Calling all property managers! How do you onboard new owners and properties?

How do you seek new opportunities today?

• 90% of our opportunities are finding us. We are well optimized online, our Blog is active and our listing on Google is driving leads for us. We do get some referrals but more times than not we are just getting cold leads and winning those that fit our needs. 

What must you know about a prospective owner upfront?

• Legit: are they crazy? We have 25% of owners that will be a problem to manage. They want to be quasi-involved, have millions of questions and ultimately they will not have the levels of trust we expect to operate. Beyond that, we want to ensure owners are willing to fulfil all checklists re: guest needs and are willing to invest (as needed) to ensure the property is fully ready for guest hosting. 

What must you know about their property upfront?

• Is the property in a territory that will yield enough income. Are there municipal licensing rules that we need to follow or that require a licence (in Toronto, you cannot even list a property on Airbnb for STR unless you have a license to enter issued by the City of Toronto - else its 28 day + only). Does any condo board preside and do we need to check their rules. Is there municipal garbage service? Is the house on municipal services or do we need 3rd party gas and septic suppliers. 

What about your current process do you love?

• When we move forward with a client, we have all attestations we need to confirm they understand licensing, pricing, etc. There is no lack of clarity so we dont get into gotachas a few weeks on and owners cant say “hey you never told me...x” - we are thorough in informing them of all the potential concerns. 

What is the single most impactful question you ask your owners before committing to work with them? 

• What is your presiding reason for looking at Short Term Rentals? We are hoping to hear “flexibility”. If its purely income, that can go sideways due to variability or other reasons. If its flexibility, thats great as it means they will generate variable income but it meets their needs in keeping the property available for them or a change of use in the near term. 

How long does it typically take to formalize a partnership, from the time you meet a new owner to the signing of an agreement

• Typical is 4-6 weeks but it totally depends on how proactive the owner is. We have owners who are thinking 6 months ahead and are ready to go the day their place is vacant. No easy way to class

**Keep all these answers in mind and think about your legacy customers in this process** :) 

Once Im comfortable with the owner. I send them to my website where they are greeted with a video overview of my services. Next, the owners fills out the form giving me their address and the listing address, upload their ID and then they select which services they need.  This builds out a cart for me and then they pay. Once they submit, all of their information and selections are sent to my contract system. The information is filtered into my contract and then sent to me to sign.  I look everything over, and then I sign. Next, the contract is sent to the owner to sign and a calendar is presented for our first physical or virtual walkthrough. 

Interesting to read about the different processing systems! May I ask what contract system you are using?

Thanks in advance!

​@Charles Island 

​@Charles Island Welcome overview video is a nice touch!

​@patricia We (my property management company) use esignatures.io. It is a pay as you go esignature service for contracts. 

Smooth dude!!

• How do you seek new opportunities today?
  • Snail mail, active prospecting within a small community we manage in, and honestly a lot of “wishin’ and hopin’ and prayin’”
• What must you know about a prospective owner upfront?
  • Are they an investor or someone who happens to own an extra home?  
  • What are their goals for the next year?  5 years?  20-50 years?   Can I help in any of these?
  • Are they “our people”?
• What must you know about their property upfront?
  • Does it have ANY of the drivers of STR success?  Does it have multiple?
  • Who designed and furnished it?
• What about your current process do you love?
  • I love talking vision with our potential clients and finding the few that I can offer rocket fuel to.  
• What is the single most impactful question you ask your owners before committing to work with them? 
  • Tell me why you invest?  What are you hiring investing to do for you over the next 15-30 years?
• How long does it typically take to formalize a partnership, from the time you meet a new owner to the signing of an agreement?
  • 7-30 days depending highly on where we are in the process from the jump and where the property is at the outset.  If it is a new construction home that’s not finished yet it tends to be longer, or if the owner is a bit suss it’s likely to take longer.

• How do you seek new opportunities today?
  • Linkedin, Website, Word of Mouth, Mail
• What must you know about a prospective owner upfront?
  • Name, Contact info, What services they want managed, ie. housecleaning, supplies, maintenance, invoices, How often they plan to use the property
• What must you know about their property upfront?
  • Basic home info ie. year built, size, rooms, bathrooms, ameneties, has it been rented before as a STR?
• What about your current process do you love?
  • I have a document for owners to fill out with information about their property
• How long does it typically take to formalize a partnership, from the time you meet a new owner to the signing of an agreement?
  • If the property is completely ready it can be as soon as 7 days.

• How do you seek new opportunities today?

1. - Reverse searching through GIS & Property Search, Cold calling, referrals.

• What must you know about a prospective owner upfront? 

1. - Somebody in the forum said, “ Are they crazy?” That is an overlooked aspect of vetting prospects; While i put every ounce of effort- and even love into my clients’ assets, the over-bearing nature of some prospects make it very difficult to work with and in hindsight, that advice would have saved me lots of time.
2. I must know if they’re committed to optimizing their asset.
3. I must know they’re 5-10 year plan with their unit, and where they would like to see themselves and their investment

• What must you know about their property upfront?

1. I MUST know their projected revenue
2. I MUST know their projected Occupancy rating
3. I MUST know their projected ADR
4. I MUST know their initial investment on the unit; followed by the projected cap rate of the property.
5. I MUST know the markets’ comp-sets as well as how many total rentals are listed in that sub-market. 

• What about your current process do you love?

1. The look in a clients’ face when they realize they are no longer in this alone- they have someone who is just as committed to their investment as they are, where they don’t have to worry, and can finally relax. I truly love allowing people to no longer stake their precious time doing the chores they shouldn’t have to. ( I say this because, personally i love what i do, and the amazing team at Hospitable that made it all possible :)

• What is the single most impactful question you ask your owners before committing to work with them? 

1. “Are you ready to be a part of the winning team?”  Will be my closing question 99% of the time- I only ask this, after they’ve seen the insights behind my work, it really solidifies their reasoning to allow me to be a part of their system.

• How long does it typically take to formalize a partnership, from the time you meet a new owner to the signing of an agreement?

1. It can vary, i’ve cold called prospects and closed them same day- i’ve never had a deal take me more than 14 days to close / put on the back burner. 

For reference, i’m 19, I started Airbnb last year sep. 9th. I’ve been preforming in the top 1% of my submarket in almost every single aspect since-- I’m proud of my trail of success, and i’m hungry for more..