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Welcome to the Family.... Melinda!
8 Plays11 days ago
🎧 Welcome to Thoughts For Rent — the podcast where real estate gets real (and local)!
Hosted by Jenni McKenna, a Las Vegas born and raised seasoned broker, and Owner of McKenna Property Management, this show is your inside look at what’s really happening in the Vegas property management and real estate world. With over 20 years of experience herself - Jenni brings not just knowledge, but heart to the conversation.
Whether we’re talking market trends, property tips, community happenings, or just the everyday quirks of Vegas living, this podcast is all about keeping you in the know.
💬 Real talk. Local stories. Professional insight – provided from a company who has their boots on the ground and hearts in the community.
In this episode, we meet Melinda, a McKenna team member since 2010. We get a slice of her life and what she does here at McKenna Property Management.
McKenna Property Management, proudly managing Las Vegas homes since 2005 (and loving every minute of it).
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✨ Stay connected with us!
Instagram: @mckennapropertymanagement
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Website: McKennaPropertyManagement.com
Phone: 702-434-HOME (4663)
Owner/Broker: Jenni McKenna B.29819
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Transcript
Introduction to McKenna Property Management
00:00:20
Irelynn Zurflueh
Welcome back to Thoughts for Rent, Realtors Keeping It Real. And I am Jenny McKenna, owner broker of McKenna Property Management. And I have one of my favorite people with me today. She is my right hand woman. She is sitting on my left today, but she is my right hand woman and her name is Melinda. And we are going to talk to Melinda about what she does what she with McKenna Property Management. But before we dive into all of her tasks and responsibilities, I want Melinda to talk about how long she has been with McKenna Property Management and why the heck does she stick around with us? So Melinda, take it away.
Melinda's Career Journey
00:00:57
Irelynn Zurflueh
Oh my goodness. I have been here since 2010. I was licensed in 2010. I started off as a showing agent the first year here. So I was actually out there showing applicants or potential applicants the rental properties to move into. um After the first year, I actually joined the real estate team doing their compliance training. paperwork, fun stuff like that with all the agents. and then in She likes to dot her eyes and cross her teeth. So we love that about Melinda. I am detailed and sometimes it's annoying. not it's annoying at all. I love it. And in 2017, I became Jenny McKenna's executive assistant, the best job in the entire
Culture and Standards at McKenna
00:01:44
Irelynn Zurflueh
world. McKenna Property Management is- That's going to cost me so much money, Melinda. What the heck? The bill keeps going up.
00:01:52
Irelynn Zurflueh
This is just the best company um the culture here. We're always looking to elevate. That's kind of our catchphrase, the thing that we say all the time. We're always looking to better ourselves and um just be a human being to people. you know Things out there are so serious all the time. And we're like, hey, we can just be nice human people to all these other people that we work with and be real people. And I just love that about us. And we're always having fun. And we talk, Ireland and I have talked a lot about the fact that sometimes it just
00:02:24
Irelynn Zurflueh
You just need to be a human understanding that the person across from you is having human feelings and you just have to take a break and just go, i get it. And what can I do to help you get through today? yeah And I agree with you. I think that's a big part of our culture. And that might be why we stuck around since 2005. I mean, we celebrated our 20 years last year. So amazing. Crazy. Well, now we get to dive into...
Role in Client Acquisitions
00:02:50
Irelynn Zurflueh
What Melinda does and and the things that I want to have Melinda talk about are the things that if you're listening to our podcast, you might be a self owner, you might be self managing your own investment properties. And that's cool. We want to help you. So we're going to tell you some little tricks and tricks and traits that we've had. that might help you get your property rented faster or some things that maybe you don't think is important and you want to make sure that you do. So what Melinda does is she actually walks every new property that we bring on board.
00:03:24
Irelynn Zurflueh
So she is in client acquisitions because our clients are our property owners and she physically walks them to put her own eyes on it. So what do you look for when you go to one of our properties? When I go to the properties, I look to make sure it's clean. The paint looks good. I mean, cosmetically, is it looking okay? Or are shingles hanging off the side of of the house? Is the carpet torn up?
