Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Tuesday Edition #12

Property Managers are turning to hand-built AI agents and vibe-coded apps for help

Author

Peter Lohmann
April 14, 2026

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

Welcome to Issue #10 of the Tuesday Edition! Not interested? Click here to opt out (you’ll still receive the Friday editions).

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Todd O: Property Management is a Vibe-Coding Hotbed

Todd Ortscheid wrote a fantastic article over at PM Assist last week, discussing his own experience with vibe-coding software solutions for his property management company and explaining why he believes our industry has so much AI-related discussion and activity right now. This hit home for me:

While vibe-coding is useful for every business, especially small and mid-sized businesses, our industry in particular is ripe for this skill. Property management is different than most businesses. Most service businesses make money by doing one very complex, painful, or annoying thing for people so that they don’t have to. But in property management, we don’t just provide one service. We provide a dozen. All under one roof and under one name. We call it all “property management,” but it’s really multiple businesses rolled up into one. It’s maintenance, it’s leasing, it’s accounting, it’s legal work, it’s utility management, and the list goes on. And each one of these businesses-within-a-business is by itself, as complex as the one thing that the average service business does for their customers.

Todd Ortscheid

Nailed it. Property management is an extremely complex business. Just remember—each property you manage is a microbusiness that someone lives inside. And you’re the GM. And the accountant. And everything else. No wonder we’re looking for help anywhere we can find it!

Our industry was very early to discover and work with RTMs (global talent) for similar reasons. What’s exciting is that a company set up to work well with global talent is extremely well-positioned to take advance of our AI-agent-powered future. A distributed workforce needs sophisticated training, lots of context, and clear roles. You know what else has those prerequisites? AI agents.

Back to vibe-coding: Check out all these cool projects that property managers are working on:

  1. Wolfgang Croskey has so many AI agents that he built an HR system for them.

  2. Mark Cropper created a AI Development CTO with a team of subagents and shares a visual of how they are organized [Crane only].

  3. Lindsay Liu (co-founder at Super) shares her chatbot security testing & findings.

  4. Mike Goldstein built an entire property management dashboard with Claude Code [Crane only].

  5. Todd O write about how he completely replaced Jotform [paid PM Assist / Crane only].

  6. Madeline Vinson vibe-coded not only a Self Management Calculator, but also an entire new commercial app called PMDash.

  7. Last week I wrote about creating an app that sends out monthly owner updates after checking property statuses in Buildium & Property Meld.

  8. David Hunter offers to open-source his very sophisticated AI PM Agent stack and collaborate with Crane to turn it into a community project [Crane only].

Just about all of those examples are only from the last week or two. Things are moving so quickly it’s scary, but exciting at the same time. If you feel left behind you are NOT alone! Need I mention that Crane members are organizing AI masterminds, sharing code, and leveling up together? Get your application in today. They close this week and won’t re-open for 6 months.

THIS ISSUE IS PRESENTED BY APPGENTIC.AI

Property Management's most boring AI company

We're not going to tell you AI will transform your business… We built one thing and built it to work: an AI Receptionist that answers calls, connects to your PMS, and doesn't embarrass you in front of your owners.

It answers every call, 24/7 - nights, weekends, and the Tuesday afternoon rush when your team is already slammed. Which means your people stop getting pulled off leasing, maintenance, and owner work every time the phone rings. Some teams we work with get back 15–20 hours a week they didn't know they were losing.

Our Property Managers were spending $3K+/month on a live service + RingCentral. We start at $429.

No hype. Fewer interruptions, zero missed calls, and a lower bill.

P.S. For PM companies managing 2,000+ units, we typically replace a mix of in-house receptionists, a live answering service, and the overflow calls nobody's catching. The ROI conversation usually starts with, “Wait, really?”

Peter & The Wolf Recording: PM Marketing in 2026

Last Thursday, Wolf and I went deep on a topic that plenty of PM companies struggle with… marketing.

We get detailed on what actually drives leads & doors - including foundational strategy, social media, SEO, reviews, online platforms, who to hire, and how it all fits together. Definitley worth a watch:

Wow, this genuinely surprised me. Rentvine has surpassed Buildium among my audience, now #2 only to AppFolio. Impressive growth. This will be a recurring poll (maybe once a year) so we can trend the results.

Poll Results: Which PM software does your company use?

Out of 206 votes, AppFolio leads with 50.5% of respondents using their software.

What I’m Reading Right Now

Global Talent Spotlight: Jonathan L.
CS/Logistics Coordinator • $1,450/month

Jonathan is a business administration graduate with experience in project management, team leadership, and customer service across high-volume operational environments. Skilled in cross-functional coordination, KPI tracking, operational efficiency, and team training, Jonathan brings a strong foundation in building programs that drive measurable results. He is proficient in Asana, Trello, and MS Office. Watch Jonathan's introductory video, view his resume, or book an interview below:

Meme Tuesday:

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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.