How to Scale Your Real Estate Business: Expert Strategies from Nancy Braun

Nancy (00:00)

just be careful about your investment. Don’t jump into something that you don’t realize and find out if there’s restrictions.

 

don’t think you’re gonna cheat the system because you’re never gonna get away with it you’ve got to just do it right

 

Michelle Kesil (01:47)

Hey everybody. Welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil. And today I’m joined by someone that I’m looking forward to chatting with, Nancy Braun of Showcase Realty, operating a full service real estate brokerage, as well as a real estate investor and owner of a property management company. So excited to have you here today, Nancy.

 

Nancy (02:13)

Thank you. I’m honored

 

to be here.

 

Michelle Kesil (02:15)

Amazing. Let’s dive in first off for those not familiar with you and your work. Can you share what your main focus is?

 

Nancy (02:23)

I

 

own a brokerage showcase realty. We service North and South Carolina. I have agents that work with me and I have a very large support team in the back end. And we also, I own Carolina Property Management and we’re managing properties for others as well as my investments. And that’s a primary initiative of mine to grow that strong and keep growing.

 

1. And we’ve been, I’ve been doing this for 30 years, moved here from New York and love the industry. I love that every day is a new challenge and I’m always faced with new things that I have to learn. So it’s not a stagnant business. It’s exciting.

 

Michelle Kesil (03:06)

Yeah, definitely. And what do you feel have been some of the main keys that have allowed your business to be able to grow and run successfully?

 

Nancy (03:18)

So through that

 

30 years, the economy’s changed, buyer needs, seller needs have changed, and I’ve been able to weather that because I have different income streams coming from different areas of real estate. So I’ve never cornered myself into one practice or been a specialist in one area. So we have agents that work under my management and supervision. They assist the buyer leads that come in, the seller leads.

 

And I have my own book of business and we also represent institutional sellers like banks and note holders and we also represent investors in their purchases including hedge funds and in their dispositions as well. And then I have the property management income that comes in. So if one area is challenged because of the economy, just refocus and focus on

 

the areas that are growing.

 

Michelle Kesil (04:18)

Yeah, how do you stay adaptable in the market that seems to constantly be shifting?

 

Nancy (04:28)

Well, you have to

 

constantly be aware of what’s going on. So you have to be ready. So anticipate the change in advance. So when I was during the recession 2008 through about 2012, I was closing about 500 homes a year. And in anticipation of the recession was receding and the economy was picking up again, I had to really shift back to the retail market and not react.

 

but be proactive. So I had a team of agents and my training and all my marketing materials had a shift. So I had to anticipate the changed economy. So you really do have to stay in touch with the economy, be on these podcasts and read a lot and really get it a handle on how the economy is shifting.

 

Michelle Kesil (06:05)

Yeah, absolutely. And what made you decide to start a property management company when you already had all these other ventures going?

 

Nancy (06:16)

you

 

So I’ve acquired

 

a number of properties of my own, including commercial and residential. And I felt that I could manage them better than the management company that was managing them. So I opened my own property management company and I am a slow learner. So it took me a while to build. And now I manage for others and it’s a growing company. have three property managers working for me as we acquire more

 

properties to manage for others. And it’s, was very careful because property management is sticky and it’s litigious and people, you’re representing the owner, but then you have to make sure that the residents are happy and you’re compliant and you’re not doing anything wrong. There’s a lot of regulations and people that dabble in property management can get themselves into big trouble. So I slowly grew that company as I created systems

 

systems and processes that work and continually creating systems and processes every day and have a team that really follows those. we’re consistent on how we handle each of our issues and screening tenants and handling fair housing and juggling all the different regulations that we’re up against. So I’m glad I had my systems and processes in place

 

before I started growing in the situation I’m in because it’s really the smart way. lot of agents think that they can supplement their income by representing a couple clients and managing their properties and they get themselves into trouble. And that’s when I acquire those properties and I find out there wasn’t a move-in inspection done or they didn’t screen the tenants or they haven’t reevaluated the value of the rental market when they renewed.

 

A

 

lot of times people that think that they can just put a shingle up and say they’re a property manager, they’re really mistaken. There’s a lot involved in setting up a great property management company that’s compliant and can grow with that.

 

Michelle Kesil (08:27)

Yeah, absolutely. And what did your journey look like getting into investing and growing that aspect of your business?

 

Nancy (08:36)

So that was just slow.