00:03:51
Irelynn Zurflueh
um So the cosmetic things, the things that when a resident or potential resident walks into, the things that they're going to see first are And then in addition to that, I go around and I check, you know, I turn on every light switch. I check every sink stopper. i turn on all the fixtures, make sure they're all coming on because the last thing you want when somebody moves into a property, they're like the ceiling fan doesn't come on and the garbage disposal is not working and this and that. And then they have hundred things to complain about at that point. So I want to go through and I just want to make sure that everything looks good. It feels good. And everything is working at least all the basic stuff. I'm not a true home inspector and I'm not doing that. Yeah. That's what I was going to say. So when you go through, you're not really checking to see if the water heater is working. Right. And you're not running the dishwasher necessarily.
00:04:38
Irelynn Zurflueh
Why don't you do that? Well, That takes a lot of time to sit there. If I brought a load of clothes to wash in the washing machine, I'm not going to do that. that's That's just a little you know above what I can do in a 45 minute time frame of walking the property. And those appliances, I mean, they may break down later on. They only have a certain lifespan as it is. But we really are expecting those already to be working. Likely somebody just lived there and was using those things. And if they weren't working, they probably would have told the owner They're not working. The dishwasher's not working. And we would we would know that. And that's what I always like to say to the owners when they go, well, Jenny, why don't we do a big old home inspection? Why are you only going through and looking at the cosmetic stuff?
00:05:23
Irelynn Zurflueh
Because if there was a dishwasher that wasn't working and a resident was living in the property, they are going to reach out and get the dishwasher fixed because they don't get charged anything when they are a resident. So it's almost like they're doing our own checks and balances when it comes to the appliances. Right. So the fact that we're not doing this big detailed home inspection, I sleep well at night because if there is appliance that's not working, we'll address it when that resident moves in and it will only be that particular thing that we have to
Challenges with Property Owners
00:05:54
Irelynn Zurflueh
address. Right. But the cosmetic stuff, believe it or not, it's a big deal for a resident. yeah It's a huge deal. yeah
00:06:01
Irelynn Zurflueh
When they walk into a property and if it doesn't smell right, feel right, look right, They're walking out and they're going to go rent something else. And you know what? You're never going to know what was wrong because they're never going to report it to you. you're You're so right. I can't tell you how many times we have reached out for feedback. Like we've had 10 showings on this property. Why isn't anybody reporting anything to us? We're texting the agent, calling the agent. we can't get feedback from them. And you're right. They just won't tell us. Likely they're out there looking at five other properties and they just decided, nope, that one's cleaner. It's nicer. The paint looks good. The carpet's nice. The flooring's in good condition. I'm going to rent that property.
00:06:44
Irelynn Zurflueh
And this is where it gets tough because I've, I've been in Melinda's situation before. And then I hear Melinda on the phone. We're across from our offices are across from each other. And this is what I don't understand, Melinda. So maybe together we'll be able to figure this out.
00:06:59
Irelynn Zurflueh
When an owner gives us a property and says, I want the best rent I can, give me the best quality resident and as quickly as possible, right? Those are the big three hot ticket items.
00:07:13
Irelynn Zurflueh
When a professional, you, i.e. me, walk a property, and I would say, just ballpark it, Melinda, how many properties have you walked in your career?
00:07:25
Irelynn Zurflueh
Oh my goodness, hundreds. for kicks and giggles. Well, I know last year alone, we had over 150 new properties and I walked all of those. Yep. So at
Legal Challenges in Property Management
00:07:35
Irelynn Zurflueh
least 150 last year alone, and I've been your assistant since 2017. So if you did 150 times nine. I think it's safe to say she's in the thousands, thousands she has walked. So when she comes up with a punch list of these items to tell the owner, hey, your painting is not awful, but we do need touch up because we can tell that there was a couch here on the wall or there was a bed along that wall and we can't scrub it off. So we need to touch up the paint.
00:08:09
Irelynn Zurflueh
Why is it that they don't want to do it? Oh, it certainly is a mystery. and i i all agree. yeah I mean, we've been doing this for so long and it's the same old thing all the time. i they They just don't see it the way that we see it.
