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Introducing Group Rate Internet from Second Nature

At Second Nature, we strive to deliver the best possible experience to residents and property managers alike. We’re always looking for new opportunities to help property managers provide better service, grow their businesses, and give residents homes they want to stay in. Now, with the introduction of Group Rate Internet, we’re able to deliver yet another benefit that residents want, while improving the experience for property managers. What is Group Rate Internet? Group Rate Internet is gigabit-speed˙ internet delivered directly to single-family rental homes, incorporated right into your lease. Thanks to the power of our network, Second Nature has negotiated group rates with some of the nation’s largest internet service providers, and we’re passing the savings on to you. Residents get high speed internet at a discounted rate below what they could get on their ownº, while property managers have a new way to grow their business. Why are we doing this? These days, internet service is a necessity. But until now the process has been time-consuming, frustrating, and expensive. Subscribers face complicated setup and cancellation processes, and when they need to reach customer support, they’re often left on hold. We wanted to bring a better experience to residents and modernize the way they receive internet service. Understanding the single-family market 98% of residents across the United States pay for internet service in their homes. But until now, they’ve struggled with inflexible contracts that don’t align with their lease terms, convoluted phone trees, and expensive hidden fees. Most single-family property managers haven't had the ability to negotiate better rates with ISPs, leaving residents to pay retail prices for essential services. That's where Second Nature comes in. By leveraging our nationwide network, we're able to secure group rate pricing that's lower than what's available on the market—giving property managers a new way to offer high-quality, affordable internet without the headaches of individual negotiations. Difficulties of scattered-site Internet coverage areas can be confusing. When you have properties in multiple areas, they may be serviced by different providers, making it even more difficult to negotiate a one-size-fits-all deal. That’s why Second Nature works with multiple major ISPs to provide maximum coverage, no matter how wide your management area is. Cutting costs and making life easier On average, customers typically pay $80-120 per month for gig-speed internet. Plus they get hit with fees for equipment, setup, early termination, and more. Now, with Second Nature, property managers can provide gig-speed internet, with no installation or cancellation fees, at a fraction of the price that residents are already paying. How does the program work? Like all of the pieces in our Resident Benefits Package, we’ve designed Group Rate Internet to be as easy as possible. From data exchanges to support, we fully manage the process so your teams don’t have any extra work. Integration with property accounting systems to check eligibility Second Nature starts by gathering property details directly from your property accounting system (PAS) to automatically confirm which ISPs serve each property. We confirm eligibility and pass that data back into your PAS, so it’s always available to you. Once a property is marked as eligible in the PAS, you’ll be able to include an internet service addendum in any future leases for that property. Billing operates directly through the PAS, with no extra tools or logins to keep track of. Integrated with the lease cycle When a resident signs a lease that contains the Group Rate Internet Lease Addendum, they’re enrolled into the program, and Second Nature works directly with them to complete setup. We’ll reach out directly to residents to make sure they know how to get set up. If necessary, they’ll schedule professional installation for equipment at a time that’s convenient for them. Because there’s no separate internet contract for the resident, there are also no setup, equipmentª, or cancellation fees, and no struggling to align their utility contract with their lease term. Internet is billed right alongside rent, so residents don’t have an extra monthly bill to manage. Dedicated support We all know the pain of waiting in a phone queue to try to solve a technical issue. That’s why Second Nature offers dedicated phone support for residents using Group Rate Internet. That way residents aren’t calling you for help or getting stuck in phone trees with their ISP. Residents call Second Nature directly, and if they need technical support from their ISP, we can make a warm handoff, making sure they’re on the line with a representative before our team leaves the call. No endless transfers from person to person. Easy transition at turnover When a lease is up and a resident decides to move out, Second Nature provides move-out information to residents. Depending on the ISP, the resident may not even have to return equipment. In most cases, it just stays with the unit, and service is turned off until the next resident moves in and a new lease starts. When a new resident moves in, one phone call is all they need to get their gig-speed service up and running. It’s a simple transition when someone else moves in, all managed by Second Nature. Get started Want to see how you can provide gig-speed internet to your residents? Schedule a demo with a member of our team to walk through Group Rate Internet. ˙ Compared to average nationwide gig speed price of $80-120/mo (source: USA Today) º Up to 1 Gig Internet speed, subject to availability. Internet Service powered by Second Nature is provided through Second Nature's preferred third-party Internet service providers. ª Residents may be subject to fees if equipment is damaged, lost, or stolen.

Calendar icon March 19, 2025

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How to Roll Out your Mission, Vision, and Values Internally

Your mission, vision, and values are incredibly important to building a great company culture and an effective go-to-market strategy. When done well, they should shape every decision you make, from hiring team members, to taking on new clients, to implementing management policies. But once you’ve taken the time to develop your core values, how do you actually get your team onboard with it all? How do you take it from page to practice? In this article, I’ll give you my recommendations for how to roll out those ideas internally, why you need a firm line in the sand date, and why getting buy-in from your team is so essential. Getting everyone on board A new company mission, or a redeveloped vision can all be jarring for your team. In a lot of ways, you’re telling them, “hey, we’re going to be a different company moving forward.” That can be tough for people to get used to, especially those who have been around for a while. Existing employees The people who already work for you usually need the most help adjusting to a change in mission. For one thing, they may already feel like they have their own sense of mission at your company, even though it might not be one that’s explicitly stated. There’s a reason they continue working for you, so the idea of a big change might scare them. Second, they’re fully accustomed to operating without the new mission, vision, and core values. It’s a bit like having family dinner every week where no one in your family is a hugger. And then suddenly someone brings a new guest who hugs everyone they meet. It can really throw people off. In the same way, existing employees are going to be the least comfortable with change. New employees and future hires It’s much easier to get new hires onboard with change, simply because they don’t know anything else. The key, though, is to make sure you’re incorporating your new mission and vision into the hiring process. Not only will it help you pick employees who fit the new approach, but it will also ensure that you’re giving them a consistent experience. The way you treat them during the interview and hiring process needs to be consistent with how you treat them once they’re hired. Drawing a line in the sand One of the most important pieces of advice I can give is to decide on a firm date where your new mission and vision take effect, and then stick to it. You basically want to create a bookmark, at which point you said, “from this point forward, this is how we make decisions.” How you mark that date is up to you. You can take the opportunity to roll out a new project, you can incorporate it into branding changes like a new logo or slogan, or you can give out coffee mugs or t-shirts with the new branding. Whatever you do, you want to mark the change. Make sure that you’re communicating it to the whole company at once, rather than letting it trickle out bit by bit. That helps make sure everyone is on the same page and has a complete understanding of what’s happening. And keep in mind, even company leadership isn’t used to doing this kind of thing, so it’s helpful for you, too! Get the team involved As you’re preparing this rollout, you don’t want to overplan. Instead, you want to leave room to get the rest of the team involved. People support what they help create, so make sure they have the chance to do that. I think about it this way: the leader creates the mission and vision, which are basically the bones of the operation. But everyone else can participate in fleshing it out by shaping the core values. If you come with a full set of core values already fully developed, you run the risk of coming across as too much of a dictator. You want to tell your team, “As of today, we’re going to be a different company, and let’s figure out what that looks like together.” You want to get people excited about what you’re doing, and giving them the opportunity to participate is the best way to get buy-in. Repetition, repetition, repetition The single best way to help your team truly understand your new mission, vision, and core values is simply repetition. You need to be saying, showing, and living your core values at every turn. Reinforcement in meetings As I’ve said before, meetings are a perfect time to highlight core values in action. There are three different categories of shout-outs I like to include in weekly team meetings: Recognize when other team members are operating by core values: You want to acknowledge your teammates when they’re doing things right. Give praise where it’s due, which will help inspire others to follow along the same path. Call out when the organization is not operating in alignment: It’s equally important to recognize when things aren’t following your core values, but you don’t want to call out individuals and tell them they’re doing a bad job. Instead, frame it as an organizational problem and brainstorm ways to make improvements with the team. Celebrate corrections that move you into alignment with them: When you make adjustments that put you in better alignment with your core values, that’s worth celebrating. It shows the team what progress looks like, and it’s a positive way to follow the conversation on where the organization is struggling. Keep in mind, it can be awkward to ask people to brag about themselves. It takes some getting used to for a lot of team members, but you need to stand by it. Start by having someone read off the mission or core values to start the conversation, and go from there. If you keep repeating the process, eventually it will catch on. Teach by example As with most things, your team can’t just read a plan on paper and know exactly how to put it into action. Instead, they need to see it play out so they know what it looks like. Adopting new core values is a bit like learning a new language; the best way to do it is via immersion. That means that, as a leader, you need to constantly be showing what it means to act based on core values, and then you need to be highlighting those behaviors in others. I’ve seen property managers announce new core values, put a poster on the wall of their office, and then do nothing else to reinforce them. Then, four or six months later, they scold an employee for doing something that’s not in alignment with those core values. But of course they’re not acting by core values: they’ve never seen what that looks like. They’ve never been immersed in it. It’s never been reinforced. Remember, it’s up to the business owner and leadership to overcommunicate these changes and the expectations that come with them. Dealing with dissent Sometimes, no matter how much you reinforce the changes and celebrate the wins, you’ll have an employee who just isn’t bought in. That can create a pretty uncomfortable situation, not just for you, but for the whole team. Remember, the loyalty of a leader should be to the overall team and company, not individual members of the team. If someone is harming the overall team culture, you have to do something about it. Of course, a lot of times, the people who aren’t going to buy in will realize it themselves. They’ll start looking for a new place to work that might be a better fit for them. That’s not always a bad thing; it can be positive for all parties. But you want to be able to say that you did everything you could to help them adjust and stay on as a productive, happy member of your team. No matter what you do, your team is probably never going to be as bought in as you are, because you’re the business owner. But that’s why you need to constantly evaluate everything you do through the lens of your mission, vision, and values. Final thoughts It might seem like rolling out a new set of core values will be challenging, but in reality it’s a fabulous opportunity to energize your team. It gives people a common mission to work towards and a better understanding of the work they do. Make sure that you’re giving insight into the why behind all of it so that people get excited about it. I truly believe that people want to be part of something great. They want to feel a sense of purpose, productivity, and connection. The more time we spend on our devices, isolating ourselves from others, the less we have that connection. So give them that opportunity, build a strong, connected team, and give them something clear to work toward. Interested in learning more about building your company’s core values? Check out this webinar with my good friend Mark Brower. Watch now

Calendar icon May 8, 2025

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AI for Property Management: Benefits and Top Tools

AI is one of the hottest topics of the past year, especially in property management. Property managers all over the country are trying to get up to speed on what it is, how to use it, and why. So what is AI for property management, and how valuable is it, really? AI is best positioned to help property managers by supporting and automating a lot of administrative or repetitive tasks. It’s also a great resource for helping to analyze and understand performance metrics and to gain insights from data. More and more software and service companies are building AI into their solutions, helping users to leverage AI more effectively than ever before. Think about tasks like screening residents, coordinating maintenance, and communicating out key messages about rent collection, due dates, and policies. All of these can be assisted by AI, leaving you to spend more time on strategic efforts. Keep in mind, AI is not here to replace property managers, it’s just here to make them more efficient. In this post, we’ll explain the benefits and opportunities that PMs can see with AI, along with some of the best AI tools for property management. Benefits of AI for property management AI does a lot of things, so sometimes it can be difficult to figure out what specifically you should be using it for. For property managers, there are plenty of practical use cases, from marketing and lead generation to scheduling and compliance. Task automation Artificial intelligence is very good at automating routine or repetitive tasks. Think about invoice processing, maintenance scheduling, showings coordination, inspections, and more. AI can take on a lot of these tasks, giving you more capacity to dive into strategic planning. It can also help with more complicated tasks like compliance monitoring and fraud detection. Not only is that one less task you have to handle, but it also helps ensure financial security. Better communication AI tools can also enhance the way that you communicate with residents and clients. You can use it to help understand maintenance requests, automate follow-up communications and satisfaction surveys, and schedule repairs. All of this helps build a better resident experience, which can increase lease renewals and decrease vacancies. Faster screening AI is great for automating background checks, credit evaluations, and rental history analysis, and some of the leading tools in the industry are able to analyze applicant data to predict lease default risk. All of this helps to ensure that property managers select reliable tenants more efficiently. Predictive maintenance Predictive AI is also particularly useful for things like preventative maintenance and estimating future maintenance costs. For example, when combined with internet-connected hardware, some AI tools can assess property conditions and flag upcoming maintenance issues before they occur. Whether you’re trying to predict plumbing failures or minimize HVAC repairs, AI can help. Targeted marketing Marketing is one of the most prominent areas where companies are leveraging AI. Modern tools can help write property descriptions, build websites, and syndicate listings to get more applicants faster. Review management AI can also help solicit and respond to customer reviews. By analyzing resident satisfaction, artificial intelligence tools can pinpoint the best moments to automatically ask for reviews. Plus, newer tools can also craft responses to reviews based on the content and sentiment, making sure every review is followed up on. 8 Best AI tools for property management There are hundreds, if not thousands, of AI tools available that property managers can evaluate. To simplify things, we’ve collected eight of our favorites here to give you a sense of what’s available. Feel free to browse this list, do your own research, and see what fits best for your company and your workflow. 1. TenantCloud Best for: Applicant screening TenantCloud has a fully-featured, robust resident screening tool that goes beyond a simple credit report. In fact, with a proprietary algorithm, TenantCloud can actually predict the risk of an applicant defaulting on their lease or causing other problems. Fully compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, TenantCloud offers multiple ways to view report data, while also validating applicant identity and running a full background check. While TenantCloud offers a full suite of tools, applicant screening stands out from the rest. Key features: Flexible reporting options based on your specific needs Identity validation, income verification, credit check, and background checks Optional County Criminal Records Search for deeper research Flexible pricing based on company size and door count Lease default risk analysis 2. AppFolio Realm-X Best for: Automated communications Our partner AppFolio is widely known as one of the largest property management software providers on the market. With Realm-X, AppFolio has entered the AI space to help property managers save time on manual tasks. In particular, Realm-X thrives when tasked with communications to residents. With a single prompt, property managers can generate comprehensive, customized emails to residents based on specific criteria like lease term, date of renewal, or rent price. The tool also helps automate maintenance scheduling, application review, and lease renewals. Key features: Embedded into AppFolio natively Reimagined inbox to prioritize and respond to key messages Detailed workflow automation Natural language chatbot Communication generation 3. EliseAI Best for: Leasing management EliseAI is designed to automate the mundane parts of the leasing cycle so that you can fill your units with highly qualified, satisfied residents. With a built-in customer relationship management tool, Elise organizes all of your resident data, reports, and workflows. Elise offers integrated tour scheduling, a chatbot to handle inbound requests, and the ability to automatically recommend units to specific applicants based on square footage, number of bedrooms, budget, amenities, outdoor space, and more. It serves as a comprehensive prospect management tool, superpowered by AI. Key features: Automatic responses to inbound leads Smart tour scheduling Personalized unit recommendations based on size, budget, amenities, and more 24/7 customer support for your residents and applicants Built in CRM Data center with robust reporting 4. RealPage AI Screening Best for: Applicant screening RealPage AI Screening is designed to move beyond just measuring an applicant’s ability to pay, and instead look at their willingness to pay. With comprehensive AI integration, RealPage reaches a deeper level of screening and understanding applicants. RealPage’s solution promises to reduce bad debt, delinquencies, and evictions using powerful proprietary data. Key features: Integrates with any property management software platform Leverages RealPage history of over 30 million lease outcomes Predictive scoring model for applicants Risk Advisory Services to optimize risk threshold Criminal and financial history checks 5. Showdigs Best for: Leasing management Showdigs aims to take the manual and repetitive parts of the leasing process off your team’s plate. The tool is focused on the applicant experience, offering real-time automated communications and a chatbot to answer applicant questions. All of this is personalized to the individual, helping to increase conversion rates to residents. Showdigs also puts a heavy emphasis on security and fraud prevention. With AI-driven facial recognition, age verification, and ID verification, the tool weeds out scam applications so you can focus on the individuals who actually want to rent from you. All of this is backed by a U.S.-based call center for support when your team has a question. Key features: Personalized search process for residents 24/7 automated communications to keep leads warm Advanced security measures and scam prevention ID check and facial recognition to verify identity U.S.-based on-demand call center for support 6. Happy Property: Maintenance Best for: Maintenance coordination and inspections HappyCo has been a well known name in the property management space for nearly a decade, particularly for their intuitive inspection tools. Now, in the AI era, they’ve taken their offering to the next level. Their maintenance and inspection tool automatically schedules inspections, routine maintenance, and preventative repairs. HappyCo is also mobile-first, allowing your team members in the field to see everything they need. Happy Property: Maintenance also offers automatic work order generation, using AI to pull all the necessary details from a maintenance request and pass it on to your vendor of choice. With automated scheduling, it’s one less thing your team has to worry about. Key features: Customizable inspection and maintenance templates 24/7 support for residents Automatic inspection and maintenance scheduling Integration with popular property accounting software Digital make-ready board to expedite turns Comprehensive reporting and document management Automated scheduling 7. Convin Best for: Customer and resident support There are plenty of AI tools out there that aren’t specifically designed for property managers, but are still valuable nonetheless. Convin is one of them. Convin is designed to increase customer retention through real-time guidance on live phone calls. Convin integrates with your phone support system to offer support agents real-time insights on customer behavior, needs, and challenges. The result is a better informed support team, happier customers, and higher customer retention. If your company is small and doesn’t have a dedicated support team, Convin can still help with inbound calls to your main business line. Key features: Real-time customer insights Customer audits for behavior and compliance Immediate prompts to answer complex customer questions Built-in agent training for new support agents Relevant knowledge base information to help solve customer challenges 8. SOCi Genius Reviews Best for: Review management SOCi Genius Reviews is an artificial intelligence-powered tool for responding to customer reviews, both good and bad. Reputation management is key for property managers, but can sometimes take up a disproportionate amount of time. SOCi is here to fix that. SOCi is designed to respond to reviews by reading tone and sentiment, then replying appropriately in your own brand voice. Each review response is personalized, on-brand, and contextual. It also offers reports to spot trends in customer feedback so that you can make changes to your business in order to delight more customers. Key features: Brand voice training to make sure all replies are on-brand Integrates with multiple review sites to spot all reviews Personalized responses to generate maximum engagement Emerging trend reports Automatic or personally selected responses Simplify property management with Second Nature Artificial intelligence can help property managers focus on the things that matter. If you want to save time, boost revenue, and create happier residents and clients, Second Nature’s Resident Benefits Package can help. With everything from Group Rate Internet to on-demand pest control and a move-in concierge, the RBP helps maximize the resident experience while minimizing the work your team spends on manual tasks. See Second Nature in action: request a demo today.

