Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Issue #144

Finally: We Hit 700 Doors Under Management

Can I take a moment to celebrate? My company, RL Property Management, hit 700 doors under management yesterday.

It’s been a journey:

As you can see, we previously hit the 700-door threshold back in late 2022.

By February of 2023, we had dropped down to 585. That was brutal.

I’ve written plenty about our journey since then, but to recap:

• The huge drop in door count came from 3 large clients. It was nearly 120 units.

• We were messing up. That’s why they left.

• It took a while for me to come to terms with that reality, diagnose the issues, and regroup.

• Early improvements (low-hanging fruit) got us back on track, and by early 2024 we had clawed back into the mid-600s.

• Low-hanging fruit ran out and we called it done, thinking things were fixed. They weren’t. We didn’t pay enough attention to churn. During the calendar year of 2024, it steadily increased from ~1% monthly in January, to >3% monthly by year-end. Our overall client churn in 2024 (if you sum all the months) was an eye-watering 28%.

• Finally, in November of 2024 (after 3 consecutive months of >3% churn), I recognized we had BIG problems that weren’t solved yet. I wrote a long email to the entire team, and shared the gist of it in newsletter issue #119.

We’re not ready to take a victory lap yet—let’s see if 2025 ends as well as it started. But man it sure feels great to hit those hundred-door thresholds.

By the way, the entire RL team (including RTMs, yes) earned an extra PTO day for hitting this milestone. And they’ll earn another at 750 doors, and so on! In case it wasn’t clear, this is THEIR victory. I just put the right pieces on the board and said a few things at key moments. All wins belong to the team, and all failures originate with me.

Next week I’ll share the 5 things that made the biggest impact to our churn and growth, and let us blow past 700.

One final note. There are probably HUNDREDS of property management companies that are bigger, faster-growing, and/or more profitable than RL. Maybe you’re one of them. I’m not claiming to be the foremost PM expert in the world. I’m just sharing what’s going on in my head as we figure stuff out and move on to the next challenge. Hopefully it helps someone.

Can Your Company Run Without You?

Today is my last day of working at RL Property Management until July. I’ve taken a 4-week Crane Break each of the last four years, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done for my business and my family. Full disconnect from the company—no phone, no email, no Slack.

[By the way, newsletters will continue in June except for next week—I’ll be hiking the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim.]

If you want a company that can run without you (whether you own it, or just help run it), you need to solve 3 things:

1. Your mindset. If you think extended time off means you’re lazy, or if you think your team can’t operate without you, or if you think clients just wouldn’t put up with it—you’re right. If you believe those are false, limiting beliefs—you’re also right.

2. Your systems. Two parts to this: Reference Information (such as a company handbook, wiki, etc. that rarely changes) and Workflows. Reference information needs to be created, updated and centralized (I suggest Notion for this — watch a video walkthrough of my buildout). Workflows (your 6-10 core company processes such as move-in, move-out, new property, lease renewal, etc) need to be standardized and moved into modern workflow software that integrates with your property management accounting system. We use LeadSimple (ignore the name—it started as a CRM).

3. Your people. If you haven’t invested in your people (either by leveling up your existing team members, or bringing in top talent), it’s going to be difficult to step away. But beyond that, you need to support your team by empowering them, trusting them deeply, and communicating to them that mistakes are OK and a normal part of professional growth and development.

In 2022, I recorded a whole episode of my podcast about taking June off. Check it out if you want to hear more from me on this: Spotify // Apple.

New Property Management Companies For Sale This Week

I’ve purchased 2 property management companies on the journey to grow RL. Next time, I’ll be using Live Oak Bank’s Property Management Lending Team* to finance the deal. This will give me a huge advantage, since I won’t be reliant on the seller to help me finance the acquisition!

• Here is a property management company for sale in Milwaukee, WI (asking $500k, 100 units)

• Here is a property management company for sale in Wisconsin (asking 4M)

• Here is a property maintenance company for sale in Brevard County, FL (asking $1M)

• Here is a property management company for sale in San Diego, CA (asking $2.5M)

• Here is an STR management company for sale in Lake County, FL (asking $550k, 20+ accounts under management)

Industry News & Events

• PM Pathbuilders is teaming up with Ben Smith (BrightReach Sales) for a new industry conference in January — Elevate Sales Kick Off.

• Also in January, I’ll be speaking at the PM Systems Conference. Use discount code PETERSYSTEMS for $100 off your ticket.

• The FTC is investigating the $100M Zilllow-Redfin multifamily rentals partnership for an. Get ‘em! Hat tip Gail Phillips.

• Todd O released a great writeup on the 2025 Property Management M&A Report. Today is the last day to save 25% off using code NEWSLETTER25. As I write this, 3 people purchased this report in the last 2 hours.

Closing Thought

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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. *Affiliate link.