How to Choose a Property Manager and Protect Your Rental Portfolio

Alexander Graff (00:00)
Words of wisdom. ⁓ yeah, I mean, I would just say, ⁓ you know, for us, again, I I sound like a broken record, but it’s who we are and and I think it’s who other people should be. ⁓ don’t let the money ⁓ lit guide your decision. I mean, that’s kind of hard to say to an investor. Obviously, you do need to crunch numbers. Let me let me back up a little bit. You do need to crunch numbers, you have to do that. ⁓ but you have to really be knowledgeable.

Really have to make sure that you’re staying up on everything. ⁓ I think that there’s a lot of if there’s one advice I can give you, I know a lot of you are on social media, you know, doom scrolling and looking. And I I I see it too. I follow a lot of realtors and investors, but there’s a lot of misinformation out there.

Scott Bursey (02:15)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros podcast powered by Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Scott Bursey And today we’re joined by Alexander Graff of Emerson Property Management. Alexander is a true pro in bridging the gap between passive investing and active asset management, focusing heavily on investor education to ensure owners actually understand the data behind their yields. Alexander, welcome to the show.

Alexander Graff (02:42)
Thank you so much. It’s incredible to be here. I’m a I’m a big fan of the podcast, so very happy to be here today.

Scott Bursey (02:47)
It’s awesome having you here, my friend. And before we dive in, please ⁓ tell our pros how your career ignited and where you’re pouring your fuel now.

Alexander Graff (02:57)
⁓ man. ⁓ well, that’s an interesting ⁓ question because I’ve had an interesting background over the last 20 years. I’ve worked across several industries. ⁓ however, you know, and kind of in and out of sales, but real estate was always something that was I have my eye on. ⁓ and after some personal things that I went through and kind of rebuilding my life out here ⁓ in Texas, I finally went and got my realtor license and

you know, started working in property management just to educate myself, you know, on what goes on and kind of learn how to, you know, be a leasing agent and show and you know, get better at showing and stuff like that. what I didn’t know at the time is that property management was gonna keep kind of sucking me in. ⁓ but for me, what fuels me is working with incredible owners and investors that are trying to ⁓ you know, build their portfolio and find success. ⁓ you know.

There’s always opportunities. The market will always change, but there’s always opportunities if you stay on it and understand ⁓ you know, the opportunities at hand depending on, you know, the market at that time.

Scott Bursey (03:57)
That’s an amazing background, Alexander. And you know what really caught my attention about you was the way you’ve been able to revolutionize property management workflows at Emerson, turning standard oversight into a true competitive advantage for your investors. It’s rare to find someone who values the why behind the management as much as the how.

Alexander Graff (04:21)
Yeah, no, a hundred percent. And you know, me personally, I’ve worked for several management companies over the years and most of them have a bad rep, and that’s for a reason. ⁓ what we like to say at Emerson is a lot of these companies are rent collectors. That’s not us. We are asset managers. We have a long-term view for investors. We try to educate ⁓ and help your portfolio as it grows over time to make the best decisions, whether that’s renting, ⁓ selling.

And even if it’s at the sacrifice of our own, you know, pocketbook, if it’s the best move for an owner, we work in the highest integrity. And that’s why I love working for this company. It all starts with our leader, Cameron Tope. ⁓ but I absolutely love that about us because I I at the end of the day, it’s about helping other people and and being of service.

Scott Bursey (05:07)
Alexander, your emphasis on transparent reporting is clear. What would you say is the greatest unfair advantage that Emerson property management brings to the table for an investor?

Alexander Graff (05:18)
That’s a really good question. ⁓ we have a few uniques that kind of set us apart. ⁓ probably the biggest one that when I first saw it, I was like, this is crazy that we do this. ⁓ we actually do a month-to-month agreement, ⁓ which is insane in property management. Anyone who’s worked in property management or knows about it, they know that that’s pretty crazy. ⁓ but what happens with a lot of these companies, they lock you in long term. They have onboarding fees, offboarding fees, termination fees. And

They can sometimes nickel and dime you over that time. ⁓ we don’t want to trap anybody. We want you to work with us because you want to work with us. so we do a month-to-month agreement. You just literally have to give a 30-day notice and you can get out of it. ⁓ and that’s because we’re so confident in our processes. And that’s where we set apart from others. Our processes are are beautiful and they’re in place and ready ⁓ with the communication. you know, we have one point of contact versus a lot of other companies.