Calendar icon May 6, 2025

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Why I Quit Property Management for Coaching

Tony Cline has over 20 years of experience in property management. After purchasing a real estate and property management brokerage in Denver, Colorado, he spent more than two decades as managing broker. Today he's focused full time on his work as a Property Management Success Coach. Tony is a Second Nature Triple Win Mentor. Most people in property management will tell you that it’s an industry with high turnover, especially for newcomers. As someone who found property management as a second career and launched my own business, I’ve seen that struggle firsthand. It’s not common to stick around in property management for two decades, but that’s what I did before choosing to sell my business and focus on coaching. So why did I quit property management to run a consulting and coaching business? My journey to property management I didn’t start my career in property management. I actually focused mainly on process and data management for technology companies. Eventually I was part of an exit, and I decided that I wanted to try my hand in the real estate world. I ended up buying a brokerage in 2000, and in the due diligence process, I discovered that they were also loosely managing 31 properties. When I say “loosely managing,” I mean that everything was very manual and the company didn’t have a lot of systems in place. Given my background in data and processes, I knew there was a lot of room to improve. But back in 2000, property management wasn’t really seen as a profession. It was just looked at as something that real estate agents did on the side when they couldn’t sell houses. But to me, real estate sales meant big paychecks occasionally, followed by a month with no income. Property management provided consistent, predictable income each month, which is what I wanted. Establishing my company When I first bought the company, I immediately knew the property management side had a lot of potential. From day one I was focused on growing door count. We were explicitly targeting loft condos in downtown Denver, Colorado. That was the profile of properties that the company was already managing, and I knew that I wanted to keep the focus narrow. We only had a couple of people on the team, but we had a clear target client profile and a strong sense of what we wanted our company to be. Because property management wasn’t nearly as popular then as it is now, we also didn’t have a whole lot of competition, which gave us an opportunity to dominate the market. What I enjoyed most about working in property management There was a lot of upside to running my business. First off, we were really good at what we did. Because we had such dominance in the market, it gave us an extra level of confidence in what we were doing, and inspired us to keep building. Plus, working in an emerging industry was very exciting, even if it came with some downsides. More importantly, though, I really enjoyed the relationships I built with local property owners. We had a lot of repeat customers, so we got to know them well. We’d sell them a property, and then the client would realize the size of the investment opportunity, so they’d buy another one from us, and then we’d manage it as a rental. On the flip side, we had clients that we were managing properties for who eventually decided to sell. When you already have that trusted relationship with someone as their property manager, you have the inside track on selling their property when the time comes. They’re not going to go shopping around for other brokers, or looking to nickel and dime you. The most challenging aspects of property management Almost anyone who’s worked in property management will tell you that it’s not always sunshine and roses. There are a lot of challenges, and my business was no exception. For my company, one of the biggest learning curves in the beginning was learning to work with HOA management companies. Because we were focused on lofts, almost all of our units were in buildings that had HOA boards and professional HOA management companies. That creates certain challenges with certain repairs and renovations, move-in and move-out processes, and even small things like pet friendliness. The other factor was that, like I said, it was 2000, and property management wasn’t nearly as common as it is now. I didn’t know anyone else who had done property management at that level. I didn’t even know about NARPM for about the first 11 years that I had my company, so in a lot of ways I was on an island of my own, trying to figure the whole thing out. Eventually I ended up getting together with a few other property managers I knew in the area to form the Denver Independent Brokers Group. Even though a lot of our early members were only doing leasing, it still provided us all with a little bit more of a network and a group to learn with and from. Growing and maturing as a business The business was pretty successful pretty quickly, thanks to our specific market. I ran the company for nearly twenty years, and we grew to about 330 doors. We hired more staff, and at our peak we had about eleven full-time employees. That seems like a lot for a company with 330 doors under management, but most of them worked in the brokerage arm of the company. Some worked across teams, selling real estate but also showing rentals. We only had about four dedicated property management employees. Eventually we decided that the next stage of growth was to create a national brand. We knew that what we were doing was working well, and I had a network of other broker/owners who had similarly successful companies in other areas. So in December of 2019, we signed the paperwork to merge my company with four others across seven different markets. Stepping away from property management Deciding to step back from property management—and from the business I had been building for two decades—was not easy. But in 2022, we decided to do it. It had been a couple of years since the companies had merged, and it hadn’t been all smooth sailing. We had tried to standardize things across the country, and that didn’t always work. We had also elevated people who were thriving in their local markets into national positions, but that meant that the local offices no longer had the institutional knowledge that lived with those individuals. As a result, we struggled both at the local and national levels to adjust. We weren’t exactly looking to sell at that point, but we were approached with an offer that was pretty strong. We realized that the merger had created a tough situation for a lot of us, and selling was a good way to untangle that. We ultimately decided to sell the business in order to decouple the partnerships that we had formed. My advice to those in property management After the decades-long property management journey I’ve been on, my biggest piece of advice to anyone who’s just starting out in the industry is to always continue to expand and grow your knowledge. Property management is a lot more mature now than it was twenty years ago, and it’s moving faster than ever. You want to make sure you’re staying up to date, because even if you don’t own a company now, you might in the future. The people who do own the company are eventually going to want to retire, so they’ll be selling at some point. Or you may want to go out on your own and start a company. If you’re already a business owner, my advice is to design a business that can run without you, rather than design a business around you. In some ways, you want to be the least essential member of your team. Step away from tactical processes so you can focus on making strategic improvements and growing your bottom line. Regardless of where you are in your career, my advice is to build wealth by building your own portfolio. Property management isn’t usually a high-margin industry, but when you start to build your own portfolio, you diversify your income rather than relying entirely on your business. What I’m doing now I’ve stepped away from actively managing properties, but I’m still in the property management world. I currently run a coaching business, ONYX, where I help property managers grow their businesses by getting more strategic. In a lot of ways, I’ve been a coach my whole life, whether in business or Little League. I’ve been connecting with people in the industry since I first started, and part of NARPM since 2011, including serving as my local chapter president. I felt I had a good sense of the challenges other property managers were facing, so I decided to do some consulting on the side, starting in about 2017. My coaching business was up and running as a side gig while I was still running my property management company. When we decided to sell that business, coaching worked well for me as a logical next step. I knew it was something I wanted to do more of, and suddenly I had the time and space for it. Now, with my company well established, I’ve been able to help nearly 200 companies improve their processes and become more effective. If you want to learn more about my management philosophy, check out my recent episode of the Triple Win Property Management Podcast. Listen Now

Calendar icon May 1, 2025

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Property Management Staff: Hiring by Business Growth Stage

To grow your property management business, you need the right people. You also need to be strategic about hiring property management staff—scaling too quickly can interfere with profitability. So whom should you hire, and when? That’s what this post is all about. How to hire based on stages of property management growth In the early stage of managing a property management business, the owner might handle everything from leasing to maintenance. Eventually, your management portfolio will become too difficult to manage alone, so you can either stop growing, or you can hire people to keep growing your door count. That shifts your business into what we call the transitional stage. Transitional stage In the transitional stage, owners may have a few direct reports that fulfill essential functions. Bringing these people onboard frees up more time for broker/owners to find new investors and grow the business. At this stage, potential hires might include: Property maintenance technician: A skilled technician handles repairs and maintenance and may even manage service requests and groundskeeping tasks. Property manager: This role oversees daily operations, communicates with residents, and arranges resident showings for vacant properties. Leasing agent: Someone in a leasing agent role typically markets, shows, and leases vacant properties. In some states, this type of role requires special licensure, so be sure to check your local regulations and hire someone who holds the appropriate credentials to fill this position. Leadership stage After finding more investors, owners will need employees who have people management skills and can assume responsibility for building out the team. Potential hires include: Director of resident relations: This role is responsible for hiring and overseeing leasing agents, leasing assistants, and renewal managers. Sometimes, earlier hires (like the first property manager) may grow into this role. HR directors: Periods of rapid growth are difficult to manage without an HR manager or director. This person ensures compliance with labor laws, facilitates employee onboarding, and handles any employee-employer disputes. Accounting generalist: This role manages accounts payable and receivable, rent collection, tax obligations, and payroll. As the company grows, this staff member may become the head of accounting, delegating responsibilities to junior accountants. Maintenance manager: This role hires and oversees maintenance technicians and is responsible for tracking service requests and outcomes. The maintenance manager may also determine whether to outsource services like pest control or HVAC maintenance and find vendors to fulfill those roles. Enterprise stage Growing beyond 1,000 doors requires enterprise-level professionals with expertise in accounting, marketing, data analysis, and other specialties. Potential hires include: COO: The chief operating officer reports directly to the CEO (usually the company founder). The COO is responsible for turning the CEO’s vision into reality by implementing processes and policies, improving operational efficiency, and setting objectives and KPIs. Data analyst: A data analyst monitors metrics for all properties and identifies trends and opportunities. Project manager: This role doesn’t oversee people but does oversee projects, ensuring tasks are assigned and completed according to timelines. Investor relations manager: This is the person who presents reports to investors and serves as a liaison between investors and property management staff. Marketing manager: This role is responsible for all marketing efforts. They may focus on finding additional homes to add to the portfolio, or might also help with vacancy marketing. IT manager: If a property management company has an online rent portal, complex software, or multiple employees using a variety of systems, an IT manager is a smart hire. How to scale efficiently in property management Recruiting, hiring, and training is expensive, so some property management companies rely on external partners to fulfill critical functions, either temporarily, or as a long-term solution. Some of these resources include: Marketing agencies Marketing agencies have deep expertise in audience targeting, campaign management, and which strategies work best for connecting with residents and investors. Outsourcing marketing can help property management companies build awareness of their brand and generate new revenue, without the costs of hiring. IT contractors A managed service provider or independent IT contractor can typically manage IT for property management companies. These professionals are highly skilled in IT best practices and cybersecurity, but may not have specific expertise in property accounting software or other tools in your tech stack. HR and accounting solutions There are many companies that offer managed HR and accounting services, including payroll, benefits management, and 401(k) administration. Outsourcing these functions minimizes costs for property management companies and ensures compliance with labor laws and financial regulations. Resident concierge services Property management companies can use outsourced concierge services to support their property managers. For example, Second Nature’s Move-In Concierge helps new residents set up utilities, minimizing stress for residents and creating a great first impression. Managed renters insurance All residents need insurance, but making sure they have the right coverage and tracking compliance is a time-consuming process that can be frustrating for residents and property managers alike. With Second Nature’s Renters Insurance Program, property management companies have a standardized insurance package for every tenant that covers all common perils, with optional dog bite liability, bed bug remediation, and mold remediation. Grow your property management business with Second Nature Whether you’re hiring your first employees or you run an enterprise-level company with properties in multiple states, Second Nature can help you improve operational efficiency, attract residents, and reduce turnover. Discover how Second Nature’s fully managed Residents Benefits Package can help you grow. Contact us today to request your personalized demo.

Calendar icon April 29, 2025

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Learning to Empower your Property Management Employees

Tony Cline has over 20 years of experience in property management. After purchasing a real estate and property management brokerage in Denver, Colorado, he spent more than two decades as managing broker. Today he's focused full time on his work as a Property Management Success Coach. Tony is a Second Nature Triple Win Mentor. Managing a team is hard, especially when you run the company. You want to empower your teams to be more than just button pushers, while also keeping a high level of execution and not putting your business at risk. It starts with hiring the right people, identifying their strengths, and putting them in the right seats. But beyond that, you have to make sure you’re giving them the room they need to learn, grow, and sometimes fail. Learning to let go of control over every detail, and instead trust your employees, will help you see more success, keep your best employees longer, and establish yourself as a true leader of your business. Getting started with hiring When I was just ramping up my property management business in Colorado, I fell into one of the classic traps that small business owners face. I just wanted to put butts in seats. I wasn’t hiring with intention. When you’re in grow-at-all-costs mode, it’s easy to start hiring whoever you can for whatever roles you can. But the danger is that you put people in the wrong positions and you don’t set them up for success. The lesson I learned very quickly was that I needed to be looking for people who were passionate. First, they needed to be passionate about the type of work we were doing. Second, they needed to be passionate about the types of properties we were managing. I learned that I needed people on my team who were bought into the long-term vision. They needed to have the same core values as we did if they were going to be successful. And beyond that, I wanted people who had the desire to learn, take on a challenge, and become better. Putting people in the right spots The specific skillset and attitude you need might vary by role. For example, in a sales position, you want people who have the drive to own everything, and may even have aspirations of becoming their own boss some day. But in operational roles, you may need people who are more focused on the small details, who like to get in the weeds and solve problems. Each person has a specific role to fill. I think of it like getting dressed in the morning; it doesn’t do much good to have 5 pairs of pants but no shirt. Learning to let go of control When I first started leading a property management business,I started out as too much of a control freak. I didn’t want people who would challenge my ideas or thoughts. I thought I was the smartest person in the room, and it was my business, so I was in charge. As a result, I held back my team. I didn’t give them ownership over their work. And it hurt my business. But then, in 2006, I got sick, and it became absolutely necessary to hand over control. It was the only way for my business to survive. I couldn’t own everything. I had to give people the opportunity to step up. And when I did, there were people there who really flourished. They just needed to be given the space to do it. It’s one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in business. People need to have authority and ownership to excel in their role. You need to give them direction, and then you need to get out of the way. You can’t steer a parked car; you have to be in motion to change direction. Getting comfortable with the occasional mistake One of the biggest sticking points for a lot of leaders—especially in property management—is a fear that, if they give responsibility to someone else, that person will make a mistake. I have two responses to this: First off, mistakes are inevitable. Of course they’re going to happen, but that’s okay. Second, the stakes really aren’t that high. We’re not driving ambulances and getting lost on the way to the hospital. Really, what’s the worst that can happen? If we’re late getting a payment out to an owner, maybe we’ll get an upset phone call. We’ll feel like we have egg on our faces when we have to apologize. But we’ll all move on from it and we’ll find a way to make it right. Realistically, holding back your employees is costing a lot more than letting them make a mistake. When you create an environment where it’s okay to make a mistake, you create an environment of trust. And when you have that, you have a successful workplace where people want to work. Besides, why have someone on your team if you aren’t going to trust them to take on responsibilities and grow? Holding onto your best people Keeping talented team members is tough. Turnover is a big issue in all small businesses, but especially property management. There’s a ceiling on growth, and a lot of good employees hit it pretty quickly. There just aren’t that many positions to grow into when your team is only four or five people. And that means there’s no big promotion or big raise that they’re working for. I believe you can still keep your best and most ambitious contributors. You just need to give them something worth working for. I always say that people will suffer for a cause, but they won’t suffer just because. You need to give people a north star to work towards, and you need to hire people who believe in what they’re doing. When people are bought in on your company vision, and when the work they’re doing is directly tied to it, they can continue to grow even in the same role. Final thoughts One thing that I try to bring into my leadership style every day is believing in people more than they believe in themselves. I truly believe people are capable of more than they think they’re capable of. Everyone carries some level of impostor syndrome, and a great leader can help them overcome it by believing in them, coaching them, and empowering them. When I see that someone has the right values and they’re bought in, that’s when I start to give them more and more guidance on how to improve. Most people will rise or fall to the level of your expectations, so set your expectations high, and then give them the support to meet it.

