Blog Post
What is a Real Estate Broker doing at VEECON?
Anthony Marin • Jun 22, 2022
I’m standing in the middle of this massive stadium in Minneapolis, watching Wyclef Jean performing on stage surrounded by kids in hoodies and bright Nike sneakers while scrolling through their OpenSea app. As a 40-something year old Real Estate professional from New Jersey, I could’ve felt out of place but truthfully, I was right at home. I was at VEECON.
I have been following Gary Vaynerchuk (Gary Vee) and his career for a very long time. I’ve used his advice on how to operate a business and marketing to build a successful Real Estate brokerage & Investment company. When I had the opportunity to attend VEECON earlier this year, I jumped at the chance.
About 2 years ago I saw how passionate Gary was about NFT’s and I knew I had to begin educating myself. As I did with real estate, I learned enough to understand what I was getting into and jumped in and bought a VeeFriends Series 1 Hangout Hawk. My thought process was simple initially. If NFTs go away I was very confident Gary would honor the commitment (smart contract) of 5 conference calls a year for 3 years which came with my Hangout Hawk NFT along with admission to VEECON for 3 years.
So, what have I learned since buying this NFT?
- Web 3, the blockchain, NFTs and cryptocurrency will touch EVERY industry over the next 20 years. The panel discussions and conversations I had at VEECON showed me how many use cases there are for NFTs other than digital art. In real estate all mortgages, deeds, leases, insurance and much more will be on blockchains and using NFTs. Medical records, birth certificates, legal documents, elections, education systems will all benefit from the accuracy, certainty and efficiency these new technologies bring.
- The VeeFriends community is an amazing group to be a part of. Spending 4 days in Minneapolis meeting and greeting people inside and outside the conference was so enjoyable. I spoke to so many people in all different walks of life and all the conversations were easy and fruitful since we all had a lot in common. A good example of this was on Day 2 I got an Instagram message from someone asking if they could talk to me about real estate. I agreed and we met at a table off to the side of the main stage. This 20-year-old kid from Texas was so impressive (I’m a 40-year-old from NJ). He had already owned a 1 family house that he was renting rooms to his fraternity brothers and he wanted to know how I grew my business, got into property management and started the brokerage. His questions were great and he took so many notes. I left that conversation knowing he would be very successful in whatever endeavor he chooses. Interestingly he got my info from someone I had met the day before. Everyone there is genuinely interested in helping each other.
- The last thing I noticed was how excited this young generation is about these technologies. I’m assuming it was the same thing when a young Zuckerberg, Bezos, Musk, Brin and Page were building things in Web 2. Although I don’t consider myself old, I was older than a majority of the attendees and the thought that kept crossing my mind is, if I keep learning and investing alongside the best players in this game it will be life changing.
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Be prepared before you hire a Property Manager 1. Is the Property Management Firm licensed? In most states property managers and property management companies must be certified real estate professionals to place tenants and collect rent on your behalf. Make sure you understand these laws in your state and municipality. 2. How Are the Property Management Fees Structured? This is probably the most important question. Make sure you understand how the fees are triggered, how they are paid and when you want to be notified before fees are charged. The fees you'll pay can vary due to many factors. These factors include amount of units, class of property (A, B, C or D class), deferred maintenance and location. You will also pay extra for tenant placement and capital improvements. Also ask about the costs & process to evict a tenant. 3. Do they have a base fee? A base fee is a set amount the property manager will receive monthly no matter how the property or the manager is performing. YOU SHOULD NEVER PAY A BASE FEE! The #1 job of a PM is to collect rent and if they are going to receive payment without collecting rent, in my opinion the owners and PMs interests are not aligned. 4. What software do they use for Property Management? Owners should inquire about the software the manager is using to see what kind of investment they are making in technology. They don't have to use the most expensive software, but they shouldn’t be using spreadsheets either. The right software will make this cumbersome process of owning property much more efficient. 5. How Much Experience Does the Management Team Have? Longevity and experience are important factors when it comes to a property manager’s success. If the business has many years of experience, they should know how to anticipate your needs and adjust accordingly. Also, you want to make sure that the property management team has experience with your property type – be it commercial or residential. BONUS: Does your property manager own rentals as well? This may be a personal choice, but I want my PM to own rentals as well. There will be many situations that arise where you want your PM to use their experience and knowledge to guide you through the options. If they own themselves, I feel more comfortable with their suggestions.