We’re going to play a game on today’s episode! Amy Hedgecock, a third generation property manager in High Point, North Carolina, has a crazy story of when she managed a property for some California investors who never even saw it. When the owner of the property finally flew over to see the property, he was shocked, scared, and given a knife by a tenant for protection before entering a “vacant” unit. Listen in and try to find out where, exactly, things went wrong – and learn how to make sure this never happens to you or your clients!
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Time Stamped Show Notes:
- 00:35 – Introducing Amy, a 3rd generation property manager in High Point North Carolina, who has been president of the North Carolina realtors
- 02:30 – Amy’s CSIRE story
- 03:00 – She has 500 single-family units and some apartment buildings; she enjoys bettering the properties so her investors have a better return on investment
- 03:30 – Many California investors were buying investment properties; one bought an apartment building sight unseen and neither the buyer nor seller had a REALTOR®
- 04:00 – Amy went out to the property and there was a lot of deferred maintenance; she got in touch with the new owners and they knew some money would have to go into it
- 04:50 – There were apartments missing on the rent roll; it looked 100% rented but only because 7 units were unaccounted for
- 05:20 – The heat was missing in the vacant units and tenants of other of the missing units had serious issues; the owners sent some money to fix the issues
- 06:00 – She had hired off-duty police officers to guard vacant units because there were squatters; the rent money didn’t cover all the issues the place had
- 06:30 – She had to evict half the building because they weren’t paying rent; an owner finally said they’d fly into town to see the place
- 07:20 – She only went to the property with an officer because it was an unsafe place; when the owner arrived he said, “This place isn’t so bad!”
- 07:50 – The police officer showed the guy a YouTube channel called “High Point Ghetto Fights” and a fight video was shot in front of his apartment
- 08:40 – A prostitute from the building followed them while they showed the property to the owner; she yelled “I’m not working today!” to a group of men yelling at her
- 09:45 – They enter a vacant unit that had been taken over by feral cats; one was dead and melted into the floor
- 10:30 – The owner opened an old, disconnected refrigerator and it was disgusting; Amy laughed
- 11:30 – When they reach the last row of apartments, the woman handed the property owner a knife to protect himself from someone in a vacant unit there
- 11:55 – He skipped that unit and asked an officer to check it out; the property was resold shortly after that visit
- 12:20 – Amy didn’t take on managing the property with the new owners
- 12:45 – The lessons
- 12:50 – The owners bought the property sight unseen, which was a mistake; they didn’t have rent rolls, reports, or P&Ls
- 13:20 – If you aren’t going to have realtor representation, be smart about the questions you ask and the information you require before purchasing
- 14:50 – It’s important to use professional property managers for your investment properties
- 15:30 – REALTORS®, get connected with property managers to help your clients better
- 17:30 – How to contact Amy: by email at amyhedgecock@gmail.com, by phone (336)883-1333, or at fowler-fowler.com
3 Key Points
- Ask the right questions before purchasing!
- Don’t short-cut your property management needs.
- REALTORS® and property managers should be connected and help each other!
Credits