Calendar icon April 24, 2025

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Leading Means Truly Connecting with your Team

Melissa Gillispie is the Director of Leasing and Property Management at JWB Property Management, and the 2025 NARPM Jacksonville President. She has over 11 years of experience in property management and is currently a Second Nature Triple Win Mentor. About two years ago, I had a big shift in my professional life. I was promoted into a director position, and, for the first time in my career, I was a layer removed from most of the individual contributors on my team. As someone who cares deeply about coaching, knowing my team, and forming relationships, it was jarring. I felt disconnected, and it was a tough adjustment. Shortly after, I was in a leadership class when one of the instructors asked a simple question: “How much time do you spend with the people who are doing the work?” It was pretty eye-opening for me, in part because I’ve always felt that JWB is a social workplace where we all want to get to know each other. But the truth was, I wasn’t spending that much time with my team, and it was having a negative effect. I wanted to make sure that members of my team knew where I was coming from when I communicated things to them; that I had their best interest at heart, and that I wanted to be a coach, not a dictator. So the next logical question was, “how can I build up these relationships to foster more connection and trust?” How to build relationships with your team Once I started thinking deliberately about how to form closer relationships with the “doers” on my team, it actually came pretty naturally. The challenge wasn’t in coming up with the ideas, but in actually executing them. In a business as busy as property management, it’s not easy to make time for team building. It tends to be one of the first things to fall off the priority list when other things pop up. The most important part of setting up any kind of team building program is to commit to it and see it through. With that said, here are some of the different ideas that I’ve either done myself, seen done well at JWB, or heard positive reviews of from people in my network. 1:1 coffee and lunches This was the first large-scale, deliberate plan that I put in place when I realized that I needed to form stronger relationships with my team. I committed to taking a different member of my team out for coffee or lunch each week. I set no agenda and I had no ulterior motives; it was purely to get to know each other. I tried to minimize how much we talked shop, and instead learn what kinds of things each person enjoys, how they communicate, and what they’re passionate about. This wasn’t a small undertaking for me, because the teams I managed totalled over 50 people, but it was well worth it. I connected with people that I had otherwise never even met. Notes of gratitude Another approach I took was to write a couple of notes of gratitude to teammates each week. They were delivered privately, and were just intended to let that person know that I saw how hard they were working and what they were achieving. If you have a performance management or HR tool, take a look and see whether it includes a feature that will let you do this virtually. You can even set a calendar reminder each week to sit down and write a nice note to a couple of teammates. They don’t have to be long. The point is just to make the recipient feel seen. Team appreciation events While an office pizza party may get a bad rap, in-office team building can still be impactful. We recently celebrated team appreciation week, and we made a big deal of it! We didn’t announce the full scope of what we were going to do, so it was a nice surprise for most of the team. We had a team lunch, but we also gave out awards and hosted free raffles for our employees to win fun prizes. Just making the time was important in itself. Desk rotations Another tactic we use from time to time is switching up where people are sitting. Not only does it offer a literal fresh perspective, but it also helps break down silos across teams. People make friends with the people physically closest to them, and for leaders and managers, sitting with different groups can help build relationships and trust with them, too. Setting expectations I am a huge proponent of setting expectations, especially when onboarding new employees. I think one of the most important things you can do as the leader of a team is set non-negotiables for how people behave and how they treat each other. Not only does this keep people in check, it also gets everybody on the same page about how their teammates and managers are going to communicate. If you set the expectation up front that you’re going to provide weekly feedback in order to help everyone grow, your employees won’t be caught off guard when they receive constructive criticism. Far-reaching impacts Of course we all want to get along well with our colleagues, and we want to like the people we work with. But at the end of the day, what do we really get out of fostering these relationships? In my experience, the impacts are pretty significant. Fostering better work: When people feel seen, heard, and appreciated, they’re much more motivated to show up to work as their best selves. They’re going to perform better and go above and beyond, because they know that effort will be recognized. Increasing team retention: Again, no one wants to be at a workplace where they feel undervalued. When people have more trust in their team, they’re likely to stick around longer. Creating a safe space for hard conversations: People are more likely to open up about tough topics when they don’t feel like they’re going to be judged, especially when they’re talking to their managers. By creating a safety net for difficult conversations, you allow your employees to be more honest and resolve challenges more quickly. Increasing receptivity: Employees who take feedback well are invaluable, and one of the best ways to help them do that is by making sure they trust you to give honest, effective evaluations. When they know you’re coming from a place of genuine helpfulness, as opposed to tearing them down, they’re less afraid and more receptive. Building accountability: Team members are also more likely to hold each other accountable when there is a closeness and trust factor. When they know their feedback will be taken in a positive light, they feel more confident providing it in the first place. All of this makes people more comfortable, more productive, and more likely to approach their work with a positive attitude. True at any size One thing I want to make sure to emphasize is that this isn’t just something you need to focus on at a larger company like JWB. While smaller teams often know each other well just by the nature of their work, that isn’t always true. For example, a small team may have remote workers who only get a chance to connect with in-office staff a couple of times per week. Or you may have maintenance coordinators, leasing agents, or inspection staff who spend most of their time out of the office, visiting properties. They may not have the same opportunities to forge close relationships with their teammates, and may feel disconnected. Just because there isn’t a layer of management between you and the rest of the team doesn’t mean you don’t need to invest time and energy to form connections. In fact, if you have to ask the question at all, it’s probably worth it to put some 1:1 meetings on the calendar and get a pulse check from your team. It can’t hurt to get the ball rolling. Final thoughts When you’re a busy property management leader, it can be tough to find the time and energy to focus on team building. But you have to do the work so that the people who work for and with you understand who you are, where you’re coming from, and why you care.

Calendar icon April 22, 2025

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Four Keys to Successfully Scaling a Property Management Company

Scaling a property management company is not easy. Between finding the right clients, hiring new team members, and keeping your processes up to date and efficient, there's a lot involved. We sat down with industry expert Patrick Freeze to get his take on how to successfully scale a property management company. Patrick Freeze was once a professional poker player. Now he is the CEO of Bay Property Management, a Baltimore-based firm that has scaled to over 6,000 doors and is one of the largest PMCs on the east coast. While his personal origin story is one of the most interesting in the industry, we're focused on his company’s growth story and the tactics used to go from zero to thousands of units under management. Bay Management took a marketing-focused approach, complemented by intentional and detailed process optimization. Freeze was a wealth of information, and we've tried to boil down our conversation to four top strategies. 1. Focus on SEO and digital marketing From day one, Bay Property Management has invested in its organic marketing efforts to help attract new business. Freeze himself became an expert in SEO early on, and today it remains a primary focus of his marketing team. “I started reading everything I could on online marketing, so SEO, pay-per-click, etc. Over the course of a year, I became really skilled at doing all the marketing on my own,” says Freeze. “So if you were to type in property management companies, Baltimore property management companies, or any variation of those keywords, we could come up number one. And then we started getting phone calls 24/7.” Bay grew rapidly as a result of its ability to generate web traffic and organic leads through SEO. Freeze doubled the size of the business each year for several years after the initial launch, eventually expanding into four different markets. Freeze credits his and his team’s investment in top-of-funnel digital marketing tactics as the catalyst for his rapid business growth. The CEO estimates he gets between 120 and 140 new single-family leads a week, almost exclusively from online sources. “We have 10 people in our marketing department that solely focus on that. Google is actually going through a big algorithm update right now, and you have to be on top of those. If you’re not, you’re not going to rank well in search. We spend a lot of time on that. Someone could probably argue the other side and say you should be more diversified, but it’s worked for us.” 2. Never stop examining your processes One of the biggest challenges for a growing business is process development and refinement. Scaling requires careful, deliberate processes, and that can often be more difficult than growing the client list. A rapidly growing PMC has already optimized its process for finding new business. Defining the systems your company will depend on to be efficient is a new kind of undertaking, something Freeze learned quickly as Bay grew to nearly 200 employees. “When you’re managing 500 units, you know everyone at the company very well, and you can get away with not having systems, policies, procedures. When you have 190 people, you really have to have your systems down,” says the CEO. Freeze notes that the challenges that come with a large company are not universal, and what you have to be prepared for at 50 employees is different from 150. It pays to focus on continuous improvement and always be optimizing; process management is never something that’s done. “So I think probably scaling from five employees to fifteen, to 50 To 100. You have to keep iterating. You have to continuously make improvements on what you're doing. So what worked for 200 doors is not going to work for 1,000. So a good example: when we started out, we had one person handling maintenance, one person handling accounting, one person as the property manager, right? And I would go out and get new business. Well, as the company continued to grow then we had two people on maintenance. And then we had two property managers. And as we were growing, we realize, wait a second, when a work order comes in, whose work order is that?” Defining roles and minimizing redundancy Early on in the company’s growth, Freeze sought to define the exact responsibilities of all positions within the company in order to minimize overlap. Overlap in roles leads to inefficiencies, which can be avoided with clear guidelines as to exactly what role is responsible for what upcoming tasks. “We have a handbook for our property managers that’s probably 80 pages. We have a procedural guide for every single position,” says Freeze. “I don’t think anyone whom I’ve talked to that has scaled has not had very, very defined policies, procedures, handbooks, because if you don’t, it’s going to be a total mess.” Structure has helped create more traceable outcomes, which results in processes that are “more easily optimized and improved as the company continues to grow. “We made a change when we had about 1,000 or 1,200 units from having maintenance coordinators and property managers to just having the property managers handle everything. It was a big switch for the company, but I think it was for the better because we know exactly when there’s a mistake that’s made. We can trace that and see exactly who was responsible for the problem instead of having four hands in the pie.” 3. Take the time to hire the right people “I don’t think there is anything more important than having good quality employees,” says Freeze. “You can get all the new business you want, but if you don’t have good employees managing the new property, you’re going to lose it as quickly as you gained it.” Bay did not grow to almost 200 employees without a developed process for finding highly skilled team members. While the hiring process has become much more role-specific now, Freeze credits a unique interview design—one that’s much more action-focused than response-focused—for helping him pick the people best suited for property management. “I had a list of 30 to 40 questions that had nothing to do with property management. I would ask questions like ‘who is the vice president?’ ‘What is 46 times 24?’ I used to have this brick wall in my office and I would ask how many bricks are on the wall. I would ask them to name something that’s complicated but you know really, really well, and take five minutes and explain it to me. And I would just keep going on and on for probably 30 minutes with these questions.” Freeze never particularly cared if the candidates got the answers correct. He was much more interested in their process for getting to the answers and how they handled the unusual interview. “In property management, you’re constantly dealing with problems. You’re basically problem-solving when you’re a property manager, and if you can’t deal with complicated questions, you’re probably not going to be able to deal with complicated situations. So I would just start blasting off for 30 minutes all these random questions, and some people did great with it and we would hire them. We probably had 25% of all people who wouldn’t even finish the interview.” Resilience is a key trait for a property manager, but also one of the harder traits to identify in an interview setting. Bay’s interview process succeeded in testing for it. Freeze’s process also includes a timed writing test designed to see if candidates can write clearly and quickly when applying for a company that’s very email heavy. The process is designed to test ability more so than experience, and it’s helped get the right people in place from the beginning, allowing Bay to offer a better property management service that is more marketable. 4. Invest in legal and compliance Compliance is hard enough in the heavily regulated world of property management, but one of the biggest challenges as you expand into other markets is managing the different laws and ordinances in each individual market. Freeze believes that compliance is “far and away” the biggest challenge of scaling. “All of our leasing agents have to know different things in different jurisdictions that we’re in, because the requirements are different,” says Freeze. “We have attorneys review our stuff every single year, all of our lease documents, addendums, etc. Even with all that said, there is so much legislation that is passed every quarter that it can be tough to stay up on it.” Managers at Bay’s regional offices are required to be remain current with the nuances of local leasing laws and ordinances, which can change monthly. “They really are changing that much, as crazy as that sounds. And then when COVID happened, it was a complete and utter nightmare. They were changing weekly, and the odds of getting hit with a big class-action lawsuit go up, and you can be sued for something that you don’t even know you’re doing wrong. So always make sure you are totally buttoned up and spending extra money on compliance. I can’t say that enough. You can’t spend too much on that.” Advantages of scaling a property management business With these tips for scaling a PMC, you can increase the size and scope of your business, achieving higher levels of efficiency, profitability, and growth. Let’s look at what benefits you stand to gain from scaling your business. Improved profitability: As a business grows, it can benefit from economies of scale, which can help to reduce costs and improve profitability. Whether you're negotiating rates with a maintenance vendor or ordering air filters for your properties, you can usually get better deals when buying in bulk. Competitive advantage: Larger businesses can offer a wider range of products or services, enter new markets, and achieve greater brand recognition, all of which help you stand out from the competition. Plus, investors may be more likely to trust a business with more doors under management, which they see as more professional and more experienced. Improved access to capital: A larger and more successful business is often able to attract more investment and secure better financing terms, which can help to fuel further growth. In the case of property management, it can also draw clients. Attracting and retaining top talent: Scaling a business can help to create new professional growth opportunities for employees, increase job security, and improve overall job satisfaction, which can help to attract and retain top talent. Increased innovation: As a business grows, leadership can spend more time working on the business, rather than in the business. That means more time can be spent identifying opportunities, building efficiencies, and developing ancillary revenue streams. Tools you need to scale your property management business The property management industry is an enormously tech-savvy group of people. In our network of property management companies, we’ve seen quick adoption of new tools and tech like AI, cloud-based systems, and more. Of course, the property management tools you choose will depend on the specific needs and goals of your PMC, but here are some tools and property management software solutions that we’ve seen most highly rated in our industry. Slack: A cloud-based platform that makes communicating with your team easy. You can get immediate responses from team members, and even vendors or clients you add to your channels. LeadSimple: Sales CRM and process automation RentCheck: Automating property inspections Process Street: No-code, simple process and workflow management Airtable: a low-code platform to build collaborative apps to visualize data, processes, and more. Zapier: A tool that allows you to integrate all your applications and set up automated workflows between them. These are just a few of the many property management tools available. It's important to evaluate the specific needs and goals of your business, and choose a tech stack that best fits those requirements. How Second Nature helps with scaling Second Nature was built on the idea that we can make property management easier for everyone involved—residents, investors, and especially property managers. To that end, we’ve built fully managed services that generate greater value for your PMC by delivering better resident experiences. Second Nature’s Resident Benefits Package aims to provide tools that are customizable across multiple property management levels, needs, and niches. With fully managed and integrated services that add value for residents and investors, you can much more easily see the benefits of scale. Our team takes care of the details for you so that your team can focus on growth, reputation, and quality. Learn more about Second Nature’s industry-leading RBP and how it can help you scale with greater ease.

