“The Story…Why I Started a Property Management Company”

Who wants to take calls at 2:00 AM about plumbing back-ups or no heat? Am I crazy…?

My name is Sherry Young. I have been serving the Greater Washington DC and Baltimore areas representing buyers, sellers, and investors in the sale or purchase of residential single-family homes, town homes, condos, & income properties for the past 30 years. In the summer of 2016, I received a call from a long time client who explained that her employer, the US government, would be transferring her to Atlanta for a three-year assignment. She asked me for guidance and assistance in selecting a property management company to rent and manage her property while she was on assignment. I immediately contacted the company I had been referring my clients to for years.

I was surprised to learn that the owner of this company was preparing to retire and would close the business in late 2016. Because I no longer had a trusted, preferred partner to provide property management services to my friends, colleagues, or clients, I started interviewing various property management companies. After many hours of research and discussions with several companies, I can honestly say that I could not find one property management company that I would have trusted with renting and managing my own property. 

I discovered that if a company seemed strong in one area, I inevitably found weakness in another area. I could not understand the logic behind the strategies and tactics used by many of the property management companies that I had interviewed.

For example, many companies were adamant that a property had to be vacant before being offered for rent – meaning that the owner would have to forfeit at least one month each time the contract expired. Ouch! Another company had a maintenance technician on staff and charged a standard minimum price for all repairs, regardless of the actual expense. I wondered how much profit the company made or if any unnecessary maintenance work might be completed and billed to owners in order to cover the company’s maintenance department fixed costs.  Ouch, again!

Many companies saved on their marketing expenses by only promoting their rental properties on their own company websites rather than advertising on multiple platforms using a variety of media. I could not understand how limiting exposure of a property to prospective tenants would result in securing the best tenants paying the highest rental prices. Another Ouch! And, of course, there have been many unethical companies that have perpetrated crimes, such as appropriating owners’ rents and tenants’ security deposits and then skipping town and leaving owners in legal trouble with no income.

So, I finally called a woman whom I greatly admired for some guidance and advice. “Lucy” had operated a very successful property management company, which she sold when she retired several years ago. I was always very impressed by the manner in which she managed her business, so I met with “Lucy” over coffee to seek her input. During our conversation, I asked her, “What is the most critical factor to consider when choosing a property management company?” 

Her reply was simple, “Honesty and respect for the owner’s assets and income stream.” I agreed 100%.

“Lucy” recommended that I start my own ‘boutique’ property management agency to serve government employees, active military, Department of Defense contractors, as well as international Embassy personnel. These clients need peace of mind, great tenants, a steady rental income stream, and to maintain or increase their property’s value while they were deployed. Because PCS-ers were already a large part of my client demographic in the real estate segment, I decided that I should seriously consider the idea of expanding into the property management industry to serve this target market.  

The idea of opening a property management company slowly took hold.  I talked to my tax advisor, the broker who holds my real estate license, my banker, my insurer, and my spouse to evaluate the potential opportunity.

I distinctly remember talking with my husband about opening a property management agency. He reminded me that before we met and married, he had worked for the government and had been stationed overseas twice. He explained that he had not purchased a property because of the horror stories he’d heard from colleagues who had terrible experiences with their property managers while they were deployed.

Over the years, I have taken many educational courses to help investors evaluate and purchase investment properties. I have worked with many investors to purchase rental properties. And, I have helped many clients recruit and screen tenants to rent their properties when they were unable to sell. I have the knowledge, experience, and training to be a successful property manager. I understand the needs of this market, and I was certain that I would do a better job than any of these other property management companies that I had interviewed. 

So, I decided to open Select PCS Property Management Company in early 2017.

Because of my affiliation with the woman closing her company, I already had connections with some of her client owners. I proposed taking over those accounts of the owners that I knew as well as a few other single-family rental properties. She agreed. However, I had to win the accounts in order to keep them. I am proud to say that all with one exception hired Select PCS Property Management to take over the management of their properties.

In addition to training with the former owner for one year, I joined the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) and attend monthly chapter meetings.  Each month I learn about best practices utilized in the property management industry and how to pro-actively avoid mistakes and problems.  Recently, I attended a NARPM state convention and have taken a full day of training classes to enhance my understanding and skills of the property management industry.

In the first year of becoming a property manager, I have successfully managed many serious issues for my clients, such as the repair of a central HVAC failure in the middle of summer, the elimination of a rodent invasion that was caused by a neighboring property, the mitigation of a flood caused by a neighboring unit, the resolution of a plumbing back-up, and the eradication of a termite infestation. I have conducted tests on an older property for lead-based paint, navigated a housing voucher program rental, negotiated lease extensions with rent increases, ensured prompt compliance with HOA notices, and have overseen storm damage repairs for my clients. Fortunately, these issues did not all happen to the same property or at the same time.  J

I plan to continue improving our technology and operational systems & processes. For example, we will be adopting a new property management software system in 2018, which will provide additional functionality and allow tenants to easily make an online payment.  Additionally, owners will have an online portal to check on their properties and accounts in real time, in addition to receiving their monthly account overview summaries.

So far, so good! I have fantastic owners and great tenants -- who are all paying on time. I am looking forward to growing the property management segment of the business. I would be honored to serve you / your friend / your family member as a client of Select PCS Property Management.