We Need More Willie's

Last week, our 86-year-old HVAC technician did his final annual maintenance inspection at one of our properties.

Willie is from Southern Louisiana and lived outside of New Orleans all his life.

He’s an avid hunter, fisher, and seems to know every detail about New Orleans street signs/roads/historic renovations/plants/and countless more.

Willie taught me about the 2 muscadine grape vines at our property (we assumed they were poison), took me on a tour under one of our apartment complexes to discover bottles from the early 20th century, drove me to his hometown to have lunch, and even offered to make jams with berries we had at another property.

Willie is a master HVAC technician and built a great business for his family over the last 50+ years.

He’s a one man show and will occasionally bring his nephew (who’s being trained to take over) to each job.

At 86, Willie is ripping ladders off his truck, climbing into tiny attics, and zipping between supply houses each day.

Most importantly, he’s the type of person that makes this field enjoyable.

Trustworthy, always on time, generous, and constantly insulting somebody from the New Orleans city government.

Willie types seem to be a dying breed in our markets.

Nowadays, most HVAC companies in the area are operating with fleets of trucks, call centers, big rebate programs, and more.

He just kept his head down and naturally developed a network, where he’d source a continual pipeline of jobs off referrals alone.

Willie’s been through a lot- his house burned down, lost his wife, and had all his tools stolen multiple times over the years.

Yet, he kept coming back and doing the work he said he would.

We negotiate nearly bid we receive but don’t haggle with Willie- his prices are extremely competitive but that’s not his edge.

Willie excels at the details.

He’ll spend 5 hours in the attic triple checking each connection to ensure he doesn’t have to return anytime soon.

He’ll drive an extra 10 miles to source the best materials and never cuts a corner.

If we ever need him on site, he’s one call away.

I’ve been lucky to develop a friendship with Willie over the last 3 years and to get a glimpse into how he views the world.

A tough, driven guy who is confident in his ability to provide value….and that’s exactly what he did over the last 5 decades.

A bittersweet ending with our friend but can confirm we look forward to working with his nephew and seeing all the knowledge he passed down.

Working with good and interesting people is what makes the day to day of real estate exciting for us.

There’s a ton of characters across the country doing different jobs, but each has a unique story to tell.

We’re grateful to have been a small part of Willie’s journey in New Orleans.

How We Keep Units Filled

The lease-up process is one of the most important components of a real estate project but often doesn’t receive the attention it needs.

Longer lease-ups equate to more holding costs and compressed returns.

The length of the process is predicated on 4 items:

1.) Location

2.) Condition

3.) Pricing

4.) Responsiveness of the leasing agents

How do we ensure a smooth leasing process?

-Seek out locations where people want to live and will pay premiums to do so (prime locations make everything easier)

-Provide thoughtfully renovated apartments.

-Ensure our pricing matches the market (anybody can list their units for $500 over market rates, just prepare to have empty apartments as you hold out for that higher price tag)

-Have a killer team of leasing agents with an embedded sense of urgency (they receive a commission based off the rental rate of the unit and are incentivized to fill apartments as fast as possible)

-Take really good care of common areas, walkways, and exteriors (first impressions are important and recurring cleaning/landscaping shows existing residents we care)

-Run a tight tenant-screening process (thorough applications, credit checks, background checks, multiple references)

One bad tenant can affect a whole property, let alone returns.

We have a full checklist for this to ensure every detail is reviewed and that we’re positioning ourselves to avoid evictions.

The Small Things

Some of the tinier nuances in real estate that you can only pick up by doing more deals and taking more reps:

-Best methods for sourcing opportunities (the big one)

-What roads/corridors/pockets to avoid (even if they’re in the right zip code)

-How to approach Historic & Neighborhood Associations

-How to maximize the inspection period

-How to find un-permitted work

-Handling encroachments

-How the permit office wants your applications to look (and read)

-How to (properly) execute utility transfers (we learned the hard way early on and our gas was cut off)

-Best practices for shopping insurance

-Handling vagrants around a property (so they don’t come back)

-Price per sq.ft metrics/general pricing for each portion of the renovation

-How to dig out more value during the renovation process (additional bedrooms, new lay-outs, large windows, outdoor spaces)

-The best materials to use

-How to address knob and tube wiring, cast iron plumbing, termites, and other unknowns

-Who to call if the property doesn’t have a public sewer tap

-Best ways to market to and source great tenants (use great leasing agents)

-Process of vetting service providers and who to avoid

-Which people to use for repairs vs. renovations

-What preventative maintenance is needed and how often

-How to expedite unit turnovers

-Best reporting methods