing their air filters and the reductions that can be expected. The biggest result of filter changing is HVAC reduction. How air filters will impact A-Class and C-Class properties. Clogged filters stress HVAC systems. Preventive management within your focus of control. The rookie investor needs to realize that the Filter Easy service will keep you from losing money in the long run. What Filter Easy looks like on the tenant side. There are 39,000 different filter sizes. The impact ¼” gap has on filter effectiveness. Many people can’t get their filter size at a local store. 90%+ of the time they’re sending the quality of a MERV 8 filter. The impact of pets on your HVAC system and the importance of filters. The two factors that determine the quality of a filter - Does it capture large and small particles? What kind of airflow do we have? The average lease for a long-term tenant is three year

Welcome to Profitable Powerhouse Properties with the AHI Group! We’d just like to introduce ourselves to you and let you know who we are looking to reach. Do you own investment property? Do you want to? We can help guide you!   About your host Brian Jenkins: Belongs to NARPM as a Master Property Manager which is the highest designation. Brian is the only active Master Property Manager in the state of Alabama. He’s been in the industry for about 19 years. About your host Jonathan Cook Does business development for the AHI Group. The goal of the show - Help develop skills and explain the pitfalls of property management. Fill in what they see on a day to day basis. Why it’s important to have a good partner in a property manager. Why a new investor should put money into properties. You can always make money in real estate. The true investment property is one you’re buying for the purpose of investment. There are more options than just buy, flip, and sell. Stay within your ranges and keep an eye on your profitability. Turnkey products are buying, rehabbing, and selling to another investor. The podcast will serve to provide an education piece and bring in some vendors as guest speakers. What to do when you do have a tenant and how to manage their behavior. The podcast will bring in a CPA to talk about tax ramifications of rental property ownership. You have to determine what your strategy is as an investor and forecast yourself out for five years. Property is not always increasing in value. If you have a performing property an investor to investor sale could be a good option. Your hosts want to hear from you! Email them your questions. Next Episode - Filter Easy and an HVAC vendor.   Key Points: Successful property management is all in the details. You can always make money in real estate. This podcast will serve to explain the nitty gritty details of property management from vendors to managing tenant behavior.   Tweetable Quotes: “We’ve seen managing properties from every angle.” -Jonathan “Property management can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be.” -Brian   Resources Mentioned: Check out our website ahiproperties.com