EP149 Breaking Up with Your Property Management Company and Going It Alone with Ben Blake

Quite often real estate investors start out by managing their own properties and once they acquire a certain number of units they decide to hire a Third-Party Professional Property Management Company to looks after their portfolio.  My guest today decided to go in the opposite direction. After working with several property management companies, Ben Blake figured that he could save himself money and headaches by taking control of the property management on his 12-unit portfolio in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Today we talk about how he went about doing that and the improvement in his cashflow as a result. Ben also shares how one of his celebrity teammates from his College Football days helped him get started in real estate investing, and the influence he had on his early career.  Ben also shares some of the early mistakes he made in screening tenants and the problems he encountered because of those mistakes. If you're going to manage your own properties you need to make sure you have the right team and technology in place.  Ben shares how he uses Buildium, Rently, and Quickbooks to keep his business running smoothly.  He also shares how he works with his tenants and handles maintenance to control expenses. I know you're going to enjoy this episode.  Ben has a lot of great wisdom and experience to share, as well as tools that can save you time and money.  You can contact Ben through email at:  [email protected] Enjoy!