Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Tuesday Edition #4

Meme Tuesday, City Rental Registry Updates, Get up to speed on AI in 10 mins.

Author

Peter Lohmann
February 17, 2026

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

Welcome to Issue #4 of the Tuesday Edition! Not interested? Click here to opt out (you’ll still receive the Friday editions).

~ ~ ~

Fighting Fire with Fire

A lot of us are forced to waste time fussing with city rental registries (see poll results below). This is getting worse by the day, too.

And I think I found out why.

A group called “The National League of Cities” (more on them in a moment) has published model legislation for city rental registries(!) This makes it FAR easier for your local cities to draft and pass rental registry/fee legislation. Which helps explain why it has exploded lately.

I hate rental registries and believe they are unconstitutional. But there’s an idea here that we can use. The concept of model legislation is powerful, and we (meaning professional property managers) should use it.

We should produce and publish model legislation for states and cities around topics like:

  • Property management licensing

  • Rent control (bans)

  • City rental registries (bans)

  • Eviction reform

  • Squatters rights reform

  • Security deposits & dispute process

  • Habitability requirements

  • Tenant screening

  • ESAs

It’s much easier to convince a city or state legislator to do something if you can make it easy for them, and show them an example of another city or state who has already successfully done it.

I would love to see NARPM take this on (and you should join NARPM by the way, if you manage property professionally).

Seems like this project would go really fast with AI research, drafting, and web page creation assistance! I’m more than happy to help crowdsource examples of cities and states with great legislation already in place that protects property owner rights. Let’s fight fire with fire.

THIS ISSUE IS PRESENTED BY LIVE OAK BANK

When I look at PM acquisition opportunities, the deal itself is rarely the hardest part… it’s the capital stack.

That’s why I recommend working with Live Oak Bank’s property management lending team. They understand how our businesses actually operate - recurring revenue, owner churn, maintenance margins, all of it.

They finance acquisitions of PM books, adjacent service companies like maintenance or landscaping, refinances, and working capital to support growth.

Already closed? You can even refinance a seller note!

If you’re evaluating a deal (or even just thinking about it), it’s worth having the conversation early.

PM Company & Vendor Updates

  • Boom released a bunch of product updates last week. I like these guys and we use their rent credit reporting tool.

  • AppFolio released their fourth annual Property Management Benchmark Report, with data from over 1,600 U.S. based residential property management professionals. Well worth checking out.

In case you missed it…

Peter & the Wolf is back! We opened Season 4 with a straight talk about what’s actually happening in property management right now - and where smart operators should be leaning in.

We covered OpenClaw, accidental landlords vs. investors, why churn is down (this matters), and what Gen Z tenants and owners are signaling about the next cycle.

Here’s the replay:

Stay tuned for more of these webinars - every second Thursday of the month at 3pm ET.
Register for the next one here.

Last week I asked how much time you & your PM team spend messing with city rental registries each week. Results:

What I’m Reading Right Now…

  • Something Big Is Happening by Matt Shumer. Overview of the AI insanity going on right now. What it means for your job and what you should do.

  • This thread about property manager’s experiences with various paid Google Review Removal companies [Crane only].

  • Great 10-minute overview of how OpenClaw actually works (non-technical).

My Take on This Week’s News

This week: Institutional Landlord Ban Update + $1M HOA Fraud + New Appfolio Benchmark Report.

NOTE: these news breakdowns are now syndicated to my podcast feed as well. Subscribe for a 7-minute property management news breakdown in your favorite podcast player every Monday.

Affiliate of the week: Notion

I use Notion to organize everything across all my businesses. It’s the “informational glue” that holds our internal systems & processes together. Think of it like a living, searchable wiki for your company. Whether you’re running a property management business or just trying to streamline your life, Notion is the tool I trust. Check it out.

Meme Tuesday:

Did someone send you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Not interested in the Tuesday Edition? Click here to opt out. 

NEW: Crane Applications reopen April 3rd. Join the waitlist to get access 48h early.

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.