Calendar icon April 18, 2025

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Property Management Meeting Agenda Template: A How-To Guide

Having a well-structured, consistent, and intentional meeting agenda can help keep your team—and your company—on track. Setting and sticking to a clear agenda sets expectations with your team. It also provides an opportunity to directly lead your team toward key goals by focusing on the right things. Once you’ve settled on a robust meeting cadence, you have to make sure that you’re maximizing your time. No one wants to sit in meetings just for the sake of it. This article provides a clear property management meeting agenda template, so that you can make sure you’re hitting all of the most important points in your meetings, including financial news, maintenance reports, leasing and resident updates, and compliance changes. Why do you need a property management meeting agenda? Having a well-defined meeting agenda serves several important purposes. First off, it keeps your team focused. Everyone knows what to expect when you sit down together. Second, consistency allows you to touch on the same points each time you meet, meaning that you can better measure progress. A meeting agenda also creates a central place for documentation, including what was discussed and what the take-aways and outcomes were. It drives accountability, follow-up tasks, and better time management from your team, and ensures that key items don’t slip through the cracks or end up on the back burner. Essentially, your agenda illustrates what’s most important, helping you to better prioritize how you spend your time. The specifics of your agenda will vary based on the meeting type. A weekly staff meeting is going to have a very different agenda than a quarterly investor report, for example. What to include in a property management meeting agenda Developing an effective agenda can take time, patience, and practice. Luckily, we’ve spoken to dozens of property management professionals and distilled their insights into a clear template for you. This template is best suited for a monthly meeting in which the larger team gathers to check in on key items and set priorities. 1. Welcome and introductions You should always start each meeting with an overview of who’s meeting and why. That should include: An explanation of the meeting’s purpose: Are you reviewing property ledgers, discussing upcoming projects, or examining team performance? Expectation setting: What topics are attendees expected to stick to? How should they address follow-up or spin-off topics? Introductions: Make sure you introduce any new team members or vendors, including existing team members who don’t typically join this meeting. Make sure everyone knows why each attendee is there. 2. Previous meeting minutes Next, make sure to review any key takeaways or outstanding items from the last meeting. If there were tasks assigned during the previous session, now’s the time to check in and see whether they were completed. If there are tasks that haven’t been completed, set a deadline so that they don’t fall behind. You can also use this time to shout out notable accomplishments and achievements from the team. Take a minute to recognize team members who have done great work since the last time you met. 3. Financial performance updates Next, dig into your financial performance a bit. This is where you’ll want to look at things like: Rent roll reports Budgeted versus actual financials Income by source, including a breakdown of rent, fees, and ancillary income For monthly or quarterly meetings, you can also look at profit and loss statements. You’ll want to use this time to also flag any budget items that are at risk, or any particular properties with big-ticket maintenance issues or other costs. This is a great time to look for patterns in financial performance to see if there are overall areas in which you can improve. 4. Property maintenance and operations Once you’ve covered the monetary picture, it’s time to turn to maintenance. You should start with ongoing maintenance projects, especially urgent items or recurring problems like plumbing repairs, roof leaks, or HVAC issues. Next, look at upcoming projects that may be planned in advance or happen annually. For example, plans for spring landscaping, winter snow removal, or summer pest control treatments should be covered here to make sure that everything is on track. This is also a great time to review vendor performance. Take a look at recently completed work orders and what resident feedback looks like. Did any vendors go above and beyond, or perhaps fall short? Are there maintenance areas where you need additional vendors in your network to handle the workload? 5. Resident management and leasing updates Next on the agenda is a look at leasing, resident retention, and marketing. Start by looking at occupancy rates, as well as current and upcoming vacancies. If there are open homes that have been listed for a while, evaluate whether they need a price adjustment, updated photos, or more marketing dollars. This is where you can really boost your listing strategy with new ideas from the larger team. You should also be looking at resident retention and marketing efforts at this point in the meeting. What percent of upcoming lease expirations have already signed on for renewal? What kinds of incentives can you offer to boost renewal rates, if needed? 6. Compliance and legal updates After you’ve handled financials, maintenance, and leasing, it’s important to take some time to review any new legal or compliance changes. Compliance is essential to maintaining a stable business, so it’s absolutely worth the time investment here. First, look at any regulatory changes impacting property management in your geographic area. This is especially important if you manage properties across multiple counties and states, which increases the likelihood of more frequent regulation changes. Look at what the changes are and whether you need to make any changes to remain compliant. Next, review any ongoing legal matters, especially those related to evictions. Make sure the whole team is on the same page and that everything is being done by the book to avoid any unintended consequences. 7. Strategic planning and improvement initiatives Now it’s time to zoom out and look at bigger, longer-term projects. You’ll want to take this time to cover any large capital improvements, either in your business itself or at managed properties. Business improvements might include technology upgrades or hiring efforts. Property investments might include roof replacements or large-scale renovations. You’ll also want to look at changes to your portfolio. For example, you may be onboarding a new investor client, or maybe an existing client has acquired new properties that you’re going to bring under management. You also might have clients who are planning to 1031-exchange one property for another. You should discuss these matters to make sure that your team is planning appropriately. 8. Actions items and next steps The last major section of the meeting is reviewing action items and next steps. If you aren’t carefully recording your follow-up tasks, your meetings will be ineffective and work will get lost. Make sure that you have a clear list of tasks, and that each one has a designated assignee. Team members shouldn’t have any confusion about who owns which items. They should also be given clear deadlines, and management should establish a transparent follow-up schedule to make sure everything is happening on time. For example, if a unit needs carpets replaced, someone might be assigned to gather three quotes before the next meeting, and their manager should have a check-in set at the half-way point to make sure they’ve reached out to vendors. 9. Open discussion and Q&A Before closing out the meeting, make sure that you leave time for open discussion and any clarifying questions. By giving everyone the opportunity to ask questions, you’re ensuring that they bear responsibility for understanding what’s been discussed and what’s expected of them. If there’s time remaining, team members can use it for cross-talk, where they can follow up on open items with other team members. In property management, it often isn’t easy to get everyone in a room together, so make sure that you’re maximizing the time you do have. Tips for running a property management meeting Now that you have a better sense of what should be on the agenda, you’re almost ready for your meeting. There are a few crucial steps to making sure that your property management meeting runs smoothly: Share the agenda in advance, and only adjust it when absolutely necessary Start by celebrating wins, which can help engage and motivate the team Take clear notes so that you can go back and review key discussion topics If you’re meeting virtually, record the session for anyone who can’t attend Reserve of-topic discussions for separate breakouts Watch the clock to make sure you’re being respectful of everyone’s time Gather feedback about the meeting from your team to make sure it’s serving its purpose Customize your property management meeting agenda templates with Second Nature Using this meeting agenda template can drastically improve your meeting productivity. And when you have your whole team sitting in a room together, you’re paying a lot of salary for that time. Productivity is key. If you want more templates that can help you optimize your property management business, you’re in luck. You can explore all of Second Nature’s templates and resources, which are completely free to download. Explore now

Calendar icon April 17, 2025

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Why Should Property Managers Offer Internet as an Amenity?

In a world where residents are consistently seeking out convenience and amenities, property managers are constantly trying to meet high expectations. Whether it’s providing a Resident Benefits Package or making applying, moving in, and paying rent more convenient, property managers are rising to the challenge. In today’s rental market, residents expect fast, reliable internet as a necessity, not a luxury. Residents are working from home, streaming their favorite shows at night, and gaming online, and they need a dependable high-speed connection. Unfortunately, consumers today aren’t the level of service that they want. In fact, customers using wired internet in the U.S. reported an overall satisfaction level of just 538 on a 1,000 point scale. The gap between customer expectations and what they’re receiving is only growing. An internet program provides the opportunity for property managers to deliver a premium resident experience, while also giving investors a strategic edge to attract and retain quality residents. So what are the benefits of offering high-speed internet as an amenity for your residents? Delivering resident experience At Second Nature, we’re all about the resident experience. It’s why we do what we do. It’s also why we recently introduced Group Rate Internet. Like all of our resident benefits, Group Rate Internet is designed to deliver a top-tier resident experience. With Group Rate Internet, residents receive high connection speed at a significantly lower cost. Plus, our Group Rate Internet program eliminates resident frustration with unexpected price hikes, slow speeds, or contract confusion. We’ve eliminated all the outdated annoyances of the traditional internet subscriber experience. Simple setup When they move into a unit with Group Rate Internet, residents get a premium activation experience. Second Nature provides expert guidance to activate service, including a warm hand off to their internet service provider (ISP) when necessary so that they can easily schedule installation or receive equipment delivery. No more dealing with ISP runarounds or being put on hold or transferred over and over—just responsive, high-touch service that makes setup fast and easy. Dedicated support Once the resident is up and running, Second Nature provides continued support via a dedicated phone line. If residents have questions about their service or subscription, they call us directly, keeping your phone lines open to answer other resident inquiries. If they have a technical support question that requires support from their ISP, Second Nature will initiate a warm handoff, making sure that a representative from the ISP is on the line before hanging up. Cost savings It’s not just resident experience, either. The second reason that internet makes so much sense as an amenity is the financial side. With Group Rate Internet, you can help your residents save money on their internet bill every month. Today, residents pay an average of $80-$120 per month for gigabit-speed internet service. A separate study found that only 53% of wired internet customers in the U.S. said that their monthly bill was affordable. That means that nearly half of subscribers find their internet service costs to be too high. Because Second Nature can harness the negotiating power of the more than one million units in our network, we can deliver savings directly to residents. With our group rates, residents can get high-speed service at a lower cost than they could get on their own. Plus, because Second Nature maintains the contracts directly, residents won’t see sudden price hikes or changes to service levels. Plus, they have no setup, cancellation, or hidden fees. Equipment rental is covered, so the price they see at lease signing is the price they pay. Competitive advantage Today’s renters are tech-savvy and more connected than ever. In fact, many residents actively seek tech-forward homes. Properties offering built-in high-speed internet stand out in competitive markets. That means that you can fill vacancies faster, keep residents longer, and deliver better business results. Increase applications The 2024 NMHC and Grace Hill Renter Preferences Survey Report, which surveyed over 172,000 renters nationwide, found that 90% of residents said high-speed internet was a must-have. It was the third-most wanted amenity behind airconditioning and in-unit laundry. That means that, by advertising gigabit-speed internet as an amenity in your rental homes, you’re appealing to a much wider potential resident base. Programs like Group Rate Internet can help you set yourself apart from the pack. You’ll get more applications and find a qualified applicant more quickly. Retain residents Property managers know that happy residents stay longer, and lease renewals are a key performance indicator for your business. When residents stay longer, property managers and investors save on listing and marketing, missed rent, and turnover maintenance costs. Because fast, affordable internet drives rental satisfaction, it can directly influence whether a resident chooses to renew their lease. That means a direct impact on your bottom line, and work taken off of your leasing team. Final thoughts Whether you’re looking for new ways to delight your residents, opportunities to drive cost savings, or looking to find and retain better applicants, internet can be a great opportunity. By packaging high-speed internet with your rentals, you can help grow your business while providing a service that residents are eager to take advantage of. Interested in learning more about how you can add Group Rate Internet to your rental portfolio? Book a demo today to speak with a member of our team.

Calendar icon April 15, 2025

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Creating a Coaching Culture at your Property Management Company

Melissa Gillispie is the Director of Leasing and Property Management at JWB Property Management, and the 2025 NARPM Jacksonville President. She has over 11 years of experience in property management and is currently a Second Nature Triple Win Mentor. One of the biggest shifts I’ve felt in my time at JWB is leaning less into a culture of management, and more into a coaching culture. By focusing on the whole person, rather than just focusing on output, our team is built stronger for the long run. Read on to learn more about what coaching is, why it’s so important in property management specifically, and what you can do to build a coaching culture of your own. What is coaching? Coaching employees is the process of developing the whole person, rather than just trying to optimize how they achieve a specific business outcome. Coaching is an evolution of supervision and management, and goes beyond either of those. Here’s how I differentiate: Supervision is the process of managing tasks, quality control, and day-to-day work. Management is a bit broader, and includes setting a vision and developing a process. Both supervision and management are focused on the organizational aspects, whereas coaching is about developing a person overall. Yes, coaching also includes business needs, but it focuses on setting goals and achieving them on a personal growth level. Coaching includes understanding long-term drives, desires, goals, and intentions. It’s about asking the question, “How can I in this organization help you take a step closer to achieving those things?” What is a coaching culture? A coaching culture is an overall attitude throughout the organization that the whole team has each other’s personal and professional development in mind. First and foremost, a coaching culture starts with trust. Employees need to know they can come to you honestly when something goes wrong. They need to know you’re not going to judge them for their long-term goals. They need to trust that you’re giving open and honest feedback to help them improve every day. As a coach, what does that look like? First, in order to build that trust, a good coach needs to be honest and give real, actionable feedback so that their employees can learn, develop, and become their best selves. That means setting the stage early. In my first one-to-one with a new hire, I always ask a few questions to better understand what their non-negotiables are for themselves: What are the standards they set for themselves? What are their personal core values? What are their goals? I also share these things about myself so that they have a better understanding of me as a person and of how we’ll work together. And, most importantly, sharing vulnerable information about myself also helps build that ever-important trust. Allowing room to fail forward Part of creating a culture of honest feedback is also allowing room to fail. First of all, people shouldn’t be afraid to fail or make mistakes. Second, when they do make a mistake, they shouldn’t be afraid of coming to tell you about it. Mistakes happen. The question should then be, “how do we learn from this, and hopefully prevent it from happening again?” As a coach, your job is to be a safe place for failure. You can’t be reactive and harsh when someone makes a mistake. You need to turn mistakes into teachable moments and allow your team to fail forward, learn, and grow. Why coaching is important in property management Why is coaching important in property management specifically? Well, for starters, no one really goes to school for property management. Most property management teams are made up of people like me, who started their careers elsewhere and found property management along the way. That means that there’s a lot of learning, which also means a lot of failure. Plus, property managers carry such a large workload and such a long list of tasks that they’re bound to have something fall through the cracks. There’s just inherent human error. Failing forward is part of the job. Property management also requires decision making at speed. You have to move from evaluation mode into decision-making mode so quickly that you need to be able to trust yourself, and to trust that you won’t get in trouble if you’re wrong. Too many people are held up by the fear of failure, so they don’t make quick decisions. Planning a career in property management Because there isn’t a lot of formal education in property management, a lot of people in the industry also don’t have a great sense of the career trajectory. That’s where a coach can step in. As a coach, you help shape an employee’s property management career path. Something I take a lot of pride in is my ability to understand someone’s strengths, identify what kinds of roles best suit them, and make that clear to them. Coaching means providing growth plans for each role. If someone can do their job with their eyes closed, they probably aren’t being challenged, and they may start to lose interest. It’s your responsibility as a coach to keep leveling them up. A good coach also provides the flexibility for employees to change trajectories. Your employees should feel comfortable coming to you with questions about their career in property management. Sometimes that means they may want to leave your team and transfer to another team in the organization. As much as it can be difficult to lose a good team member, part of being a good coach is helping them fulfill their maximum potential. Bringing coaching into reviews At JWB, we hold weekly one-to-ones with direct reports. Sometimes they’re very tactical and focused on ongoing projects, but we try to also work in time for long-term goal setting. As coaches, we’re constantly evaluating performance and making sure that team members are on track for what’s right for them. Doing this weekly helps prevent people from veering too far off track, then only hearing about it in an annual review. Of course, we also hold annual reviews. In those meetings we make sure to establish long-term goals for the next year or two. These reviews also include the most important question a coach can ask: “How can I help you achieve this?” Coaching doesn’t just happen downward It’s important to recognize that a coaching culture means coaching all of those around you, and being willing to be coached yourself. We’re all responsible to each other. Making yourself coachable is half the battle. You need to listen to feedback and take it to heart. When I ask my employees how they best receive feedback, I also tell them how I best receive feedback myself. I make it abundantly clear that I’m not just open to feedback, I want feedback. Coaching never stops. You never get to a point where you no longer need coaching. So keep coaching, keep being coachable, and keep building up better property managers who will push our industry forward. Want to learn more about measuring performance, improving employee output, and growing your business? Watch the webinar that Tony Cline and I participated in, all about making your KPIs more actionable. Watch now

