The Fort RE #182: Peter Lohmann - CEO of RL Property Mgmt - Building a PM Biz, 'Tasks at Scale', Airbnb in PM?
Peter Lohmann is the founder & CEO of RL Property Management, a residential property management company in Columbus, Ohio. Peter graduated with a Bachelor’s in electrical engineering and spent 5 years as a control systems engineer before founding RL Property Management in 2013. RL Property Management now manages over 500 units for central Ohio real estate investors.
On this episode, Chris and Peter deep dive into the operations of a residential PM business. They discuss his thoughts on Airbnb entering the PM space, What technology the PM industry needs, and how he bought & valued 2 PM companies.
Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris
Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com
Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/
Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1Ho_tj32xus
(02:27) - What brings a person to own a property management business in Ohio?
(05:01) - Peter’s Pathway To Breakeven & Profitability
(07:10) - What do you mean by “spending time on bigger pockets”?
(08:27) - Who was your first hire?
(10:09) - Where do you stand today since starting in 2013?
(11:44) - Peter’s Flat Fee Model
(16:54) - Are there other revenue line items you’re charging outside of that flat fee?
(19:03) - Does the client expect you to get a property ‘rent-ready’ or is that on them to do and then come back to you?
(20:11) - How much maintenance do you have going on at any given time and what do their days look like?
(22:22) - Are the techs ‘jack of all trades’ or do you look for specialists in electrical or plumbing?
(23:08) - Thoughts On The Current Labor Market When it Comes to Blue-Collar Trades
(27:23) - How do you approach maintenance when it comes to accountability? Is this a landlord responsibility or tenant?
(29:51) - Dealing With Owners Leaving You and Then Coming Back
(35:32) - What are you doing with automation and technology in your business?
Buildium | Airtable | Process Street | Zapier | Lead Simple | Notion
(41:50) - Who contributes to the company Wiki and how do you keep it from getting bloated?
(44:31) - Is it better to own 5 SFR’s or one 5-unit building?
(46:05) - Is your management radically different based on the number of units a client owns?
(48:01) - Is there anything that really needs to be built on the software side to better streamline your industry?
(52:53) - Peter’s Experience & Processes for Buying Other Property Management Businesses
(59:09) - Do you get to speak to clients of a prospective business during due diligence?
(1:00:01) - Was there high churn from the acquisitions?
(1:01:01) - Thoughts on Airbnb in the Residential Property Management Space
(1:07:39) - Twitter: What lessons did you take away from Greg Crabtree & What was the conversation like when your partner stepped away to run your engineering company?
Simple Numbers by Greg Crabtree
(1:13:40) - Peter’s Side Hobby of Restoring Historic Windows
(1:16:53) - What’s the best way for people to get in touch?
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/PSLohmann
Peter's Website: www.Peterlohmann.com