00:08:24
Irelynn Zurflueh
We're doing this every day. They're not. We've been doing this every day for years and years. But the resident's going to see those marks on the wall. Do they expect the resident to go, oh, you know what? I'll rent that property for top rent. And I'm a good qualified renter. I pay my rent on time every day. or every month. So I'm going to live with that dirt. Yes. Someone else's dirt. I I'll get owners that say, well, I just lived in that property. They, the owner moved out and they're giving it to us for rent. and they're like, well, I lived with it like that. And it's like, well, it's your property. You can do whatever you want to it at any time. The resident moving in doesn't necessarily have that luxury. They're,
00:09:02
Irelynn Zurflueh
they're one, not even authorized to paint in the property. And two, it's not their property. Why are they going to spend money on a property that's not theirs and they're not going to get the long-term benefit of that? yeah So the other thing that I always like to tell owners too, which maybe you don't think about, so this might be something to think about.
00:09:20
Irelynn Zurflueh
If you present a property in really good condition, you've done your touch-up paint, you've done your janitorial, carpets were all cleaned. This was a turnkey rental, right? And we've got all the proof of that. We have our photos. There was nothing that came in on the assessment form. So these residents took this property in a really good condition.
00:09:42
Irelynn Zurflueh
Well, when they vacate, I now have a baseline of what I can charge against their security. exactly But if you leave spots on the wall because you want to save money, well, guess what's going to happen when the resident moves out? I'm not going to know what spots were theirs and what spots were were before. Exactly. And it makes it so tricky because we you're right. We can't decipher that. yep And the move out becomes...
00:10:07
Irelynn Zurflueh
Ugly, a very ugly situation. Ugly for owner because owner wants us to charge more against the resident. Ugly for the resident because the resident's like, well, hold on There were so seven or eight smudges everywhere and maybe I added four or five, but why do I get charged a full touch-up paint? And then they take you to court and who knows what the judge decides at that point. Because if they've got proof that there were some smudges on the wall when they moved in, what's the judge going to look at us?
00:10:36
Irelynn Zurflueh
They're going to say greedy owner, greedy property manager, slam the gavel down and say, you owe them three times. I mean, I'm kind of being overdramatic, but they will rule probably in in favor of the plaintiff, which is the resident. So,
00:10:52
Irelynn Zurflueh
Why is it so important for the owner then to listen to what you are saying? I mean, do you give them estimates or do you just round it? Like, do you just say, go out and get this stuff done owner? No, we are here to help with all of that. So we we take what we say, we take the headache out of everything property management and that includes getting it rent ready so when I walk the property and if there's a list of things that need to be done I go there I make my list and I'm like owner we have a network of vendors that we work with we can get you an estimate um and we do so so we'll coordinate with the vendor to walk the property send that estimate to the owner get their approval to proceed and We'll do everything easy
Benefits of Property Management
00:11:35
Irelynn Zurflueh
peasy. The owner doesn't need to be there to let them in, make sure they're accessing um or getting those estimates or who am I going to find to hire to do this? And I have to get it painted and cleaned. And what order do I do that in? And who do I call next? It does get confusing. So we're happy to coordinate that.
00:11:53
Irelynn Zurflueh
Absolutely. Well, and one of the benefits too, is if you've got a property manager, that's coordinating it, they're not really doing the work. So understand that we're not physically sending somebody out under our company to do the work. But if the janitorial looks like crap, we're going to call that vendor back out and we're going to have a little bit of leverage because we're going to say, all right, janitorial company, you sucked at this job.
00:12:17
Irelynn Zurflueh
Go back out there. You need to do this, this, and this that I saw. Don't charge me because you've already charged me once. And oh, if you're not happy with going out there and not charging me, you're not going to be on my rotation any anymore.
00:12:29
Irelynn Zurflueh
And that's a pretty important, I mean, ah a one individual doesn't have that kind of leverage. Right. wo My little thing fell off. So I think it's important that That is one of the benefits of a property management company. We're not physically doing the work and and we can't always, you know, guarantee the work's going to be perfect. But what we can do is if the work is not up to our standards, we're going to get that vendor back out there and they're going to get it at least to our standard. Absolutely. Yeah. So,
00:13:02
Irelynn Zurflueh
What's the worst thing that you experience in the get ready, like the get ready rental department? What, what's the thing you hate the most? ah I would say when an owner is just, they're not going to give me approval to do any work. They just don't understand. But then they also still want us to proceed with listing the market and they want us to put it on $500 above the market value. And what's so hard about that is it's
00:13:34
Irelynn Zurflueh
How are we going to rent it? It's not even in rent-ready condition, and you want more money than it's worth. Nobody's even going to go look at it. And when they do go look at it, they're going to say, what the heck? Yeah. And that is just always the toughest thing to deal with because then the owner's mad at us. Why haven't you rented it? You guys rent things so fast. Why not mine? And, of course, we're explaining this to you um in detail. and But sometimes we really just have to say, Mr. and Mrs. Owner,
00:14:03
Irelynn Zurflueh
we're
Market Rent vs. Property Improvements
00:14:04
Irelynn Zurflueh
not a good fit because my reputation, McKenna property management's reputation is stamped on every rental we advertise. Yes. And I am a okay with cutting corners. If we need to, I mean, Melinda will attest to this. If we can get away with not having to spend the owner's money, we're going to do it. um If we can still get that quality resident and we can still get that rent that we're, we're looking for, we're going to do it. Yes.