Calendar icon April 8, 2025

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My Ideal Meeting Cadence for Property Management Companies

Tony Cline has over 20 years of experience in property management. After purchasing a real estate and property management brokerage in Denver, Colorado, he spent more than two decades as managing broker. Today he's focused full time on his work as a Property Management Success Coach. Tony is a Second Nature Triple Win Mentor. One of the most popular frameworks in property management right now is EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System. EOS is a system that helps organizations increase discipline and accountability through several tools, including a very specific meeting cadence. Now, to officially implement EOS, you have to be a licensed implementor and go through specific training. What I’m advocating is something of an EOS-light approach. I’m not a licensed implementor, and the meeting cadence I’m going to outline for property managers has been adapted, but it does have some roots in EOS. I’m also not a purist. I don’t believe that you have to do everything exactly by the book to be successful. I’d advocate looking at this framework critically, putting it into practice, seeing what works for your organization and what doesn’t, and adapting. Setting yourself up for success The first thing to know about implementing a new property management meeting cadence is that, without a clear mission, vision, and values, this all means nothing. I’ve written before about how policy should follow your mission and values, and this is no different. So if you don’t have those things nailed down in your organization, that’s a better place to start. The second thing to know is that this is going to be a little bit uncomfortable. There will be awkward moments along the way as your team gets used to a new way of doing things. You’ll need to get comfortable being uncomfortable. In my mind, the number one determination of whether this plan will be successful is whether the owner of the company has the discipline to see implementation through, even when things get weird. And they will get a little weird. Now, let’s walk through the meeting cadence that I recommend to my clients at Property Management Success, and what each meeting consists of. Daily huddle meeting The first big piece of the meeting cadence is the daily huddle, which you may also know as a standup. The daily meeting, which I recommend scheduling at the beginning of each day, is intended to be short and to the point. We’re not all going to get comfy in a meeting room for 30 or 60 minutes with our laptops and our breakfast. Daily huddles should hit a couple of key points: What do we need to know right now to execute today? This might include items that are blocked by other teammates, things that are holding up other people’s work, or anticipated challenges. What are the urgent items that need to be addressed? Are there fires that need to be put out? What needs to be done by the end of the day to keep everything on track? I find daily huddles valuable not just for the work that gets addressed, but also the team building element. It brings the team together everyday and gets them in the mindset of working as one. This is especially important when you have remote team members who may not see the rest of the team all day. Finally, I always wrap up the meeting with one question, and this is where things can start to get uncomfortable. Ask the team, “What’s one example of our core values in action that you’ve seen since we last met?” This can be awkward to answer, but you just have to embrace the process and wait it out. Eventually someone will share an honest, vulnerable story, which will continue building up the importance of core values to the team. And I promise, once you get into a routine, this gets easier. Weekly meeting Next up is the weekly team meeting. In the official EOS workbook, this is known as the L10. Weekly meetings should typically be sixty to ninety minutes, and focused on the overall performance and progress of the team. KPIs and scorecards One of the most important elements of your weekly meeting is going through your key performance indicators and metrics. Everyone on the team should take their turn to report out their numbers and whether they’ve hit them. This gives leadership and opportunity to flag metrics that are consistently being missed, or KPIs that might need to be altered. Something to keep in mind is that KPIs need to be actionable. That means that if your team didn’t hit it this week, you can develop a clear plan on how to hit it next week. Those actions should be decided in the weekly meeting. Quarterly rocks Your quarterly rocks are the bigger projects that you have going on, which may take anywhere from a few of weeks up to a whole quarter. Rocks are important because they keep your team focused. The importance isn’t just what’s on them, but also what’s not on them. If you have too many rocks, nothing will get done, and if you don’t have enough, you’ll start picking up additional projects and stretching yourself too thin. As the name suggests, rocks are set quarterly during planning meetings. Here are some examples of what rocks might look like for a mid-sized property management company: Implementing a new software tool Instituting a new pricing structure Building out a knowledge base Setting up a Resident Benefits Package Testing out a new marketing strategy Hiring for a new role on the team Rolling out a new management agreement Realigning team responsibilities or structure These are all projects that are going to take more than just a week, but are important long-term goals for the company and need to be checked in on regularly. Each week, you should be looking at whether your rocks are on track or off track. If things are off track, add them to the issues list and make sure to address it before the end of the meeting. Finally, have another quick share on your company’s mission and vision. Ask the team, “what did we do that’s in alignment with these?” This is essential to building culture, because it helps build on wins. It gets the team used to winning together and inspires them to keep up the good work. Quarterly planning meeting One level up from your weekly meeting is quarterly planning. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Basically, your team should meet each quarter to evaluate the progress that’s been made, along with the work that needs to be done in the upcoming quarter. Depending on how large your team is, you may or may not have all members attend. If your team is on the smaller side, everyone should be there. If the team is bigger, you may need to focus on leadership and management. The first major part of quarterly planning is reviewing the previous quarter. This is an opportunity to remind the team of the good progress that’s already been made before turning to new projects. By focusing on the positive outcomes first, you can increase engagement from the team and build that continued sense of winning together. Look at your rocks from the past quarter and evaluate where you were most successful, as well as what adjustments you need to make. From there, look forward. What are the next steps that you have to take? This is where you build your rocks for the next quarter. It’s helpful to have the full team present, especially team members who will directly own those rocks, because it helps get buy-in. People will be more invested in projects that they helped select and scope than if you just assign something to them. Annual review The last major meeting I recommend property managers add to their cadence is the annual review. This should include everything that you’d normally do in a quarterly planning meeting, plus some extras. In addition to planning new rocks, you’re also planning the overall goals for the year. These can include new KPIs, growth metrics, and other performance indicators for the year. This is also a great opportunity to reinforce your mission and vision. Focus on reminding people why they’re doing the work they’re doing and where the company aspires to get to. Reinforce the service—and quality of service—that you want to deliver. Beware the pitfalls Implementing a whole new meeting cadence like this isn’t easy. It can be especially difficult in an industry where everyone already has a lot going on and their schedules are stretched thin. Focus on delivering value One of my biggest pieces of advice is to make sure that you’re actually providing value in these meetings, and that you’re not meeting just to meet. If a meeting isn’t serving you, find out why and adjust accordingly. On top of that, think about the opportunity cost and wage cost of having everyone in a meeting. That time is expensive. If it’s not creating value, it shouldn’t be happening. Get your KPIs right A lot of companies I’ve seen have set up KPIs to say that they’re tracking KPIs. But in reality, they’re tracking the wrong things, or they’re tracking the right things the wrong way. If you’re meeting every week and reviewing KPIs, and you consistently find that you’re hitting them every time and blowing them out of the water, that may be a hint that you’re either setting your goals too low or you’re tracking busywork. On the flip side, if you’re consistently missing your KPIs, you may be setting sights too high. Utilize milestones to stay on track When you meet weekly to check the status of your quarterly rocks, make sure that you’re actually looking at whether things are on track or not. I’ve consistently seen teams say, week-in and week-out, that their rocks are on track. But then when the end of the quarter comes, suddenly the rock isn’t complete. When you build your rocks in your quarterly planning sessions, build in milestones. Milestones help define what “on track” actually means, and will help give team members a sense of where they stand with major projects. Final thoughts I really like this meeting cadence. I’ve seen it work for a lot of property management companies. But there’s a reason I started out this article by saying that I’m not a purist. A meeting for meeting’s sake is horrible. You shouldn’t be meeting just because it’s part of a framework. You can absolutely adjust this cadence to make sure that you’re using your time well. And even if you do stick to this cadence, don’t feel like a 60 minute meeting has to be 60 minutes every week. If you finish early, great! Don’t keep people there for the full time if you’re not making progress. Don’t waste people’s time. Interested in learning more about how to optimize your company processes? Join me and Melissa Gillispie for a Triple Win Live session on optimizing your company's KPIs. Register now!

Calendar icon April 1, 2025

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Onboarding: Getting the Most from your New Property Management Staff

Melissa Gillispie is the Director of Leasing and Property Management at JWB Property Management, and the 2025 NARPM Jacksonville President. She has over 11 years of experience in property management and is currently a Second Nature Triple Win Mentor. Training your property management staff can be a lengthy, difficult process. Once you’ve found and made an investment in the right people, you need to set them up for success as quickly and effectively as you can. How can you make sure you’re onboarding new employees in a way that helps them and the business be successful? In this article, I’ll walk you through our approach to training and onboarding at JWB Property Management, and give actionable tips on how you can set your staff up to win. Our onboarding approach The specifics of onboarding staff varies a bit based on the needs of the role and the structure of the company, but we have a pretty rigid schedule for the first three to four weeks, which includes: Expectation setting Role-specific training Crosstraining Each step is vital to setting up your team for success, so let’s walk through them one by one. Expectation setting Expectation setting is one of the most important parts of onboarding employees, and most companies completely overlook it. My philosophy is, people don’t know how to be successful until you tell them. You can’t just assume that they’ll know what’s expected of them. The better you can set clear expectations upfront, the more likely everyone is to be successful. A lot of managers think that being direct with expectations is somehow mean, wrong, or micromanaging. I couldn’t disagree more. In my experience, avoiding these kinds of conversations sets everyone up to fail. “Clear is Kind” - Brené Brown Being direct with your employees about what you expect from them gives them the best tools to be successful. That’s why we spend up to three hours in the first week just on expectation setting. I ask new employees what their goals are, what they expect from the role, and what their own standards for themselves are. Then I walk through what my expectations are, and we make sure we’re aligned. That sets them off on the path to success from their very first day. The best thing I can do as a leader is develop people to be better than I am, as quickly as possible, and setting expectations kicks off that development. Role-specific training Role-specific training is the process of training new employees in the actual day-to-day work they’ll be doing. We take a hear/read/see/do approach, meaning that people with different learning styles can still be successful. Our training materials include: Existing documents like leases and policies Videos Readings Hands-on activities New hires work closely alongside their new teammates to gradually take on daily tasks and get first-hand experience. That’s when we start getting them on the job and actually handling their routine responsibilities, while still providing someone to answer questions along the way. Crosstraining Every new hire also does extensive crosstraining with every other department. For example, a new property manager will spend time with accounting, construction, and legal. This time is focused on making sure that everyone understands the way that their work affects other people. It builds company culture and teamwork, but also helps give new team members a sense of purpose and meaning, knowing the larger impact of their work. Basically, we don’t want people going through the motions in a silo. We want them to know their coworkers on other teams, and to see the value that they bring to the organization. This is also where our mentorship program comes in. At JWB, mentors are well established employees who can help take someone from day one to day 90. They’re typically not from the same team as the new hire, and they provide a safe place to ask the silly questions that people are uncomfortable asking their bosses, or the unwritten rules of the company culture. Sticking to a timeline In property management, everything can feel like it has to happen immediately. But training takes time. That’s just the nature of it. We try to pace our new hires, while also pushing them to grow quickly and get up to speed. That pace is set by the hiring manager, and the new hire is expected to flag any issues if they arise. (Of course, that expectation is outlined clearly in the expectation-setting stage!) Here’s an example of the timeline we’d typically hold a new property manager to. Week one focuses on: Expectation setting Introductions to the team Intro to rent collection Week two transitions into: Executing rent collection alongside another teammate Learning how to manage renewals By week 2 they’re assigned a portfolio of about 100 properties, which they’re managing with the help of their manager. By week 4 they have 250-300 properties and are starting to get more comfortable working independently. By day 45, a new hire should have the same portfolio size as any other property manager. Of course they’ll still have questions, and that’s normal and expected, but they’ve reached competency. By day 90 they’re fully self-sufficient and doing the same work as a property manager who’s been there for a while. They don’t need someone looking over their shoulder or keeping tabs on them. At this point, we hold a 90 day check-in, which is mostly an evaluation of skills competency. It helps us make sure that the employee is feeling comfortable and is capable of doing the work. And if they aren’t, it provides us an opportunity to catch things early and make the necessary corrections. Final thoughts Onboarding is absolutely crucial to getting your team up to speed and working together well. It’s your opportunity to really give people a workplace that they can feel proud of, and to build a thriving business in the industry that we all feel so passionate about. Put in the work to get onboarding right, and help everyone succeed. Want to learn more about how to grow your business strategically? Join me and Tony Cline for a Triple Win Live on setting and optimizing KPIs for your property management company. Register now

Calendar icon March 27, 2025

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Hiring in Property Management: How to Build a Thriving Team

Melissa Gillispie is the Director of Leasing and Property Management at JWB Property Management, and the 2025 NARPM Jacksonville President. She has over 11 years of experience in property management and is currently a Second Nature Triple Win Mentor. Hiring is one of the most important decisions that you can make in property management, but it’s often rushed or overlooked. While it can be challenging, it’s absolutely worth the extra time and effort to find people who will thrive at your company. How can you make sure you’re choosing the right people, not only for the open role, but also for your company culture? In this article, I’ll share how we approach hiring at JWB Property Management, including how we conduct interviews and make sure we’re aligned with candidates. Hiring for values before skill I had no experience in property management when I started at JWB as a trainer and administrator. Instead of being hired for my experience, I was selected for my values and belief systems, which meshed well with the rest of the company. One of the best things about hiring in property management is that many roles are extremely teachable. You don’t need a ton of experience in the same role in order to be successful. There are certainly exceptions—like accounting or construction—that need specific hard skills. But most job responsibilities can be taught. That provides a huge opportunity to really dig into a candidate’s values and evaluate whether they’ll be a good addition to the team, rather than looking just at their resume and work experience. In industries where roles are highly technical, you may not have that luxury. But in property management, especially because it’s such a service-focused industry, hiring for values is essential. Evaluating your candidates In the spirit of hiring for values, we focus a lot of our interview process on our company’s core values. We aim to hire people who will help our organization continue to grow, innovate, and push forward, regardless of their previous experience. Considering applications Our initial application only has one question beyond basic information: “What makes you an A-player?” We don’t even ask for a resume up front, because, again, we’re more interested in soft skills and values than specific work experience. From there, we use an assessment tool to better understand people’s drive, motivation, and working style. Each job has different targets for different strengths, so the assessment helps us align applicants with the right positions. Once we think someone may be a good fit, that’s the stage where we ask for a resume. We’re looking for things like attention to detail, communication style, and how they present themselves, not specific hard skills. Interviewing top prospects We’re very intentional about making our interview process thorough. We don’t want it to be overly simple or easy, because we want people who are motivated. Our application process provides natural steps where applicants who aren’t as driven will weed themselves out. Evaluating skills, not experience Once a candidate moves into the interview stage, we shift some of our focus to the job itself, and the skills that we want to see for that role. In the first interview, they meet with a member of our leadership team, along with the hiring manager, to talk about the skills needed. Again, this is not about their experience in a similar role. For example, someone applying to be a property manager needs customer service, organizational, and communication skills. They may have those from a past job outside of property management, and we welcome that. Finding values alignment Our second interview is focused specifically on core values. We want to know who you’re going to be when you show up to work everyday. We have a set list of questions that we try to ask during this stage, and they’re fully based on our particular core values. Your company’s values will vary, so you should construct your interview questions accordingly. Seeing them in action Finally, we conduct what we call a shadow interview. If we think someone is a good fit and we want to hire them, we have them come in for a day and actually be in the office with us. They might take phone calls, go on site visits, submit work orders, or help show a vacant unit. This is all intended to see body language, attitude, and other behavior that we might not see in a couple of short interviews. We typically try to align shadow interviews with our company all-hands, because that’s a huge display of our culture. The idea here is that a shadow interview should be mutually beneficial; the candidate should get a sense of our culture and make sure it’s the right situation for them, just as much as we want to make sure they’re the right person for the role. Final thoughts Hiring employees can seem like a daunting task. In fact, that’s why so many small companies tend to wait too long to hire. They’re so focused on trying to complete the day-to-day that they don’t prepare for hiring ahead of time, and then wind up putting it off. One of my biggest pieces of advice for growing companies is to take the time to figure out how you want to hire before you need to hire. You don’t want to wait until a crisis is happening to decide how you’ll respond to a crisis. A lot of companies only start thinking about growing when they’re reaching a breaking point. They’re under a ton of pressure. If you have a plan in place ahead of time, you don’t have to make emotional decisions. You can approach it logically and calmly, and make better decisions. When you plan ahead and hire deliberately, you can create and sustain great teams to elevate our industry, and provide value and purpose-driven cultures. Interested in learning more about structuring and expanding your business? Download Second Nature's property management business template. Download now

