Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Issue #167

Office Upgrades That Made Me More Comfortable and Productive This Year

From time to time, I like to read up on Lean Methodology and try to figure out how to apply parts of it to my property management business (and in my personal life, too). Lately, I’ve been big into “Fix what bugs you,” which is a core principle of Lean (hat tip Jon Matzner).

And with the cold weather arriving here in Ohio recently, I went on a big kick trying to figure out how to upgrade my desk & office space. I needed some warmth, comfort, and cheerfulness injected into my setup to offset the freezing cold weather and short, dark days.

I tried out a bunch of different things at home and work, and here’s what I’m actually loving and using daily. Consider this a gift guide for office workers:

• My hands were too cold —> I purchased this heated desk mat. GAME-CHANGER. Get this now. Pictured below.

• I wanted much better audio —> I upgraded my desktop speakers to these (looks like they are on a black friday sale right now) and added these stands. Both are pictured below.

• My feet were freezing —> I bought this heated foot pad. Glorious. The concrete subfloor of my office just sucks the heat right out of your feet without it.

• My keyboard was ancient —> I tried like 5 different keyboards and landed on this one (pictured below, along with the desk mat and speakers). It has an ultra-premium keyboard feel, like typing on clouds. And the sound is amazing; it’s very “thocky”. It’s wireless or wired and can pair via bluetooth or a dongle. The volume knob is clutch. And the entire thing is extremely customizable with a browser-based software. You can remap any key. For example, I set up a button for voice dictation (Wispr Flow) and another for screenshots. Finally, the RGB (backlight) visual effects are outstanding. There’s like 15 to choose from. Note: pictured below is the “tenkeyless” version (no num pad) which I prefer. If you want the normal version with the numpad, get it here. Looks like it’s also on a black-friday sale!

• My 5-year-old desktop was feeling slow —> Went with a top-of-the-line Lenovo (32GB ram, 1TB SSD), which has a very nice small footprint. It’s also nearly silent 100% of the time. I always buy Lenovo stuff for work because I find it to be very reliable (except my laptop, which is a MacBook. Weird, I know).

• I get season affective disorder —> Purchased this desktop “happy light” (actually the one I have isn’t available, but this is nearly identical). The full-spectrum light from these lamps is proven to drastically improve the symptoms of “winter blues” aka S.A.D. I turn mine on for about 20 minutes each morning.

• Lastly, my travel backpack was feeling a bit juvenile, and also didn’t have proper padding for my laptop. After a bunch of searching around and research I landed on this one. Looks much nicer and fits a 15” MacBook perfectly in a padded sleeve.

Let me know what upgrades recently changed the game for you at work??

Real Talk on PM Marketing with AppFolio’s CMO, Lisa Horner

Ever feel like marketing advice is all “do everything everywhere all at once”?
Yeah, same.

That’s why I loved this conversation with Lisa Horner, CMO at AppFolio - recorded LIVE at the recent FUTURE Conference. We talked about what actually works in property management marketing today, and how to cut through the noise without chasing every new tactic on the wheel.

Lisa shared how her team thinks about AI (spoiler: it’s expected, not exciting), why brand starts with knowing who you are, and what it really takes to stay relevant with customers - from accidental landlords to institutional investors. We also got into leadership transitions, resisting the urge to jump into every decision, and the mindset shift needed to experiment more (even if you’re a lean team).

If you’ve ever felt stuck between “do more marketing” and “what does that even mean?” then this episode is for you:

(You can also listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify)

New Property Management Companies For Sale This Week

• Here’s a PM company for sale in Wisconsin (asking $2.5M, 1,000 units)

• Here’s an HOA management company for sale in Austin, TX (asking $950k)

• Here’s a PM company for sale in New York, NY (asking $3.5M)

• Here’s a PM company for sale in Orange County, CA (asking $245k)

This section is sponsored by Rentvine. Rentvine is the all-in-one platform built for property managers who want clean accounting, connected workflows, and zero feature paywalls. You deserve better - we’re here to make that happen. Contact us today for end-of-year promotions.

Industry News & Events

• States Gone Wild: Ohio introduces legislation that would turn a 3-day (eviction notice) into a mandated 90-day notice.

• A new property management franchise just launched: Whole Property Management.

• Peabody Properties, a PM company in MA, settled with the state’s AG for $795k in a case related to failing to disclose the hacking of their systems which resulted in the release of SSNs and other personal information. We recently onboarded an IT security vendor that specializes in protecting PM companies for exactly this reason—we’re a big target.

• Attorney Douglas Miller: “Do Realtors understand what it means to be a fiduciary? I don’t think so.” Great little thought-provoking piece. My question is—do property managers understand what it means to be a fiduciary? I’m actually not sure that we do… I have concerns here. Specifically around various programs that let property managers pocket money from their principal’s customers.

Closing Thought

A few quick things before you go…

• Last week’s issue went to 19,623 readers (60% opened, 3.7% clicked)

• The most popular link was YieldPro article on the legal landscape of tenant fees (85 clicks)

• Interested in sponsoring this newsletter? We just opened Q1 slots. Message me for details.

• Property managers: Your professional trade association is NARPM. You need to join if you’re not already a member.

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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.