You may talk to five different people, get five different answers, or they just won’t get back to you. You can’t get an answer. You can’t get anyone on the phone. so we have a dedicated asset manager, and I believe that really sets us apart because their whole job is to take care of our owners and get back to them and make sure they’re in the know of what’s going on with their assets.

Scott Bursey (07:20)
I love that, Alexander. Having the level of clarity is exactly what separates the hobbyists from the two pros in this game. That’s awesome. And curious to know, as you are scaling the management side of the business, what is the biggest internal hurdle or bottleneck, if you will, that you had to dismantle to maintain your service standards?

Alexander Graff (07:43)
Yeah, so ⁓ we’re in a really exciting time right now. ⁓ you know, in expansion time. And we’re a very small company. ⁓ you know, Cameron, our owner, kind of only had a few people. but he made sure that his foundation was solid before he brought on more. So he just brought on me ⁓ and my associate Jamal, who’s in the marketing side of it. I’m kind of the closer ⁓ and trying to expand. So right now we only have about 250 doors, which is not a lot for a property management company.

But that number’s increasing quickly. I’ve only been on ⁓ with the company for a short time, and we’re already getting those numbers way up. So, really, the only issue right now is building that lead generation ⁓ and really getting the pipeline, getting our name out there, educating agents and owners in the Houston area because Houston is wild. There’s so many people, there’s like over 45,000 agents. ⁓ you know, it’s a really interesting market because you have kind of central Houston and then.

all these master communities that are growing on the outside and the outside areas are starting to get bigger. So ⁓ you know, the market’s growing fast. It’s a growing city. So really it’s just getting ⁓ our name out there, educating, and then ⁓ you know, not losing who we are. And that’s the biggest thing is not losing who we are as we’re in a growth stage.

Scott Bursey (08:58)
It’s so true. You can’t build a skyscraper on a cracked foundation. And usually that foundation is your own internal processes. That was spot on. And Alexander, looking at the current landscape of the market, where do you see the biggest blue ocean opportunity for investors who are currently frustrated with their existing management teams?

Alexander Graff (09:18)
Yeah, ⁓ so well, there’s a there’s a few things. I mean, I I I think that ⁓ you know, the issues that I’ve been running into talking to owners, which I talk to every day and investors, ⁓ you know, one of the big issues is people bought at these crazy numbers in terms of interest. And so unfortunately they’ll come to me and they’ll say, Hey, you know, I’m looking into management. Can I get a rental analysis? Of course I’ll send you a rental analysis. So what happens is I crunch the numbers and that number comes in under what their mortgage is.

But they have no opportunity to refi because they got in, you know, three, four percent. And right now, obviously those numbers are much higher. So ⁓ that’s been a bit of a challenge. But what I’ve seen is the owners that are successful here right now are the ones that have the long-term view. So obviously, if they have the cash flow ability to possibly lose a little bit in the short term as they gain appreciation on the home, ⁓ you know, they can still succeed. you know, there’s still times where it is it is still correct in our opinion to

get it managed and lease it out ⁓ over time, even if that initial cash flow for the short term is lost. ⁓ but one other thing I would say is people are looking for perfect deals. And ⁓ especially with new builds, that’s what I’m seeing a lot. And what happens is there’s a lot of people who have the same idea. So I’m seeing a lot of these master communities get flooded with inventory of people buying and then there’s a bunch of rentals there. ⁓ so I don’t necessarily think that that’s ⁓ the best

Way to go. I think it’s better to wait and see over time how these new communities kind of build. There’s more trusted areas because there’s so much at Houston. There’s already areas that can be trusted on to find a little bit more unique properties or come at it a different way. ⁓ and obviously, you know, there’s the whole flipping game as well. I mean, you can come in, rehab a property, and and kind of you know, go that route and turn it into a rental as well. And that may be the better opportunity.

⁓ you know, it just depends on what your approach is. There’s a lot of approaches when you’re investing in property. So ⁓ but I think it’s an exciting time. I really do right now.

Scott Bursey (11:16)
Thank you for that excellent breakdown, Alexander. And you know, one thing that’s been on people’s minds lately is the shifting regulatory environment. What is the number one external threat to a portfolio’s performance that you think most investors are dangerously ignoring right now?

Alexander Graff (12:07)
Hmm, that’s a that’s a really good question. So ⁓ you know, I I would say that you don’t know what you don’t know. ⁓ and I I I’d say a a mistake I’m saying, and obviously I’m saying this, I work for a management company, but it really is the truth. A lot of people want to manage their own property. And when you don’t understand the ins and outs of that, ⁓ that can become difficult. It’s like, well, I have a perfect tenant and they pay on time every time. It’s like, yes, you don’t have a problem until you do.