Calendar icon March 25, 2025

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Introducing Group Rate Internet from Second Nature

At Second Nature, we strive to deliver the best possible experience to residents and property managers alike. We’re always looking for new opportunities to help property managers provide better service, grow their businesses, and give residents homes they want to stay in. Now, with the introduction of Group Rate Internet, we’re able to deliver yet another benefit that residents want, while improving the experience for property managers. What is Group Rate Internet? Group Rate Internet is gigabit-speed˙ internet delivered directly to single-family rental homes, incorporated right into your lease. Thanks to the power of our network, Second Nature has negotiated group rates with some of the nation’s largest internet service providers, and we’re passing the savings on to you. Residents get high speed internet at a discounted rate below what they could get on their ownº, while property managers have a new way to grow their business. Why are we doing this? These days, internet service is a necessity. But until now the process has been time-consuming, frustrating, and expensive. Subscribers face complicated setup and cancellation processes, and when they need to reach customer support, they’re often left on hold. We wanted to bring a better experience to residents and modernize the way they receive internet service. Understanding the single-family market 98% of residents across the United States pay for internet service in their homes. But until now, they’ve struggled with inflexible contracts that don’t align with their lease terms, convoluted phone trees, and expensive hidden fees. Most single-family property managers haven't had the ability to negotiate better rates with ISPs, leaving residents to pay retail prices for essential services. That's where Second Nature comes in. By leveraging our nationwide network, we're able to secure group rate pricing that's lower than what's available on the market—giving property managers a new way to offer high-quality, affordable internet without the headaches of individual negotiations. Difficulties of scattered-site Internet coverage areas can be confusing. When you have properties in multiple areas, they may be serviced by different providers, making it even more difficult to negotiate a one-size-fits-all deal. That’s why Second Nature works with multiple major ISPs to provide maximum coverage, no matter how wide your management area is. Cutting costs and making life easier On average, customers typically pay $80-120 per month for gig-speed internet. Plus they get hit with fees for equipment, setup, early termination, and more. Now, with Second Nature, property managers can provide gig-speed internet, with no installation or cancellation fees, at a fraction of the price that residents are already paying. How does the program work? Like all of the pieces in our Resident Benefits Package, we’ve designed Group Rate Internet to be as easy as possible. From data exchanges to support, we fully manage the process so your teams don’t have any extra work. Integration with property accounting systems to check eligibility Second Nature starts by gathering property details directly from your property accounting system (PAS) to automatically confirm which ISPs serve each property. We confirm eligibility and pass that data back into your PAS, so it’s always available to you. Once a property is marked as eligible in the PAS, you’ll be able to include an internet service addendum in any future leases for that property. Billing operates directly through the PAS, with no extra tools or logins to keep track of. Integrated with the lease cycle When a resident signs a lease that contains the Group Rate Internet Lease Addendum, they’re enrolled into the program, and Second Nature works directly with them to complete setup. We’ll reach out directly to residents to make sure they know how to get set up. If necessary, they’ll schedule professional installation for equipment at a time that’s convenient for them. Because there’s no separate internet contract for the resident, there are also no setup, equipmentª, or cancellation fees, and no struggling to align their utility contract with their lease term. Internet is billed right alongside rent, so residents don’t have an extra monthly bill to manage. Dedicated support We all know the pain of waiting in a phone queue to try to solve a technical issue. That’s why Second Nature offers dedicated phone support for residents using Group Rate Internet. That way residents aren’t calling you for help or getting stuck in phone trees with their ISP. Residents call Second Nature directly, and if they need technical support from their ISP, we can make a warm handoff, making sure they’re on the line with a representative before our team leaves the call. No endless transfers from person to person. Easy transition at turnover When a lease is up and a resident decides to move out, Second Nature provides move-out information to residents. Depending on the ISP, the resident may not even have to return equipment. In most cases, it just stays with the unit, and service is turned off until the next resident moves in and a new lease starts. When a new resident moves in, one phone call is all they need to get their gig-speed service up and running. It’s a simple transition when someone else moves in, all managed by Second Nature. Get started Want to see how you can provide gig-speed internet to your residents? Schedule a demo with a member of our team to walk through Group Rate Internet. ˙ Compared to average nationwide gig speed price of $80-120/mo (source: USA Today) º Up to 1 Gig Internet speed, subject to availability. Internet Service powered by Second Nature is provided through Second Nature's preferred third-party Internet service providers. ª Residents may be subject to fees if equipment is damaged, lost, or stolen.

Calendar icon March 19, 2025

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How Ultrarunning Inspired my Brand Positioning

Mark Brower is the owner and designated broker of Mark Brower Properties. He has over 20 years of experience in property management and investing, and lives in Mesa, Arizona. Mark is a Second Nature Triple Win Mentor. Right around the time I turned 40, I took up distance running. I started with marathons, and then after about a year and a half I got bit by the bug: ultramarathons. Marathons are any race longer than a marathon, and are often 50 kilometers, 100 kilometers, or 100 miles. The things that ultrarunning has taught me have changed my life, both personally and professionally. So when I recently met with my fractional CMO to talk about brand positioning, there were some immediate connections in my mind. Our rally cry We developed two key brand positioning statements through a process of really digging deep and uncovering who we are. The first was a rally cry. We didn’t initially set out with a goal of developing a rally cry, but when we stumbled upon it, it just clicked. A rally cry is meant to be the north star for your team, reminding them why you do the work that you do. In a lot of ways, it’s a distillation of your core values. The goal is to craft something motivational but concise. It should, as the name suggests, be something that people can rally around. Here’s mine: This is what we came for. This is something that I heard another runner say while he was running a 250-mile race. He was at a low point, something we all experience during long races. But through the pain and the struggle, that was his mindset. I thought that was incredible. We don’t run ultramarathons because it’s easy. We run because it forces us to push our limits. It drives us to reach new levels that we didn’t think were possible, and we do that through struggles. Working in property management is the same way. We don’t do it because it’s easy, we do it because it can change people’s lives. That same belief that drives me to keep running when I’m struggling at mile 53 is exactly what drives me during the difficult times at work. When we push ourselves, we grow. That’s what my team is here to do. Our brand promise The second element of our brand positioning project was a brand promise. Your brand promise is a clear statement to your customers that outlines what they can expect in terms of service, quality, and commitment. Here’s what we wrote: We go beyond managing properties—we are a trusted partner enabling you to build wealth through real estate. Our relationship with property owners isn’t a simple, transactional one. It has tremendous scope and magnitude, and a lot of people underestimate that. We’re coaches. We’re leaders. We’re advisors. And when we view that relationship as a journey, that’s when we can really add value. Owning a business—whether that’s a property management company or a real estate investment company—pushes you to the limit. Along the way, you’re going to become a different version of yourself, one you may not have known you could be. But that change in mindset is what unlocks the wealth-building power of real estate. That commitment and transformation is incredibly similar to my journey with ultrarunning, so it was just natural to use it as our brand promise. Writing your personal brand positioning When I sat down with my fractional CMO, Vince, to start drafting these brand elements, he pushed me to make them personal. He emphasized telling my story through my brand and making sure it’s completely unique. What I ultimately ended up with sits right at the intersection of who Mark Brower is and what service Mark Brower Properties delivers. Plus—and this is maybe the most important part—what impact we have on people’s lives Your rally cry and brand promise should embody who you are, and, more importantly, who you aspire to be. They should represent your highest calling. Ask yourself what you want to become and commit to that. Let it flow naturally Your brand needs to come organically, from the inside, not the outside. You can’t craft a perfect brand in a lab. It just won’t resonate. People will be able to feel that it’s artificial. In ultrarunning, you’ll hear a lot of runners say that they let the speed out. They don’t force it. They don’t push the speed out. They just allow it to happen, and it comes out freely. You need to take the same approach to your brand. You can’t sit down in a conference room and overthink your way into a strong brand. It isn’t about what’s good for the marketplace. It’s about the truth, and the uniqueness of you and who you are. So how do you find those pieces of you and your story that make up your brand? Ask the right questions. Look for the parts of yourself that are the most meaningful. What do you believe in? What do you want to achieve? What difference do you want your work to make in the world? Start asking yourself those questions and you’ll start to get at the heart of what’s important to you and your company. The challenge of self-discovery I truly believe that 80-90% of branding is embracing self-discovery and being open and vulnerable about your authentic self. Showing who you are at your core can be scary, but people will connect with it on a much deeper level than when you talk about the specific services you offer and how much you charge. It builds trust in an industry where trust is everything. You can’t make people care about what you say until they know you care about them. And how can they trust that you care about them if your real, authentic, vulnerable self isn’t showing up? The scariest part about this all is acknowledging that your business and services aren’t for everybody. When you build a company that’s very specific to who you are, some people are going to decide that it’s not a great match. And that’s okay. Leaning into that takes confidence and courage. It’s not an easy thing to do, especially if your business has been unbalanced, and focused on growth-at-all-costs in the past. But it’s essential to growing with purpose. You can’t please everyone all the time, and trying to do so doesn’t build a strong brand. Often saying no to one prospect is more important as saying yes to another. When you develop the courage and strength to embrace that, you’ll be more effective at the work you do. There’s no other you Remember, the more unique your brand is—and the more personal it is—the more it will resonate with people. When you’re developing a brand, you’re not positioning yourself against your competitors. You’re communicating who you are. Your goal is to get so good at understanding and communicating your brand that it resonates when people see it. The Rolling Stones didn’t do rock-and-roll. The Rolling Stones did The Rolling Stones. And that’s why they’re still selling out arenas 60 years later. There are other bands out there, but no one does what the Stones do as well as they do it. When I’m running with a couple of my friends, we know we’re not going to win these races. Let’s face it, we’re older than a lot of the other competitors, and we’re enthusiasts, but not professionals. But we’ll often joke with each other that we can definitely come in first in the category of over 40, over 6 ft, with a certain shoe size, based in Mesa, AZ, etcetera. And we’ll just keep narrowing down the criteria until we’re the only ones in it, so we know we’ll finish first. That’s what you want to achieve. If you do it right, no one can be who you are and do what you do. You will be number one in a category of one. You can’t compare my company to anyone else, you can’t compare my fees to anyone else, because my brand makes me unique. What makes you unique? Want to learn more about positioning your brand? Start with your core values. Watch this webinar that I recently did with Second Nature’s Andrew Smallwood on creating core values that matter.

Calendar icon March 11, 2025

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What is Tenant Retention and 16 Ways to Improve it

