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Property Management Unleashed: Michelle Farina's Secrets to Instant Success, Game-Changing Insights, and the Future of Vancouver’s rental market

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Episode notes

#41: Uncover the enigmatic world of property management with the remarkable Michelle Farina, the driving force behind Advent and VADA Property Management. With over 20 years of expertise, Michelle takes us on a journey from her early days as a receptionist to becoming a licensed Rental Property Manager and leading her two successful companies.

In this episode, Michelle shares her invaluable insights into property management, from the importance of robust systems to maintaining a leveled perspective in leadership. She also delves into the fiercely competitive property management industry, finding the right staffing solutions, navigating rental rates, and the challenges landlords face in today's ever-evolving market.

But that's not all – Michelle's entrepreneurial spirit extends to VADA Property Management, a company dedicated to enhancing livability and functionality in investment properties creating vibrant communities.

Join us for a rollercoaster of property management wisdom, future trends, and shocking success stories that will leave you inspired and eager to connect with Michelle and her dedicated teams at Advent and VADA for all your property management needs.

00:28 Rental Management right now

00:50 Advent

1:23 What is VADA

1:40 Who is VADA’s target market

3:00 Tenants who take advantage

3:44 Finding equipt staffing in the rental management industry

5:30 Starting Advent

5:56 Dealing with micromanagement

6:59 The timing of starting Advent and its instant success in the development space

8:49 Outperforming expectations

9:04 What does it take to be a property manager

9:59 Property management is crisis management

10:29 Michelles systems on how to find good property managers

11:30 Having really good systems in property management is key to success

12:29 Approaching management from a leveled perspective vs a boss

14:30 Ways Advent has gotten good brand recognition

15:00 Has Advent considered selling

15:23 Cam’s journey selling KEY Property Management to Tribe

16:08 Working with family

18:10 What does competition look like in the property management industry

18:36 How to not have negative competition within the staff

19:00 Salary vs contract employees

20:00 How Advent services their clients better

22:48 Today's vacancy rates

23:30 Does the holiday season affect vacancy rates

24:09 Where is the best place to get rental data

25:51 Things and markets change very quickly. Data from the last quarter will not be applicable to today

27:50 Do people really want long-term tenants

30:10 Can you negotiate rental rates

33:54 What does a property management company usually charge to landlords

35:33 Bill 44 & short-term rentals

36:43 Do you like the short-term rental industry

37:00 What is considered a short-term rental?

37:46 Affordable housing in the condo market

38:45 The average rent in Canada

39:00 How to find filtered data

39:23 What is a premium a tenant would pay new vs used? All things equal

40:14 Where do you think rents are going

41:35 The US rental culture

42:16 Is Vancouver’s rental culture slowly headed toward the US’s rental culture

43:00 Deciding if landlords should be advertising square footage or not

44:00 Do tenants care about amenities, and will they pay more

45:30 It’s hard being a landlord in 2023

49:30 The idea of being young and never being able to own a property in today's market

51:00 The mindsets of different generations in 2023 in a quick-to-reward society

54:00 The long game reward

56:49 Twitter or X

57:02 WeChat

58:15 What is Michelle reading these days

59:45 KEY’s Bookclub

1:04:33 How to get ahold of Advent