Because it will happen. Property management is kind of a jungle and it gets crazy out there. So you have to be ready for all those things. you know, Texas property code changes every two years. You know, you have to stay up on this. You have to stay up on the market and kind of know when to make the right moves. there’s a lot of things that we do, ⁓ from you know, very rigorous tenant screening, to regular inspections to

constant education and again we’re as big on education as we are in managing. So we’re sending out Cameron does an incredible newsletter every month it’s free. And I can’t believe some of the stuff he gives away for free. We have an accidental landlord kit that is so such great information. that again you can get all this on Emerson property management dot com. but we just have a lot of resources where we’re trying to continue to educate our our owners to be you know more savvy.

⁓ and and invest smarter. But ⁓ at the end of the day that’s that’s really it. I mean they y you don’t know what you don’t know. So it’s really important to continue ⁓ your hunger for education if you really wanna be lasting in this game. There’s no easy fix, I would say.

Scott Bursey (13:40)
That’s a massive wake-up call. It’s all about education. If you aren’t playing defense on those external factors, your offense won’t even matter. Let’s pivot for just a moment here. How do you balance the high touch nature of investor education with the high volume demands of managing a massive portfolio?

Alexander Graff (14:00)
⁓ Yeah, ⁓ so that’s a great question as well. Obviously, ⁓ you know, though we have a personal touch and we never want to lose that, ⁓ obviously AI can be a helpful tool in a lot of ways. So there’s ways to build you know, drip campaigns and stuff like that to continue to send great information to your owners. ⁓ like I said, our newsletter and and other things that we do ⁓ to try to continue to educate. So

The other piece that we have is those processes. You know, I heard a couple episodes ago, I think you spoke to Michael Gentile, I think it was, and he spoke a lot about processes and building that foundation. ⁓ and I couldn’t agree more with that because you have to have that ready ⁓ because stuff’s gonna happen and if those aren’t in place, it’s it’s it’s a problem. So for us, we very much separate ⁓ the operations from kind of ⁓ what we do on the on the sales side and kind of

educating owners and bringing them in and then their asset manager could take care of them on that operational day-to-day side ⁓ on the happenings you know so that’s important and I I would also say that you know a lot of owners get in this ⁓ thinking it’s gonna be flashy and it’s gonna be this wonderful thing and and there’s no grind to it and it’s an easy fix once I get a house. and any money I bring in that’s going straight to my vacation you know home or you know my vacation pot. But ⁓

You have to factor in a lot of things. So I would urge people to factor in management when you’re looking for an investment property and factor those into your numbers, you know. And I would also consider maintenance and other things that happen on the day-to-day basis because you are going to have costs. we try to keep maintenance down as much as we can for our owners, but things are obviously gonna pop up with any property. So, you know, you have to be ready for those things. You have to set money aside that’s ready to go.

in case or when I should say something pops up because it will.

Scott Bursey (15:53)
Proper planning. It sounds like you’ve cracked the code and keeping that personal touch, even as your numbers grow.

Alexander Graff (16:40)
Yeah, no, again, and and that’s all from, you know, our leader Cameron. I mean, I couldn’t speak highly enough about him. He sets the tone. and for all you entrepreneurs out there that are running companies, you know, he i he lives in the highest integrity and he sets the tone for our team. ⁓ one thing that I was amazed with when I joined the team is not only do you speak with him when you’re interviewing, but then he does a full team interview.

So we’ve just brought on a couple people. So I was involved in this and interviewing ⁓ and we all talk to the person and kind of ask questions, get to know them. And if the team doesn’t sign off on it, they’re not gonna work for our for us. And that keeps a certain type of culture. ⁓ I’ve never seen that and I love that. And we’re gonna keep doing that even as we grow. you know, we’re planning, we got big things planned. ⁓ you know, we’re gonna have a much bigger team probably a year from now. ⁓ but we’re gonna continue to.

To hold on to that culture, which gets lost with so many companies as they expand. They’re so worried about expansion and going to other markets. We’re not trying to go anywhere. We’re not trying to go to Austin, San Antonio, Dallas. They’re great markets, but we want to be experts in Houston. We want to take care of our market and our people here. And, you know, we’re not trying to do too much.

Scott Bursey (17:52)
And I love that, Alexander. If you’re talking to a pro who is ready to jump from twenty units to two hundred, what is the most important shift they need to make in their asset management mindset in your view?