What is tenant retention? Tenant retention refers to the ability of property owners or managers to keep their current tenants renewing their leases rather than having them move out and needing to find new renters. In the world of property management, retaining tenants is often more cost-effective and efficient than constantly finding new ones. This practice not only ensures a steady cash flow of rental income but also reduces expenses associated with vacancies, marketing, and new tenant screenings. To maximize tenant retention, you need a combination of value-driven services, proactive management, and strong tenant relationships. In this guide, we'll delve into 15 top tenant retention strategies. Second Nature's Outlook: "Tenant turnover” is an industry term used from time to time. But we here at Second Nature are trying to evolve the word "tenant." We’ve seen the incredible work property managers do day in and day out to make renters feel like they’re so much more than just a tenant – they’re residents. Making renters feel like residents isn’t just philosophical, it also encourages them to invest in care for their home and add value to the property. This is why, at Second Nature, we prefer to call renters “residents.” Like you, we think of them as people first – making your property their home. 1. Offer a Resident Benefits Package It’s one of the biggest trends in property management for a reason! Offering a Resident Benefits Package (RBP) is a strategic move to elevate the overall resident experience. And nothing is more critical to tenant retention than their experience. An RBP typically bundles various services and amenities that cater to the modern tenant's needs and desires. This can range from convenience-driven offers like an air filter delivery service or move-in concierge to value-driven aspects like resident credit building and renters insurance programs. By incorporating such a package, property managers not only enhance the perceived value of living in their property but also position themselves as being attuned to the evolving demands of today's renters. That’s what makes an RBP such a significant differentiator in the competitive renter’s market, making tenants more likely to renew their leases and stay longer. 2. Address maintenance requests promptly When it comes to rental experience, property maintenance is a top priority – and, unfortunately, often a top pain point. One of the chief concerns for tenants is how swiftly and efficiently their maintenance requests are addressed. Quick and effective responses to these requests demonstrate a property manager's commitment to the well-being and satisfaction of their tenants. Delays or negligence can lead to a feeling of being undervalued or overlooked, pushing renters to look for alternative accommodations where their concerns might be treated with greater urgency. Moreover, swift repairs prevent minor issues from escalating into major, costlier problems. In essence, by prioritizing and promptly attending to maintenance requests, property managers not only ensure the structural integrity and safety of their property but also build trust and rapport with their tenants, encouraging longer stays. 3. Incorporate a Renter’s Insurance Program Offering or even mandating a renter's insurance program is a proactive measure that benefits both property managers and tenants. This insurance covers tenants' personal belongings in cases of theft, fire, or other unexpected events, granting them peace of mind. For property managers and owners, it offers an extra layer of protection, as tenants are less likely to pursue claims against the property for personal loss. Additionally, when damages or accidents occur that aren't the property owner's responsibility, having an insurance policy ensures that costs are covered without disputes. For owners, it protects their property and protects them from financial losses. They can also often get lower premiums on their own insurance if they can prove their renters are covered with their own policies. Second Nature addresses this benefit by offering a renter’s insurance program as part of our RBP. 4. Focus on security In today's evolving risk landscape – with digital threats, increasing weather risks, etc. – ensuring tenant safety should be a paramount concern for property managers. In turn, tenants are more likely to stay in a property where they feel safe and secure. By installing high-quality security systems, surveillance cameras, weather safety plans, or generators, and by regularly updating and maintaining these systems, property managers can provide an environment where residents feel their well-being is prioritized. It's not just about the physical infrastructure either. Identity theft has surpassed home burglary in the level of threat to renters. At Second Nature, we provide $1 million identity protection as part of our RBP. That ensures that residents feel safe – and that their financial stability is protected. That, of course, protects their ability to pay rent. A steadfast commitment to safety fosters trust and is a clear indication to tenants that their welfare is taken seriously, thus making them more inclined to renew their leases. 5. Offer incentives We all like a nice incentive now and then! Incentives play a pivotal role in tenant retention, acting as a value proposition that goes beyond just the living space itself. For example: By incorporating a credit reporting program, property managers can incentivize on-time rent payments, helping tenants build a positive credit history in the process. This not only promotes financial responsibility but also offers a tangible benefit to the tenant. Lease renewal incentives, such as discounted rent for the first month of renewal or free amenity usage, further encourage tenants to stay longer. Incentives create win-win solutions where tenants feel they're receiving added value while the property manager and owners benefit through consistent occupancy. 6. Offer Group Rate Internet The vast majority of renters today already pay for internet access in their homes. It's one of the most highly adopted services among renters, and for many of them it's an absolute necessity. With Group Rate Internet, you can integrate internet service directly into your leases. Residents no longer have to try to coordinate their internet contract with their lease term, and they can wave goodbye to hidden setup, cancellation, and equipment fees. Plus, thanks to negotiated rates, you can offer gigabit-speed service at a lower price than residents could get elsewhere. It's a clear win-win, and it's just one more benefit that will keep residents happy and increase their likelihood of renewing their lease. 7. Implement a rewards system Building a robust tenant relationship goes beyond addressing their needs; it also involves rewarding their loyalty. Programs in other industries maximize this type of value – think of Starbucks Rewards or Delta SkyMiles. A Resident Rewards program is similarly a strategic approach to foster customer satisfaction and long-term loyalty. Unlike direct incentives, these rewards programs offer points or credits for consistent on-time payments, renewing leases, or even care for the property. Over time, these points can be redeemed for tangible benefits or perks like gift cards, discounts on amenities, or special privileges within the property. By providing a continuous system of recognition, property managers can cultivate a positive tenant culture, making residents feel appreciated and thereby more inclined to renew their leases. Such a system also nudges tenants to adopt behaviors beneficial to both them and the property management, leading to a harmonious rental ecosystem. 8. Conduct regular inspections Regular inspections are a cornerstone of proactive property management and are essential for maintaining tenant satisfaction. By periodically assessing the condition of a rental property, managers can identify and rectify potential issues before they escalate. Whether it's a minor leak or wear and tear, addressing them early on reduces long-term maintenance costs and demonstrates a commitment to providing tenants with a well-maintained living space. Furthermore, these inspections offer an opportunity for open communication with tenants, understanding their concerns, and building trust. While it's crucial to respect a tenant's privacy by giving proper notice and scheduling at convenient times, these inspections emphasize the property manager's dedication to preserving the property's value and ensuring resident comfort. 9. Update and renovate In the competitive world of rental real estate, properties that remain stagnant quickly lose appeal. By making periodic updates and renovations, property managers can significantly enhance the rental's desirability and rental rates and keep it aligned with current housing trends. Whether it's a modern kitchen makeover, a bathroom upgrade, or simply a fresh coat of paint, these changes can breathe new life into a space. Not only do renovations increase property value, but they also communicate to tenants that their living experience is valued and considered. Tenants are more likely to renew their leases when they see active efforts being made to improve their living environment, ensuring they always feel they're getting the best value for their money. 10. Offer On-Demand Pest Control One of the fastest ways to sour a tenant's experience? Leaving them to deal with unwanted pests. It also might put you or the owner at risk of legal action, depending on the state. Whether it's ants in the summer or mice in the winter, pest issues can quickly escalate if not addressed immediately. By offering property management pest control as part of the tenant package, property managers demonstrate a proactive approach to potential issues and ensure that tenants feel their well-being is a top priority. This service minimizes the likelihood of recurring pest problems and showcases a commitment to maintaining a clean and habitable environment. It’s also a better ROI than preventive sprays that don’t necessarily address real issues. On-demand services ensure that actual issues are addressed as soon as they pop up (or crawl out!). Tenants will appreciate the quick response and effort to ensure their comfort, further solidifying their decision to stay long-term. 11. Include valuable services like Filter Delivery Property managers know that it’s often the small touches that leave a lasting impression – and nip bigger problems in the bud. One such valuable service is offering filter delivery. Regularly changing air filters not only ensures a healthier living environment by improving air quality but also boosts the efficiency of heating and cooling systems, saving significantly on energy bills. In fact, a study by the National Rental Home Council (NRHC) found that filter delivery could reduce costs by up to nearly 80%. By offering filter delivery, property managers remove a common chore from the tenant's list, demonstrating attention to detail and a commitment to their comfort. This proactive approach to maintenance, coupled with the convenience of direct-to-door delivery, can enhance the overall resident experience, making them more inclined to extend their lease. 12. Offer a Move-in Concierge The moving process can be one of the most stressful experiences for new tenants, filled with a myriad of tasks and uncertainties. In fact, most renters have already made their decision to renew or not within the first 30-60 days. By offering a Move-In Concierge service, property managers can significantly ease this transition. This service assists new residents with tasks like utility setups, mail forwarding, local service recommendations, and even scheduling movers or rental equipment. Beyond just the practical help, a Move-In Concierge communicates to the tenant that their comfort and smooth transition are a priority. This initial positive experience can set the tone for the entire duration of the lease, making tenants feel valued and well cared for from the outset. Related: How to Write a Tenant Welcome Letter + Free Template 13. Use digital solutions It’s just the reality of 2023 and beyond: Tenants expect digital convenience. Whether it's online rent payments, a tenant portal for logging maintenance requests, or virtual property tours, embracing digital solutions can greatly enhance the tenant experience. These platforms not only streamline administrative tasks, reducing the possibility of human error but also provide a more responsive and efficient service to residents. For younger generations especially, the ability to manage their tenancy online can be a significant deciding factor in choosing a rental property. Property managers who keep pace with technological advancements in the industry not only improve tenant retention but also position their properties as modern and forward-thinking. 14. Vet tenants thoroughly The process of tenant retention begins even before a lease is signed. By thoroughly vetting potential tenants, property managers can ensure they're selecting responsible individuals who are more likely to be great tenants – tenants who will respect the property, adhere to lease terms, and foster a positive community environment. This involves conducting comprehensive background checks, verifying employment and income, and checking references from previous landlords. By choosing good tenants who have a track record of timely payments and good behavior, you set the stage for a longer, more harmonious rental relationship. It's an investment in time upfront that can save countless hours and resources in the long run. 15. Seek feedback and act on it Among the best tenant retention tips: Tenant feedback is an invaluable tool for understanding what you're doing right and where there might be room for improvement. Actively seeking out tenant opinions through surveys, feedback forms, or simply open-door policies can shed light on aspects of property management that might otherwise go unnoticed. Of course, collecting feedback isn't enough on its own; the crucial step is to genuinely act upon the insights gathered. Whether it's a minor repair, upgrades, or better communication methods, implementing changes based on tenant feedback not only improves the living experience but also shows residents that their voices matter, fostering trust and encouraging longer tenancies. 16. Foster a strong property manager-tenant relationship The foundation of tenant retention often rests on the relationship built between the property manager and the tenant. This bond goes beyond mere transactions and lease renewals. It's about understanding, respect, and open communication. By being approachable, responsive, and genuinely caring about tenants' well-being and comfort, property managers can foster a sense of community and belonging. Regular check-ins, prompt responses to concerns, birthday or anniversary gifts, and occasional gestures of appreciation can make tenants feel valued. A strong relationship not only reduces the chances of tenants seeking a new place but also encourages positive word-of-mouth recommendations, benefiting the property's reputation and bottom line. Tips for successful tenant retention program At the heart of tenant retention is a simple yet profound realization: tenants, much like any consumers, are looking for value, ease, and assurance in their choices. When it comes to exploring the topic of tenant retention meaning, for us, it’s all about the resident experience. The key question for tenant retention is simply: “How do we create an experience so good that residents never want to leave?” Answering this question helps property managers identify exactly what residents are willing to pay for and stay for. Here are a few tips for approaching the resident experience. Get a much more in-depth look at it through our 2023 State of Resident Experience Report. Focus on convenience: Today's residents value convenience more than ever. Be it quick maintenance solutions, easy-to-access amenities, or streamlined communication, the easier you make life for your tenants, the more likely they are to stay. A resident benefits package or on-demand services are ways to weave in this convenience. Embrace digital transformation: The digital age has transformed tenant expectations. Online rent payments, digital lease signings, AI-powered helpdesks, and smart home integrations are just a few avenues where digitalization can significantly enhance the resident experience. Aim for the Triple Win: True success in tenant retention is realized when all parties involved – the residents, property managers, and owners – feel they're gaining value. Implement strategies where each party stands to benefit, ensuring harmonious, long-lasting relationships. By grounding your tenant retention program in these principles, you not only meet resident expectations but often surpass them. How Second Nature helps with tenant retention Navigating the world of tenant retention can be intricate, but Second Nature simplifies the journey. Our comprehensive Resident Benefits Package (RBP) is meticulously designed to cater to modern tenant needs, offering unparalleled convenience and value. By focusing on strategies that drive resident satisfaction, Second Nature ensures both property managers and owners achieve higher tenant retention rates. Embrace the RBP, and witness the transformative impact it brings to your property management endeavors.

Calendar icon March 7, 2025

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Leading with your Logo: Why Visual Branding Still Matters

Mark Brower is the owner and designated broker of Mark Brower Properties. He has over 20 years of experience in property management and investing, and lives in Mesa, Arizona. Mark is a Second Nature Triple Win Mentor. A brand is far more than just designs on a page. It needs to be lived and carried out in everything that your company does. But your visual branding—including your property management logo, colors, website, and photography—are the physical representation of your brand. If you want to build a successful property management company, developing a logo and visual representation that exemplifies your personality and who you are as a company is essential. It cannot be skipped. It’s how potential new customers will identify and connect with you, so it’s worth the effort. A chance to make a good first impression You’ve heard the cliches about how you only get one chance to make a first impression. But when we look deeper at what that means, the stakes are actually even higher. When people intersect with your brand, they’re making huge judgment calls on very limited information in a short amount of time. They’re trying to make a determination on whether they can trust you, and in property management, they’re trusting you with one of the most important financial assets in their life. They’re looking at every single piece of evidence that they can possibly consume as to whether they can trust this new—very important—relationship. And they’re always looking for a reason to say no. Think about when you’re showing a home. Chances are, the resident who’s getting a tour knows within about two minutes whether they want to live there or not. They get a first impression, and if they see one little flaw that turns them off, they’re checked out. Your branding is the same way. So when you think about the visual representation of your company, you need to eliminate every flaw that you can, just like you would in a rental listing or home showing. Consistency above all else Yes, your logo is important, but it’s not the end all be all. The real value isn’t so much in how your logo looks, but in the consistency of how you use it. Consistency builds trust. When your audience gets used to seeing your logo and colors used in the same way across multiple channels, they feel more familiar with it. They get comfortable with you as a business. That’s why we put our logos on everything from swag gifts to pens and stationery. On the other hand, if you’re inconsistent about how you use it, you’re going to breed distrust. Just like your customer service delivery needs to be consistent, so does your visual branding Think about your team’s email signatures: even if the smallest thing is different across team members, it hurts that sense of trust. Someone receiving emails from three members of your team is going to be thrown off when all of their signatures are different. There are plenty of other places to build consistency, too. The photos of your staff on your website should be consistent. They should all be high quality, taken from the same angle, ideally with the same lighting and background. In an industry where people have a lot of options in who to work with, the slightest perception of mistrust can jeopardize your chance of working with a great client. So efforts toward brand consistency are never wasted. Attention to detail is vital All of these seemingly small branding elements add up to shape opinion. The details matter more than you’d think, and you can’t let them slip. Letting them slip carries much more cost than taking the time to get the right in the first place. Ideally, a potential client should look at your website and think, “Wow, if they’re this disciplined with these details on the website, they’re going to be disciplined about the work they do on my property.” Discipline and consistency around your visual brand also shape a baseline level of professionalism. I’ve seen more than one property management company who lets the details slide. As a potential client, I’d be thinking, “If you can’t put a logo on a PDF correctly, what are you going to do to my house?” You need to appear competent, capable, and professional so that people can trust you, and attention to detail is a big part of that. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs I’ve met get to a deep level of obsession over the tiny details until they get it right. That’s something I’ll be vulnerable about and admit I’ve struggled with. It can be hard to get out of the big-picture mindset of a business owner and really focus on the details. But you can’t afford not to. Your brand represents your value When you buy a physical product, you can actually hold it in your hand. You can look at it and see what, exactly, you got for your money. In a service-based industry, your customers can’t do that. Instead, they tend to fill that gap with the experiences that they’ve had with you and your brand. Instead of seeing something on a shelf, they remember their interactions with you and the way you represented yourself visually. In a lot of ways, your brand is a symbol of the value you provide. You need to adopt that mindset and lean into it. You need to be as consistent with your brand as other companies are with their products. There should be a quality assurance process to make sure that you’re nailing the details and presenting yourself consistently. Otherwise you’re jeopardizing your value. Add a personal touch to your visual brand Just because you want to keep consistent with your branding, that doesn’t mean it can’t evolve. After all, your company and your personality are always changing, so sometimes your brand needs to keep up. At Mark Brower Properties, we just visited our visual branding and decided to make some changes, including an update to our logo. Our old logo used block letters, but now the “Mark” in Mark Brower Properties has been redone as a hand-written version of my name. Our updated logo It’s very similar to how I write my name when I’m signing things. And it brings the personality and human aspect to the brand. It reflects who I am. In my experience, people are afraid to commit to being open and vulnerable about who they are. Too many small business owners feel the need to portray themselves as something that they’re not, rather than being honest. But the reality is that audiences really love when people are themselves. People do business with people, so when they see vulnerability and a personal touch, it goes a long way. Make sure that you’re consistent with your property management logo and your website, but even more importantly, make sure that they actually represent you. Final thoughts Look, I know what you’re thinking reading this. You have way too much on your plate to go analyzing everyone’s email signatures to make sure that the logos are the same size. I completely understand that. But at the same time, this stuff really is important. Think about it this way: in business, there are production tasks, and there are tasks that increase production capacity. Meeting up with a resident so they can sign a lease? That’s a production task. Implementing electronic signatures so you don’t have to drive out and meet the resident just to get a lease signed? That’s a task that increases production capacity. Branding is a task that increases your production capabilities. It helps build an engine that will bring more residents and more property owners in the door. And every small detail adds up. The benefits compound. And when done well, they help build an authentic, trustworthy brand that people want to do business with. Build your brand by managing your reputation Want to learn more about how to manage your business reputation? Watch Second Nature’s recent webinar with LeadSimple on reputation management.

