Amy Hedgecock - Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown - Episode #153

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! Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting leighbrown.com. 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 [email protected], 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 Audio Production by Chris Mottram Show Notes provided by Melissa Valder