00:14:31
Irelynn Zurflueh
But the professional opinion of Melinda and i I hope the owner takes it for what it is, professional. And if they don't and they really are putting their feet in the ground and saying, no, no, no, then we have to say we're not the right fit. Right. Yeah. And just so you know, we're protecting your property, your investment, your business. That's what we're here for. And getting it rent ready and marketing at the right price
00:15:03
Irelynn Zurflueh
It's all so important um for you. Oops, mine's swiveled now. ah I lost my train of thought. It's just so important to get it rent ready ah and in the right condition because you're going to reduce your vacancy time. You're going to find a right place.
00:15:25
Irelynn Zurflueh
high quality resident to move in. They're going to pay rent and you're going to have income flowing in. To do the opposite of that, for it to just sit there, you're not making any money. Nobody's happy. It's just such a waste of time. And we've had to squash it. We've learned a lot of lessons squashing it sooner rather than later. Squash it in the beginning. If they say no to the professional advice that we give,
00:15:49
Irelynn Zurflueh
We just, we can't work with them. It will just be an uphill battle and nobody will be happy in the end. Exactly. One thing I do want to give out as a hint, things that we've learned over the course of these 20 years, set the property up for success.
00:16:05
Irelynn Zurflueh
Because if you set the property up for success, everything follows. The the resident will move in. And yeah, there might be a couple things that they find. You know, a dishwasher doesn't work or it makes a loud noise or whatever. I mean, there might be something in their move in, but it won't be a laundry list. And then when that particular thing gets addressed and we make sure it's addressed in a timely manner, now you're setting that resident up for enjoying being a resident. Yes. And guess what the moneymaker is? The moneymaker is renewals. Yes. Renewals are your secret in property management. Yes. And a resident that doesn't get repairs done quickly or enter a property that was rent ready the right way.
00:16:50
Irelynn Zurflueh
they're going to move out quicker than later. Yes. They may stay here one year because of circumstances in their life. They had to get into the property. It was the only thing they could do. They had work over here. So I'll just deal with it. But I guarantee you, they are looking on their 10th and 11th month and they're not staying. Yes. They're just not going to stay.
00:17:08
Irelynn Zurflueh
Right.
Importance of First Impressions
00:17:09
Irelynn Zurflueh
Exactly. So it all starts in the beginning. It all starts with Melinda. but She is the the starting point. of setting up a property for success. And the things that she recommends when it comes to janitorial, the painting, the, I like to say, you want the property when you walk through the front door, even at the front door.
00:17:35
Irelynn Zurflueh
You know what makes me most mad, Melinda? I'm going tell you right now. I pop into some of our vacant properties just to kind of check on them, make sure that they are to our standards. And the thing that drives me the craziest is when I am walking up to the front door and that doesn't look good. Oh yeah. You know, it, let's say the front door stain is kind of worn out or maybe it needs a fresh coat of paint so that it really looks sharp because when do you make your first impression?
00:18:03
Irelynn Zurflueh
Right at the front door where that key is going in the door. And I agree. I've walked up, there's weather stripping hanging and there's, you know, the the new knobs don't match where the old paint was and nobody repainted around that. And it does. it And it just it gives you an ucky feel. Yes. So now you walk into the property after you've already got that ucky feel. And now you're going to nitpick everything.
00:18:28
Irelynn Zurflueh
You started with a bad first impression. Yeah. And you know what my grandma always said? You can't make a second first impression. Very true. Very wise word. So you have to make sure that from the very beginning, from curb appeal to the walk up to the front door, those are the things that really matter.