 

wish I bought hundreds more. And I’m sure most investors wish they bought a ton, but I was so busy selling for others and representing banks during the recession when the best deals were happening that I didn’t really have a lot of time to acquire much, but I did. I would buy properties sight unseen. I would just see them and just go, okay, let’s put an offer on that one. And I’m glad I did because my wealth is probably attributable primarily from my

 

real estate acquisitions more so than my day-to-day work.

 

Michelle Kesil (09:10)

Is there a specific strategy that you use for investing?

 

Nancy (09:16)

Well, I’ve

 

changed over time and some people might object to what I’m going to say, but…

 

I recently have made a conclusion that I’m not going to touch any historic areas. I had acquired a couple of properties during the recession that were in later deemed historic and dealing with an historic board can be a nightmare and they really can hold up your construction. So I avoid that. also no longer buying any properties built before 1978. So I don’t have to deal with the lead based paint requirements, which are massive.

 

and very costly. ⁓ And having to use a lead-based paint certified contractor for your work is, you you’re limited by how many are actually certified. So I’m looking at properties overnight, built after 1978, not in an historic area, and pretty much anything thereafter. I mean, I don’t care if they’re a mess ⁓ or they’re just, I’m not even really focused on buying that really great deal. I don’t think there’s a lot of great deal

 

out there, but something that’s going to appreciate and that’s what I’ve really gained because I’m a holder. I don’t flip. I like to hold my properties and have tenants pay my expenses and then you know benefit from the appreciation. So that’s my style.

 

Michelle Kesil (11:13)

Yeah, amazing. And what has been one of the biggest lessons that you’ve learned as an investor?

 

Nancy (11:22)

Biggest

 

lessons.

 

Don’t sell every property I’ve sold I’ve regretted later and said, why did I sell that? I didn’t need to. ⁓ so that’s me. I know that’s what people make money on and flipping, but I think holding for your family wealth is the right move. Never sell when the market’s down. don’t invest in something where you’re stretched to have to sell. Be in a position where you can hold it

 

and deal with the economic shifts that are happening.

 

Michelle Kesil (11:58)

Yeah, definitely. And what have been some of the biggest obstacles or challenges that you’ve had to learn to overcome.

 

Nancy (12:07)

Working

 

with people that, you know, I have a lot of staff. have a remote team members. I have over, I don’t know, 16 or 17 remote team members that are all working in different capacities, whether they’re in the bookkeeping and accounting, social media, handling the phones. You know, they do a variety of different segments of my business. They pretty much manage everything. I have an executive assistant that’s remote.

 

I have a department that handles my foreclosures, another one that handles property management, a couple that handle the agents. So really learning how to make the job environment strong and happy and the culture great and rewarding people. I had to, I’m a real high D personality. I’m like, it done. So I had to really slow down.

 

hire the right people to help me appreciate and create the positive culture. So we have a number of remotes that work in the Philippines and I take care of their medical insurance and I know a lot of people don’t even know they can do that. And I have remote team members that have been with me since 2009. So I have some that have been with me a very, very long time. So usually they don’t want to leave if they’re a good fit and they can do their job well.

 

they usually stay. I sponsor a big party that they always have for Christmas and they have a lot of bonuses for doing good work and you know we set it up so they all have KPIs. So managing people is probably the biggest challenge any company has and getting a good team that wants to grow the company along with you and is aligned with you is critical to your success.

 

Michelle Kesil (14:01)

Yeah, absolutely. That right team is an important aspect of this business. What are you most focused on solving or scaling to next?

 

Nancy (14:12)

Focus is really acquiring more properties when they become available and also building my property management company. So I want to get to a place where I have over a thousand doors and I’m a quarter way there. So next time you interview me, I hope I have 500 doors and just growing that company. I love it. I love helping people find homes, giving

 

the residents a great experience in their home, treating them with respect, giving them, you know, handling their maintenance issues quickly, getting them to want to give us a five star review, owners helping them grow their their investments and build wealth. It’s you. You can really do a great job and stand out because a lot of property management companies don’t necessarily do everything the right way. ⁓ So I see it.

 

opening and opportunity because we just were rated number one in Charlotte and number 20 in the nation by Property Management.com which is an independent verified ⁓ rating ranking company that verify everything and get surveys from our owners and make sure we have all our certifications and check all our numbers. So that was a really big honor to be number 20 in the country and number one in Charlotte and surrounding areas. So I would

 

like to keep that level of service and still wow my clients and wow the tenants and get those five-star reviews and just keep growing the company.

 

Michelle Kesil (16:26)

Yeah, congratulations. That’s so exciting. What do you do to find leads like for whether it’s new houses that you want to invest in or for property management?