Calendar icon March 6, 2025

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How to Get More Glowing Property Management Reviews

We live in a review-centric world. Whether you’re deciding what to watch on Netflix, what hotel to stay at on your next vacation, or what to order for dinner, you put a lot of faith in the opinions of others. Our industry is no different—property management reviews help residents and owners alike decide where they want to live and who they want to work with. Whether you like it or not, your success will be influenced by the reviews you receive. And, unfortunately, people are a lot more likely to leave unsolicited negative reviews than positive ones. So how can you start generating more positive reviews? Read on to learn just that, and how to leverage positive reviews to attract business and improve your business reputation. Why positive reviews matter Just as prospective residents will check reviews when deciding where to live, prospective investors will do their due diligence when hiring a property manager. That means reviews impact your business from both sides, doubling their importance. Influence on prospective residents Renting a home is one of the biggest decisions a person can make. For most renters, it’s not just where they’ll spend most of their time, it’s also the single biggest bill they pay every month. So they want to be sure they’re getting it right. Reviews are one of the most important ways that residents make that decision. In fact, according to a 2024 survey by Reputation, 81% of prospective residents consider reviews important when looking for a new home. On top of that, 55% require a property to have at least 4 stars to be considered, and 71% said negative reviews could deter them from even touring a property. Boost your property management reputation The good news is that reviews aren’t just a negative force. They can actually be a tremendous competitive advantage when they’re positive. Because so many prospective residents and investors are looking at reviews, they provide a single place to really boost your reputation. Focusing on obtaining positive reviews from happy residents can elevate your brand and help you stand out from the competition. Excellent for marketing purposes You can also take advantage of your positive reviews by spreading them across different channels. Yes, great reviews are an asset when people look you up on Google, but they should also be an asset across your website and social channels. Share positive reviews in your email newsletter, your pitch deck for new investors, your social media accounts, and more. Get the word out about how much your customers love you, because the more eyes you get on positive reviews, the better. When to ask for reviews Deciding to ask for reviews can feel like a big deal. You don’t want to feel like you’re pressuring anyone to do something they don’t want to do, and you want to make sure they’re truly delighted with you before they go talking about you publicly. Here are some great opportunities to ask happy residents for reviews. Move-in Move-in is a hectic time. There’s a lot in motion, which means there are also plenty of opportunities to delight your new residents, whether that’s with a move-in concierge, a welcome gift, or just a perfectly presentable home. Once you’ve gone the extra mile to help them settle in, consider sending a follow-up email or survey to see how their experience went. If they have good things to say, that’s a great opportunity to ask for a review. Catch them when they’re at their happiest to increase the likelihood of them singing your praises. After resolving issues Another great opportunity to ask for reviews is after resolving an issue or complaint that they had. Whether it’s a maintenance request, service issue, or something else entirely, you can ask for a review when you take care of it. Make sure that you’re still going above and beyond, either by making it up to the resident or by being proactive and communicating clearly. You don’t get points for doing the bare minimum, so if you’re going to ask for a review, make sure you’ve earned it. After making upgrades Upgrades are the kind of proactive service that really delights residents. When you’re making their home better, they’re more likely to view you positively, so take advantage. Use these opportunities to ask for reviews on your business profiles. During lease renewals Lease renewals are another natural time to ask for feedback. If someone’s choosing to renew their lease, that means you’re doing something right. Take the opportunity to ask for a review of their time with you so far. It won’t feel out of place to the resident, and you can bake it right into your renewal process so it’s fully automated. Move-out Move-out is another natural point in the resident lifecycle where a review makes sense. At the very least, it’s a great opportunity to ask for private feedback in a survey. That way you can learn what’s working well, what’s not, and why they’ve chosen to move. They may be perfectly happy with you, but they’re relocating, moving in with a partner, or purchasing a home. When you’re parting amicably, it can be a great time to encourage them to leave a review. It always helps if you attach the request to a more altruistic thank you letter during the move-out process. Running a review-generating campaign Aside from these opportunities, it can be worthwhile to run the occasional dedicated campaign to generate more reviews. To do it right, you’ll have to set a clear goal, select what platform to use, and incentivize your residents to participate. And, if you want the campaign to be manageable and not take up all of your team’s time, you’ll want to automate as much of it as possible. Set clear goals As with any business project, you have to start with a clear goal. You want to be sure that your goal is specific and measurable so that you can objectively track whether or not it was successful. For reviews, you may set your goal a few different ways: Gather 10 new 4- or 5-star reviews Shift our overall average score from 4.5 to 4.7 Double the number of reviews on our page Your exact goal and how you structure it will depend on your individual business needs, so make sure it’s specific to you. Choose the right platforms Next, you need to decide where your customers will be reviewing you. Yelp is synonymous with business reviews, but Google Reviews plays a more important role than ever, and Facebook is important to reach key demographics. Yelp: Established in 2004, Yelp is a pillar of the internet. While it may be less popular than it once was, it still ranks highly in search results and serves certain geographic areas well. However, Yelp has a strict no-solicitation policy, so it may not be a good option for a campaign asking for reviews. Google Reviews: Google Reviews’ strength is its integration with Google Maps. That means that when someone searches Maps for a local property manager, they’ll immediately see your Google Reviews. You can also integrate your reviews into ads, and gain organic search benefits on the world’s largest search engine. Facebook: Facebook has a very useful review tool as part of its business pages. Because users can find your page—and therefore your reviews—organically, this can really help increase visibility. However, Facebook serves a changing demographic. Younger people are less likely than older generations to use Facebook, so if you’re targeting young first-time apartment renters, it may not be a great option. But it still holds up if you’re targeting families for single-family home rentals, for example. Incentivize participation Some—including Google themselves—may not find it ethical to offer incentives for positive reviews. In fact, Triple Win Mentor Mark Brower strongly agrees that you should never bribe someone for a positive review. However, you can offer perks or rewards for honest, sincere reviews, even if they aren’t perfect 5-stars. You don’t want the process to feel transactional, so incentivize participation, not specific opinions. If you do run an incentive program, make sure to disclose that on review sites, or else risk violating terms of service. Incentives can be as simple as gift cards or entries into a raffle. For example, you can award one lucky winner a discount on rent or free perks. Just make it abundantly clear that the contents of the review won’t dictate who wins the reward. Automate requests Finally, in order to keep your program scalable, be sure to automate as much of it as possible. Set up automatic email or text message notifications at the key moments we outlined earlier. Bake review requests into your move-in, move-out, and maintenance processes so that you maximize the chances of getting those sweet, sweet positive reviews. Leveraging positive reviews As outlined before, reviews have maximum impact when you leverage them across different platforms. Let’s take a look at some of the different ways you can put reviews to work. For marketing The customer voice is marketing gold. Leveraging reviews in marketing activities like social media, email newsletters, and your website can help get more eyes on your customers’ positive words. Social proof is vital to building trust with a prospective resident or investor, so use it liberally. When a reviewer sings your praises for you, that’s less work for you to do yourself. For advertising vacant properties Rental listings are another opportunity to get your reviews out into the world. A five star review on a vacancy listing can help you stand out and catch the eye of a prospective resident. Plus, when someone visits a listing, you know that they’re actively looking for a place to live, so you’re catching them in a moment of decision. This can make all the difference between a top resident submitting an application or scrolling right on by. To attract new investors Residents aren’t the only ones looking at reviews. Prospective investors want to see that you’re running an effective, high-quality business, and that you’re selecting great residents and treating them well. Why would they entrust you with their investment if your own residents don’t like you? Positive scores on Yelp, Google, and Facebook can actually boost the perceived value of your business, making owners more likely to hire you. Best practices for asking for reviews If you’ve never done it before, asking for reviews can seem intimidating. In reality, there are a few key steps you can take to simplify the process and get great results. Ask for feedback Gathering feedback is essential, not just because it helps you understand your business better, but because it helps you build a better resident experience. You should make this very clear to your residents; if they know your feedback surveys and reviews are actually put to good use, they’ll be more incentivized to provide their opinions. Show them specific changes you’ve made in the past based on resident feedback, from improving customer service to adding amenities. This will increase the likelihood that they’ll give their honest perspective. Make it easy No matter how incentivized a resident is, if the process isn’t easy, they’re not going to follow through. That’s why you have to streamline things as much as possible, and remove roadblocks to participation. If you have an office or are using printed materials, make sure to include QR codes so that residents can quickly access your survey. If you're reaching out via email or text, use direct web links. Either way, make sure that the survey is mobile-friendly. Over 40% of all U.S. web traffic now happens on mobile devices, and that’s higher among young people. If you aren’t offering a mobile-friendly page, you’re going to fall behind. Follow up It’s also important to know that just one request may not be enough. While you don’t want to pester your residents, it’s worthwhile to follow up with them if they don’t leave a review. There’s a good chance you caught them at a bad time the first go-around, or that they just got busy and forgot. Make sure you’re giving them another chance to give their feedback. To avoid feeling like a bother, make sure to set the expectation upfront that you’re going to be following up. When you send your initial request, let them know that you’ll check in if you don’t hear from them, and be specific about the timeline of events. Respond to reviews Responding to reviews is also key. Not only does it show readers that you’re paying attention and taking feedback seriously, it also creates opportunities to generate positive outcomes. If someone leaves a positive review, thank them sincerely. If they have negative feedback, show honest concern and offer to make things right by improving your service. That might require following up to get more information, but it’s worth the extra effort to delight a previously-unhappy customer. Get glowing reviews with Second Nature If you want to delight your residents and generate positive reviews, a Resident Benefits Package from Second Nature can go a long way. From credit building to pest control and identity protection, our RBP provides a better rental experience for residents. If you’re interested in learning more about how an RBP can elevate your business reputation, request a demo and hear directly from a member of our team.

Calendar icon March 4, 2025

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How to Design An Effective And Adopted Ancillary Revenue Program

Ancillary revenue programs like Resident Benefits Packages have really hit their stride in the property management industry. We've come a long way from just collecting rent, and today's property managers have realized that creativity and innovation can drive new revenue streams and value-generating services. And that’s exactly what ancillary revenue is all about. We sat down with some of the best innovators in the business to talk about what makes an ancillary revenue program effective, how to make them sustainable in the long-term, how to incorporate revenue management, and how to know which ones can work for your business. What is ancillary revenue? Ancillary revenue is any additional source of income generated by a property that is not directly related to its primary function or purpose. In property management, property managers offer additional services to generate additional income for themselves and their client investors beyond the rent or lease payments they receive from residents. Most of us are familiar with ancillary revenue streams like those used in the airline industry or hotel industry, but the key to a good ancillary revenue program is that it should generate value without nickel-and-diming people. Examples of ancillary revenue in property management can include things like pet fees, renters insurance programs, management fees, and more. These boost your total revenue while adding value for residents and investors. They're not just upsells, they're really about value generation and finding a way to diversify revenue streams. How to design an effect ancillary revenue stream “There is one characteristic that is the most important, and that is that you have to believe in it,” says Steve Pardon, Head Broker at JMAX Property Management. “If you believe that there is a benefit to doing it, then you’re good. If you don’t, then it’s hard to sell.” You have to believe in what you're charging people for. Pardon hits on the most important question you should ask any time you’re adding cost to your residents: does it really create a benefit? While ancillary income programs benefit the PM, by driving revenue, add-on services that don’t create a benefit for the resident can have long-term consequences. Paul Mauk of Invitation Homes agrees. “You can make anything mandatory, but if it doesn’t create value for the residents, you’re going to pay the price down the line,” he says. Most ancillary revenue opportunities today are operated as part of a resident benefits package built into your business model. Pardon has rolled out an RBP to his residents, but took a very measured and analytical approach to ensure that everything his residents were paying for created value for them. Pardon summarizes his thorough process for determining value with "you have to believe in what you're charging people for." JMAX operates in the Roanoke, Virginia area, and Pardon considers the nature of his specific area when deciding what he believes in charing people for, noting that he feels certain programs work better or worse in his rural market than they would in an more dense market like an Atlanta. Residents rarely object to paying for services they find value in, which is why an RBP built with the principles Pardon describes above can be so successful. If we can find ways in which to make it an easier process for our residents, we can enhance our offering, enhance the experience for them, and increase the length of stay that we see from our residents. You can read about resident pushback to RBP here. Looking beyond pure profit Good ancillary services can come in many different shapes and sizes, and not all are just about making more money. HomeRiver Group, for example, sends each and every resident in a HomeRiver group managed home a holiday gift. “One thing that we're getting ready to do right now is our holiday gift to the residents, which is another win-win,” says HomeRiver Group CDO Andrew Propst. “We find local companies like restaurants or movie theaters. We buy a bunch of gift cards at a discount. We put it in a nice little letter and we send it out to the tenants. They get $50 in value, we paid $25 for that, and we spread Christmas and holiday cheer. And, you know, we get good Google reviews. It makes some money. We help local businesses. It's a big one.” Paul Mauk of Invitation Homes notes that ancillary services that don’t directly drive profit can still be hyper-effective as long term initiatives if they contribute to low turnover rates in properties. “I think the type of initiatives that we're having success with are those things that provide for enhanced leasing lifestyle for our tenants or residents,” says Mauk. “And that's often driven via survey and input from residents. So instead of us pretending that we know every potential amenity they would like, we’re actually reaching out to them and asking them what the value proposition would be from their perspective.” Asset protection is also top of mind for Mauk as a long-term strategy. By shaping resident behavior, Invitation Homes can minimize vacancies and maximize lease compliance. “One additional thing would be items that aren’t necessarily potentially revenue drivers for us, but help us relative to asset preservation. So things that may be very specific and required within the lease, if we can find ways in which to make it an easier process for our residents, we can enhance our offering, enhance the experience for them, and increase the length of stay that we see from our residents.” Minimizing turnover is the most important thing for most property management companies. The more time a resident lives in a property, the better ROI for the owner, which means better client retention for you and more potential for referrals. That’s why the resident experience aspect of ancillary services is so critical, even more so than the additional funds they can procure. Ancillary revenue examples Let’s look at some examples of the best ancillary revenue ideas in property management right now. The services with an asterisk (*) are all available in Second Nature’s fully-managed Resident Benefits Package. Air Filter Delivery* Air filter delivery is a premium service for residents that automates air filter delivery to all your properties on a set schedule. Filter delivery simplifies the process for residents and ensures timely replacement at a low cost. HVAC repair costs have increased by 48.7% year over year, and an air filter delivery subscription can cut costs up to $300 per year. At Second Nature, we’ve seen our filter delivery drive a 38% reduction in total HVAC ticket requests, and save residents $14.82 per month in energy costs on average. Group Rate Internet* 98% of renters already pay for internet service, so it's a great opportunity to provide a simple benefit that you know residents want. With Group Rate Internet, you can offer gigabit-speed internet to your residents at a price lower than they could get otherwise. Provide an improved resident experience and a simple way to grow your business, fully managed by Second Nature. Resident Rewards Program* Rewards aren’t just a perk for residents—they’re a powerful way to incentivize on-time rent payments. Talk about a win! Residents receive rewards like discounts to local businesses when they pay rent on time. You and your investors see an increase in on-time payments, and residents now see rent day as rewards day. Credit Building* Rent is one of the most significant regular payments any of us make. Why not report that to build credit? That’s what property managers are doing as a benefit to residents and an extra incentive to pay on time. A study by TransUnion found that 67% of residents would choose homes with rent reporting over other equivalent homes. Credit building supports your residents, helps attract financially responsible applicants, and encourages residents to pay rent on time. Move-In Concierge* Any time you move into a new house, one of the biggest headaches is setting up utilities. One great ancillary revenue stream is to provide a move-in concierge. At Second Nature, we manage this for you. Our move-in concierge helps residents find the best utility options in the area and can help simplify setup. In one phone call, residents get what they need. Identity Protection* Did you know that identify theft is a larger security risk today than home burglary? One in eight Americans were victims of identity fraud in 2021, equaling up to $52 billion in losses. Identity protection gives residents peace of mine and protects them finacially – which also protects their abilty to pay rent. Related: How to Help Residents Use Their Identity Protection Services During a Data Breach Renters Insurance* A quality renters insurance program will allow residents to keep current coverage if they wish, but be automatically enrolled in the PM's program if it ever lapses. That also means no more compliance tracking for your staff. Did you know that 90% of professional property managers require residents to carry insurance, but only 41% maintain compliant coverage? At Second Nature, our renters insurance program has 100% compliance, protecting residents, investors, and the PMCs. Pest Control* Many property management companies offer on-demand pest control services to residents to keep cockroaches, ants, and more out of the property. Property managers reduce complaints while offering a massive benefit to residents, and asset protection for them and their investor. Holiday gift program A holiday gift program helps residents feel seen, known, and remembered. Residents receive coupons or gift cards to local establishments as a wish of good cheer during the holiday season. Who doesn’t love a holiday gift? Security deposit alternatives We’ve seen security deposit alternatives proliferate in the last few years. Property management companies are choosing to offer other ways to cover financial liabilities without requiring a huge payment at move-in, such as a surety bond or ACH authorization. Home-buying assistance programs Home-buying assistance helps boost resident experience and trust, while also investing in resident retention. Learn more about assistance programs for long-term residents looking to purchase a home. How Second Nature helps create ancillary revenue At Second Nature, we work with property management companies around the country to help them generate more value for their residents and additional revenue for their business through a Resident Benefits Package (RBP). The Second Nature RBP is a custom suite of benefits that elevates the resident experience while adding profit to your bottom line. An RBP is a powerful ancillary revenue strategy, and because it's fully managed, it doesn’t add any burden to your team. Generate more value for your investors, ease for your residents, and profit for your PMC with an RBP. Register now for our next RBP Workshop, where you can hear from real RBP users about how it's changed their business.

Calendar icon March 3, 2025

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