Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Issue #120

Interview with AppFolio's Head of Product, The Fundamental Challenge of PM

Author

Peter Lohmann
December 06, 2024

A no-fluff weekly publication for the property management industry.

The Fundamental Challenge of Property Management

Nobody sees what we do.

That’s what makes this business so gosh-darn difficult and thankless.

It’s like working in IT—nobody cares or notices until there’s a problem. That goes for residents and property owners alike, but I’m mostly interested in how to tackle the property owner side of this problem.

So much of the day-to-day experience of managing rental property is simply avoiding future problems, putting out (sometimes literal) fires, and reducing risk. Property owner clients are blissfully unaware of what goes on at property management offices across the country. “Don’t you guys just collect the rent?”

I don’t fault them for it; there are tons of products and services I take for granted every day. It’s the nature of being a consumer. I’m simply wondering aloud if there might be ways that we can highlight all the value we’re creating (and problems we’re solving) for property owners on a daily basis.

I posted about this on LinkedIn earlier this week and got a TON of insightful comments from owner/operators and vendors alike. The good news is that it sounds like there are several groups working on this problem, and a few people with hacked-together solutions that appear to be working well for them.

How do you approach this at your company?

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I keep forgetting to talk about my podcast, which has been releasing a new episode every Wednesday since late July! I just released the final episode of the season, so let me highlight a few of the recent episodes in case you missed them:

Scaling a $30M Home Services Biz with John Wilson

A great conversation with John Wilson about his professional journey and the innovative setup of his organization. I really enjoyed hearing John’s take on EOS, his strategies for streamlining phone systems, and his vision for leveraging an AI receptionist. His insights on applying the theory of constraints are fascinating.

Sesaon Finale: Product Leadership at AppFolio with Kyle Tripplett

Kyle from AppFolio joins us to share his career journey and AppFolio's philosophy of shipping fast and frequently. He explores why the SMB market remains a primary focus, uncovers underutilized features, and discusses the promising future of AI. We also explore the launch of FolioSpace for residents.

New Property Management Companies For Sale This Week

  • Here is a property management company for sale in Olympia, WA (asking $250k)

  • Here is a property management company for sale in Kern County, CA (asking $275k, 85 doors)

  • Here is a commercial property management company for sale in Houston, TX (asking $1.2M)

  • Here is a turn key property management company for sale in Providence, RI (asking $2M)

  • Here is a property management company for sale in South Carolina (asking $259k)

Industry News & Events

  • In case you missed it: The PM Trends Report is OUT! Get your copy here.

  • Evernest announced that they acquired the PM division of Picket Homes. I was able to confirm this was approximately 2k doors.

  • Don’t forget to register for the January PM Systems Conference—it’s an outstanding event always highly praised by attendees. We always send a couple team members.

  • I enjoyed this interview with Taylor Hou, founder of APM Help. It’s rare to hear anything intelligent or insightful said about PropTech & the future of our industry, but Taylor manages to do that and more.

  • I was at LeadSimple University all week, and they announced several new features, a total overhaul of Inbox, and a Chrome extension!

Closing Thought

That’s all for this week! Have a great weekend. -Peter

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The content of this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I may have consulting agreements with, or financial interests in, companies mentioned in this newsletter. Additionally, some of the links included in this newsletter are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial or business decisions.