Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Tuesday Edition #17

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NARPM 2.0: Our National Association Is Reinventing Itself

NARPM has existed for over three decades. For most of that stretch (and this is a hard truth), it's been treading water.

Membership has been parked just under 6,000 for years. Same number, year after year, while the residential PM industry has scaled dramatically around it. NAR and IREM, meanwhile, have built rosters in the tens of thousands and have actual pull with legislators and the press.

When housing policy gets written, we're not in the room nearly as often as we should be.

That's the situation NARPM 2.0 is trying to fix. The current leadership has been working on this initiative for a while, and it's finally moving from talking-points to execution.

Why the org has been stuck: Until now, the work has been carried almost entirely by volunteers. Which sounds great until you remember those volunteers are also running PM companies. Big ideas get scoped, plans get drafted, and then everyone goes back to their day job and the momentum dies.

NARPM 2.0 flips that model. Paid staff will own execution. Volunteer leaders set direction. That's the structure every well-run association uses. It should have happened a decade ago.

Here's what they're focused on over the next two years:

1. Marketing to owners, not just managers: For the first time, NARPM is putting real budget toward educating property investors on why a certified PM matters. They're also rebuilding the "Find a Property Manager" tool on the site (live now).

2. Owning the data: The goal is for NARPM to become the authoritative source on rental market data specific to professionally managed SFR (not the muddled numbers you get from Zillow, which blends apartments, accidental landlords, and institutional SFR into one feed). Jordan Muela and I presented the PM Trends 2026 Report, which NARPM sponsored, at Broker/Owner. This priority is exactly why work like that has a home now.

3. PM Licensing reform: In most states, a real estate sales license is enough to legally manage rentals. NARPM wants states to require dedicated PM licensing, because what we do is functionally a different job. The Trust Chart of Accounts that Wolfgang Croskey, Brad Johnson, and I presented at the recent Broker/Owner Conference & Expo is part of building the credibility for that argument.

4. Legal hotline for members: Free attorney access for fair housing questions (Monica Gilroy, Esq. plays a big part in this), tenant disputes, and the legislative chaos hitting our industry. Anyone who's ever scrambled to find a landlord-tenant lawyer mid-crisis knows this benefit pays for the membership by itself. Find it here.

What I actually think: The plan is right. They named the real problem (volunteer execution doesn't scale), picked the right priorities, and built a sensible funding base.

The risk isn't the plan. It's follow-through. If they ship what they've promised, the industry looks different in 24 months. If they get distracted, lose momentum, or quietly let staff and volunteers blur back together, we'll be re-running this exact conversation in 2030.

Four priorities. Two years. One organization trying to grow up. The endgame is for NARPM to become the group that gets the call when Washington is drafting housing policy, and the group reporters actually quote when they cover the rental market.

For members reading this: watch what ships. For non-members reading this: the case for joining is the strongest it's been in years. Not because everything is fixed, but because the direction is finally right.

-Peter

P.S. NARPM President DD Garzón came on my podcast last year to walk through NARPM 2.0 in more detail. Worth a listen if you want the full picture.

Financial Interest Disclosure: NARPM has sponsored projects and media that I have been involved with or have an ownership interest in. They comp’d a Press Pass to the 2026 Broker/Owner conference for a reporter covering the event for me. NARPM did not provide any compensation or incentive for this article or the conference coverage beyond that ticket.

Peter and the Wolf LIVE from LeadSimple University

Wolf and I did a live Peter and the Wolf webinar at LeadSimple University, and it was a LOT of fun. The whole hour was on owner communication strategies - what's working, what's not, and how AI is changing the game.

We got into why "don't surprise me" doesn't mean what you think, how to stop sounding like an order taker, and why real communication is becoming the moat as AI makes it easier to just send more noise. Check out the replay here:

What I’m Reading Right Now

• Google's first official article on optimizing for AI search. Great summary from Lily Ray on LinkedIn (spoiler: you're probably already doing this)

• Martha Stewart’s new home management platform "Hint” announcement post on LinkedIn. I’ve been following this sector on and off for years. See: Can I Hire a Property Manager for My Own House? written by me in 2022.

• Rob Lowry’s new post: What Your Day Looks Like When the AI Does the Work.

• WSJ coverage of VC entering property management and related fields (they’re about 12 years late on that trend, but OK).

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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.