Alexander Graff (18:04)
Yeah, so I mean I spoke to it a little bit, but you have to be ready for when the thunderstorm comes. ⁓ you have to, just like us, you have to have your processes in place ⁓ for expansion. Because if you don’t, it will crack, it will fall. You can’t, like you said, you can’t build a skyscraper like that. ⁓ it has to have a solid foundation. So I would say patience is the number one thing I would say. You have to be patient.

You can’t try to go too big, too quick. You have to make sure you have a good management. Or even if you’re managing yourself, we don’t try to I’m not trying to convince anybody of anything. I talk to owners and they say, look, I’ve managed for 30 years. I’m gonna continue to manage. You know what, Mr. and Mrs. Owner, that’s totally fine. I totally understand. Let us be a resource if you need anything. And we’re here for you. And I’d love to share some owner resources with you that you can use and maybe they’ll help you. So that’s how we kind of approach it. We’re gonna help and be a resource.

⁓ regardless of what somebody’s trying to do. And ⁓ I think that that’s the key as well is you have tenants living in this place. These are people. This is their home. ⁓ And a lot of management companies or owners may not take great care of their tenants. And I think that’s another piece where we set it apart. We’re really good about making sure our tenants feel great about ⁓ you know the management that runs their home. So I would say those processes, you know, treating tenants

correct way and and overall just patience. You know, patience and education. You’ll know when to make the right move. The market will speak to you if you listen.

Scott Bursey (19:36)
That is some incredible advice. And you’ve given us a lot of great advice here today. But Alexander, is there any additional words of wisdom that you can leave with our pros?

Alexander Graff
Words of wisdom. ⁓ yeah, I mean, I would just say, ⁓ you know, for us, again, I I sound like a broken record, but it’s who we are and and I think it’s who other people should be. ⁓ don’t let the money ⁓ lit guide your decision. I mean, that’s kind of hard to say to an investor. Obviously, you do need to crunch numbers. Let me let me back up a little bit. You do need to crunch numbers, you have to do that. ⁓ but you have to really be knowledgeable.

Really have to make sure that you’re staying up on everything. ⁓ I think that there’s a lot of if there’s one advice I can give you, I know a lot of you are on social media, you know, doom scrolling and looking. And I I I see it too. I follow a lot of realtors and investors, but there’s a lot of misinformation out there. And there’s a lot of, you know, people show only the good things. They don’t show the bad days. They don’t show when they get an eviction or something bad happens.

⁓ so be real with yourself.

Don’t let the social media ⁓ you know, make you think it’s something that it’s not. You have to be honest with yourself. If you can’t look in the mirror and be honest with yourself, your portfolio and where you’re at, I’m sorry to say, but you’re you’re not gonna succeed. You’re just not.

Scott Bursey (20:58)
Alexander, that is powerful. Thank you so much for that. And I know our pros listening are gonna want to connect with you. And what is the best way for them to reach out and collaborate with you?

Alexander Graff (21:09)
Sure. So the first thing I would say for anybody who has some properties that owns a portfolio, go to emersonpropertymanagement.com. There’s an owner resources tab there, and there is so many great things. Also @emersonpm on YouTube, incredible content there for not just property management, but how to list your marketing. There’s so many great things there. ⁓ You can get at me. I mean, you can email me, ⁓ [email protected]. I’m pretty much Alexander Graff PM on all social media. So absolutely follow DM. And again, ⁓ I’m happy to share all our resources. I’m happy to talk shop with you anytime. ⁓ I’m not necessarily trying to sell you if you do need asset management. I promise you we will do a wonderful job for you and your asset. But if you just want to know about the market, if you just need a rental analysis, you’re analyzing a deal, you know, I do that a ton for people.

They’re they’re looking at properties. It’s like, okay, well let me send you an analysis so you know what you may get. ⁓ so we’re happy to help in any way possible. But yeah, I would say go to our website, there’s a great resource there for sure.

Scott Bursey (22:16)
Alexander, this has just been incredible. You’ve been incredible. Thank you so much for joining us here today.

Alexander Graff (22:22)
⁓ Scott, I really appreciate the honor. It’s truly mine. And ⁓ you know, I wish everybody out there the best of luck with their portfolios. Keep your head straight and you know, things are gonna work out.

Scott Bursey (22:32)
And to our listeners, we appreciate you. If you receive value from today’s episode, please subscribe. We’ll be filling your tanks with a lineup of elite guests, just like Alexander, who are accelerating and setting the pace for the rest of the industry. Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you in the next episode, everyone.