 

Nancy (16:36)

That’s good.

 

Right, so…

 

I do a lot of video and I really feel that video is the way to market to people today. That’s our niche. know other people use snail mail and do other things, but I just do lots and lots of video. I wish I had time to do more. actually enjoy it and I have a good marketing team that posts them. And I think by the time an owner contacts us, they usually reach out to us. So they’re warm leads. We’re not calling owners and.

 

just dialing we are receiving their inquiry about possibly managing their property and There they have probably been on my website and I’ve worked really hard on the website ⁓ And it’s very transparent. Everything’s on there. And then I have all my videos available to market as well and Explain how we do everything so I video marketing and you know, obviously still posts are good

 

too, but we really market on the internet and that just grows our business.

 

Michelle Kesil (17:45)

that’s amazing that you found what works for you. Is there any advice you’d give to newer investors or those looking to get started?

 

Nancy (17:48)

Mm-hmm.

 

well,

 

just be careful about your investment. Don’t jump into something that you don’t realize and find out if there’s restrictions. Like I mentioned earlier, the lead-based paint and making sure you’ve got the right permits for the renovations that you’re doing. We get investors that maybe buy properties and don’t realize what it’s going to take to get it to a resale level.

 

or to get it to be able to rent it out and when we get there we find out they didn’t pull any permits and they didn’t do the things the right way they didn’t get a lead-based paint certified contractor or they didn’t follow rules or it costs money when you don’t do it the right way so go in it and don’t think you’re gonna cheat the system because you’re never gonna get away with it you’ve got to just do it right

 

so you got it also when you buy it be prepared to have the

 

ready to do the work the day you close. I find too many investors call me two years later and they’re still holding onto the property and they lost all that money hanging onto that property for so long because they didn’t jump in and have the contractors lined up right away. And houses are meant to be lived in. they, a vacant house can get into a lot of problems, damage, you might not get insurance, you might get squatters. So, you know, it sounds exciting.

 

to be an investor, but maybe partner with someone that already has done it. You can partner with someone like me or you know that already has the expertise, maybe you’re funding it and you can split the profits. But jumping in cold without any knowledge, you can get yourself in trouble. I think most investors, their first investment, they don’t make any money, they probably lose money. ⁓ But being at the long haul, don’t think that you’re gonna just turn it and flip it and make a

 

lot of money. Flippers are having a hard time right now. So maybe your investment strategy should be to hold and rent it. But even that, you’ve got to be able to financially keep that property for a long time and not be dependent on the rent to get your expenses paid for.

 

Michelle Kesil (20:08)

Absolutely. And so do you have any predictions or trends that you’re seeing in the market for the coming year?

 

Nancy (20:20)

Well,

 

the current generation, you, are, they just want to move in and bring their suitcase in. They’re usually not handy. They don’t want to invest in paint and they don’t want to do anything to get their house to the place that they see on HGTV. So they want it all done for them and they want it to move in ready. So that, everyone has to think about that. They don’t like cold kitchens. They don’t want stale floors.

 

They want it just like they saw it on TV and move in ready and they just bring in their suitcases and the other thing that people overlook is landscaping. I invest a lot in landscaping because it’s the first thing you see. ⁓ So, know, my landscaping tends to be more creative and more, you know, looking more native and natural than using builder grade shrubbery. And I, but I think it really matters to have the curb

 

when someone drives up. So the trends, you you just, you have to be budgeted to do quality work, not cheap work. The generation that’s moving in or you, and they know that they want a quartz countertop and they want, you know, modern light fixtures and not necessarily builder grade stuff you get at Home Depot. ⁓ So I try to go for more of a luxury look.

 

And that seems to be my level. there’s also the renters that can’t afford that. So you could be at all different levels. But that’s my niche.

 

Michelle Kesil (21:59)

Yeah, I love that. Thank you for sharing your perspective. Well, before we wrap up here, if someone wants to reach out, connect, learn more. Where can people find you?

 

Nancy (22:09)

So

 

my website is showcasereality.net. Showcasereality.net and Carolinas with an S, propertymanagement.com. And they can call me at 704-997-3794. They can email me, nancy at showcasereality.net. Love to hear from you.

 

Michelle Kesil (22:29)

We’ll appreciate your time and your story. Thank you for being here.

 

Nancy (22:32)

Thank you.

 

Thank you for the honor.

 

Michelle Kesil (22:34)

And for those tuning in, if you got value, make sure you’ve subscribed. We’ve got more conversations with operators like Nancy who are building real businesses and we’ll see you on our next episode.