00:18:47
Irelynn Zurflueh
You know what doesn't matter that much? What? Backyards. Backyards. We have rented a lot of properties that just have raw dirt in the backyard. yeah And honestly, if you want to save money, property is going to rent faster. If it's got a really cute backyard, it's going to sell in the long run with more maturity in the backyard. So I think it's a great investment, but if in the first year or two years,
00:19:13
Irelynn Zurflueh
You're like, i just don't have the budget. I have the budget for the paint, the janitorial, making sure my curb appeal looks good, but I don't have the budget to spend $8,000 or $9,000 in the backyard. Fine. We can rent up a really great property without a backyard. Right. For a good couple of years. Yeah. Unless it goes against hway rest restrictions. Oh, yeah. We got the HOA. If the HOA requires it, then it's required, but...
00:19:37
Irelynn Zurflueh
You're right. yeah i I just think a lot of people don't even go outside. It's 110 degrees soon. so Well, you also have to think, too, that a lot of residents don't spend the money on quote-unquote lawn furniture because they're moving. their they their Their mentality is, well, this is where I'm at for a year. I'm going to be somewhere else maybe in a few years and they just don't invest in the barbecue, the black stone, the umbrella and the chairs. And, and so really they look through and they're like, as long as I've got this backyard where my dog can go do their business, maybe, and it's easy to pick up, then they're okay with it. Agreed. Yeah. So I would say that's a little secret. If you need to budget, that is one place that you could budget. I also don't think that you need top of the line appliances. No. Stop with the like Wi-Fi dryer and Wi-Fi washer. You're going to get great. yeah Go the absolute minimum for washers and dryers because the less that that that can break down, the better. Now, stainless steel is always great, but you don't have to go top notch stainless steel. You just need stainless steel. Yeah.
00:20:48
Irelynn Zurflueh
The other trick I'm going to tell everybody, you do not need an ice maker or a water in the door of the refrigerator.
Cost-Saving Advice for Owners
00:20:56
Irelynn Zurflueh
Don't do it if you can. And from what I understand, some of the new refrigerators that have like the freezer on the bottom, which does make ice, but they're not in the door. Right.
00:21:07
Irelynn Zurflueh
They're a little bit more expensive, worth it because it's less components that can break. That's amazing. Yes. Yes. Those do break down quite often, way before the fridge itself breaks down. And we do get a lot of complaints about my ice maker, my water dispenser. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
00:21:24
Irelynn Zurflueh
The other trick of the trade too is if your fascia, which is like the outside of your eaves, if they look really bad, that's also a first impression. So if Melinda sees that, or I saw it when I walked a property, I would always put that down as This is something you should look to. Now, if you don't want to do it right this minute, okay.
00:21:46
Irelynn Zurflueh
But budget it. Budget it maybe for the next, ah you know, the resident that moves in. So the next turnaround is what we like to say.
Trust in Property Management
00:21:54
Irelynn Zurflueh
all Right. All Well, we have talked for 21 minutes, if you can believe that. Wow. i know. Is there any other little words of advice or words of wisdom that you want to share with our listeners? Right.
00:22:05
Irelynn Zurflueh
I just want everybody to know that we've been doing this for a long time and we do know what we are doing. We've rented thousands of properties and trust us and call us and we will be your friend. Yep, that's absolutely right. And even if You don't like what we're telling you. At least you know it's coming from a good place of just honesty and integrity. And then you can do what you want with it. I am not one of those that wants to sell pitch you into something if you don't really want it. Yeah. If you don't like us, you don't like what we have to say, there are no hard feelings. We know we're not everybody's cup of tea.
00:22:47
Irelynn Zurflueh
So you can take our words and you can go on your way. We will not be upset. We will not hold a grudge. We do understand that that exists out there and you might have a different opinion and that's okay. That's okay. You're right. Well, it has been so fun having my right hand woman with me, Melinda. Thank you for joining. I appreciate it. I think a lot of people were probably writing down a bunch of notes on the things that you've already know and that you expressed. thank This has been Thoughts for Rent, Realtors Keeping It Real, and we did keep it real.
Podcast Conclusion
00:23:19
Irelynn Zurflueh
yeah We told all the tricks of the tray that we could. Next time, hopefully you will join us. If you like this, subscribe or share it with a fellow friend. We like to get our listeners' numbers up. So if you like what you hear, please make sure that you subscribe so you can get our next podcast. Until then, have a great week.