Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Issue #160

The DoubleDash of Property Management? FTC sues Zillow.

Author

Peter Lohmann
October 03, 2025

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

The Easiest Customer

The easiest customer to sell to is one already buying from you. Yet in property management, we have little or nothing in the way of additional offerings for property owners beyond the core service. For us at RL, a new owner client merely selects between 3 different service levels, signs the PMA, and that’s it. We do not present them with any opportunities to buy additional services from our company, ever.

Some property managers offer brokerage services, and that’s wonderful but requires either convincing them to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new property, or helping them leave your company(!) by selling their property. Not ideal offerings and not something you can simply offer to them at any time.

Think about some of the best services you interact with regularly. Nearly all of them will present you with additional opportunities to spend money with them (AKA, upsells):

  • DoorDash offers to “DoubleDash” your order with more items from a nearby store. You can also pay more to expedite.

  • Nearly all home service companies allow you to purchase some time of extended warranty or coverage

  • Gyms will sell you fitness classes or personal training

  • The person who cuts your hair will sell you a beard trim, a color, hair care products and more.

  • Dog groomers will sell you special shampoo, a double-rinse, nail trim etc

  • The oil change shop will replace your battery, wipers and more.

It simply must be possible to identify a set of value-add upsells that we can offer to rental property owners which are both valuable to them, and profitable for us. Ideally one or two immediately after they sign the PMA, and then another one or two linked to some other type of recurring event (eg seasonally, or at PMA/lease renewal).

We had a great mastermind on this topic in Crane recently, during the $100M Money Models book club discussion organized by Mark Brower. Part of what came out of that discussion was the challenge of selling additional services to owners because of how those expenses typically show up: against a specific property as an expense. When accounted for in this way, the owner naturally frames it as a drag on their property cashflow (basically, it’s hurting their ROI/ability to pay the mortgage with rental income).

[Crane members: catch the book club replay here; it’s well worth your time.]

Basically, we need to find a way to detach the value we offer from expenses tied to a specific property. I was thinking about this problem during the discussion, and suddenly remembered a great recent newsletter from Todd O talking about keeping a credit card on file for every owner and tenant to reduce write-offs (fascinating idea btw). But what if in addition to keeping a card on file for that reason, we started charging our monthly management fee to their credit card instead of the property, plus anything else they decide to buy from us? I bet a lot of owners would like it for the credit cards points, it would make their disbursements higher, and solve the problem I identified all at the same time. Would this work? Let me know what you think, plus any ideas you have on what we can sell to property owners that would actually make sense.

-Peter

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Behind the Scenes at NARPM: Amy Hanson on Growth, Policy, and PM Exits

Amy Hansen got her real estate license by accident in 1993 (she jokes that she’s had it longer than I’ve been alive - not true btw). From there, she went on to buy the brokerage where she once answered phones, stumbled into property management during the 2008 crash, and eventually sold not one but two management companies, most recently to Berkshire Hathaway.

In this week’s podcast, Amy shares the wild ride: learning property management by trial and error, starting over from zero thanks to a non-compete, and building her second company around virtual systems and VAs. She also talks about her current role as national NARPM President, where she’s leading through big changes in membership, governance, and leadership development.

If you’ve ever thought about buying or selling a PM company (or just want to hear how someone turns chance opportunities into a 30-year career), you’ll enjoy this one:

(You can also listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify)

New Property Management Companies For Sale This Week

This section is sponsored by RentCast.io*. My team at RL Property Management has tested every rental comp tool out there, and RentCast is the one we trust and use every single day. Their report is accurate, fast, and easy. Try their free version, or use code PETER for 20% off Pro.

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Industry News & Events

Closing Thought

A few quick things before you go…

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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.