Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Issue #197

What 353 PeterBot messages told me PM operators are actually struggling with

You may have seen PeterBot at the bottom of this newsletter, and wondered if anyone is actually using it. The answer is YES, in fact last week alone it received 353 messages from 8 different PM operators. By the way, it’s completely free and trained on almost everything I’ve ever written.

Anyway, if you’re “very online” (guilty), you probably think most of those messages were about how to build an AI agent, the best PM tech stack, or how to configure Claude to talk to the RentVine API.

Wrong.

The overwhelming majority of questions that property managers ask PeterBot have to do with the same old “boring” challenges that property managers have been silently struggling with for decades. Here are some typical examples, taken from actual questions this week. Some have been edited for brevity:

• Would you help me write a note for owner onboarding and criteria that refers to the financial readiness of the owner. What are financial readiness expectations of an owner?

• Do you recommend fully implementing EOS? How?

• How do you calculate lifetime value of a client? What line items expenses do you use to calculate client acquisition cost?

• I’m looking for an SOP to onboard an in-place tenant when we take on a new asset for management. I need to know not just the SOP but what letters and notices need to go out with a timeline.

• How do you handle fees when an owner is asking you for additional can you go to the property for this or that and additional requests?

• Bed bugs [That was the entire question lol]

And it goes on and on and on like that. I have a few takeaways:

1. If you’re feeling behind, don’t worry. Most property managers are dealing with an unbelievable amount of [stuff] being thrown their way every day and barely have time to eat lunch, let alone try some new AI gimmick. This is normal.

2. Nobody has all the answers, and everyone’s business is kind of a mess behind the scenes (including mine). I love this quote from business buyer Brent Beshore that begins “All businesses are loosely functioning disasters, and some are profitable despite it.” Want more from Brent? Check out my interview with him.

3. Property managers need SO MUCH MORE support, education, and collaboration—especially around day-to-day PM business operations. The current level of these things is 5% of what it could be. We have NARPM and PM University cranking away at these problems, among others, but way more can be done here. Knowledge is completely scattered across the internet and operator’s brains nationwide. The lack of beginner material in particular, is a complete and total disaster. Nearly everything you read and hear assumes a working knowledge of the industry. For example, point me to a clear, useful and concise explanation of what a PM trust account is, how it works, and what the basics to stay in compliance are. If that does exist, it’s probably on some bank’s website. We need a real curriculum. For those over 150 doors, we now have Crane which is great, but even that barely scratches of the surface of what I’m talking about here. Who will take up this important work?

-Peter

PM Trends 2026: Owner Upsells, AI Lead Gen & Boomer Exit with Jordan Muela

This ep is all about the 2026 PM Trends Report (hopefully you’ve seen it already). One stat I keep coming back to: 41–51% of owners said they'd pay above their base management fee for services like instant rent payments, tenant damage protection, and asset management. Things many of us are already doing. For free.

We also get into the generational handoff happening right now, why stress and cash flow drive hiring decisions at 2x the rate of time or risk, and what it actually means that 75% of landlords plan to use ChatGPT to find their next property manager.

Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Property Management Companies For Sale This Week

• Turnkey property management firm in Redding, CA (asking $238k, $206k gross revenue)

• Full-service property management firm in Maine (asking $950k)

• Semi-absentee 3-unit multifamily investment in Miami-Dade County, FL (asking $715k)

• 20-year real estate brokerage with a property management division in Davidson County, TN (asking $199k, $580k gross revenue)

If you plan to buy one of the property management companies above, I recommend using Live Oak Bank’s Property Management Lending Team to finance the deal.

Industry News & Events

• The ROAD to Housing Act, having passed both houses of Congress, is now being held up by Trump on unrelated matters.

• Couple recent appearances by yours truly:
  -I was interviewed by Drea Buer about the “done-for-you” asset management service we use at my property management company
  -I debated Mark Brower on the ethics of cold-calling and good profits vs bad profits on the brand new Crane Podcast.

• Leasing scammers are getting insanely crafty, check out this breakdown by Alex Stringfellow. Infuriating.

• Slow news week! Send me your news!

Closing Thought

A few quick things before you go…

• Last week’s issue went to 22,166 readers (50% opened, 4% clicked)

• The most popular link was this new dumbphone: dumb.co (156 clicks)

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

• Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here.

Software I’m using to scale my 700+ door property management company:

Note: These are affiliate links, but I’ve been recommending all these companies long before any financial arrangements came into place.

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.