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Welcome to the Family
5 Plays8 days ago
Welcome to our new podcast "Thoughts for Rent; Realtors Keeping it Real"
In our very first episode, we’re pulling back the curtain to introduce ourselves and share what this podcast is all about! Get to know your hosts as we dive into our backgrounds, our journey as a third-generation small business, and what you can expect from future episodes. Whether you're here for industry insights, behind-the-scenes stories, or just some good conversation, we're excited to have you along for the ride. If you love small business, family legacies, and the real behind-the-scenes of all things real estate, you’re in the right place. Tune in, subscribe, and let's get started!
https://www.mckennapropertymanagement.com/
702-434-(HOME)
Jenni McKenna (Broker/Owner) B.29819/ PM.163810
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Thoughts for Rent, Realtors Keeping It Real'
00:00:20
Irelynn Zurflueh
Hey, welcome to Thoughts for Rent, Realtors Keeping It Real. I'm Mac Zerflew, and this is Jenny McKenna. Jenny McKenna, the queen of real estate in Las Vegas, and my wife.
00:00:33
Irelynn Zurflueh
And this is our first episode of our new podcast, Thoughts for Rent, Realtors Keeping It Real. It's exciting. We are going to keep it real. We're going to tell you the ins, the outs, the good, the ugly, all of it.
00:00:47
Irelynn Zurflueh
The good, the bad, and the ugly. Yes, that'll be exciting. And we want you to give us feedback. You know how to get hold of us. Tell us what you think. We want to make this about you guys and giving you value in not only real estate, but in life and in travel and in food.
00:01:02
Irelynn Zurflueh
ah like food. And that's our goal. So give
McKenna Family's Real Estate Legacy
00:01:05
Irelynn Zurflueh
us feedback. um We thought we'd start today with talking about our history, and not only our history, but the history of the McKenna team here in Las Vegas.
00:01:15
Irelynn Zurflueh
And it all started with a guy by the name of Tim McKenna. The man, the myth, the legend. He is a legend. And I'll let you kind of tell us about him, Jenny.
00:01:26
Irelynn Zurflueh
So Tim McKenna is my father and in 1978 he got into the real estate business and i can tell you immediately I knew that that's what I wanted to do. But my father said to me, because I was a pretty darn good ice skater, he said, Jenny, you finish your ice skating career and when you're done, then you can come join me and be my partner.
00:01:48
Irelynn Zurflueh
So in 1993, was done doing my Disney on ice and traveling around the world. And I said, Dad, I'm ready to be your partner. And we together were a father-daughter team.
00:02:02
Irelynn Zurflueh
ah He had already had the McKenna team, but then it truly became the McKenna team when I joined him. And that's how the real estate part happened. That's right. Two McKenna's are better than one. right That's what they say. And on the ice skating side, she was a professional ice skater with Disney on ice.
00:02:19
Irelynn Zurflueh
And that's where she met me. So in 1993, when she says she joined her father, that's also when we were married 31 years ago. Holy cow. But so Disney on ice to real estate here in Las Vegas.
00:02:33
Irelynn Zurflueh
And you joined your father
Jenny McKenna's Real Estate Journey
00:02:35
Irelynn Zurflueh
1993. ninety ninety three So how was those first couple of years? How was that? It was interesting. So I, you know, got my feet wet in real estate. We had a lot of investors.
00:02:44
Irelynn Zurflueh
We would sell them great investment properties and then we would refer them to a local property management company that we thought was doing a good job. And for years, that's what we did. And then I would reach out to those investors when another great property would show up and they'd say, Jenny, we, we love that you found us that investment property. However, it's not been very smooth in the property management side.
00:03:05
Irelynn Zurflueh
So I kept hearing this and I went to my dad and I said, dad, We got to open a property management company. And dad's like, Oh, Jenny, slow down. it sounds like you just jumped ahead 18 years. Cause you opened the property management company in 2005. I did. You just went from 1993 to 2005.
00:03:22
Irelynn Zurflueh
Wait, that's, that's 22 years. You just jumped ahead. i did. i was it 22 years of real estate? How was all that experience? It was wonderful. I mean, Las Vegas was booming. Everything was outstanding. we had,
00:03:35
Irelynn Zurflueh
Great return on investments. Our eyes were great. Everything was perfect, but. Your what? ROI. Return on investment? Yeah. I like it. Nice. He was just teasing me there. He's checking.
Founding McKenna Property Management
00:03:47
Irelynn Zurflueh
And then um because we kept hearing over and over again that the referrals to the property management company weren't doing well, that's when we said, we need to do something about this. So in 2005, we opened McKenna Property Management.
00:04:01
Irelynn Zurflueh
But my dad- After you had had three kids. Correct. And you started raising your family too. Correct. Three great kids, by the way. But my dad was not really on board 100% because he kept saying that I wasn't going to like it because it's kind of the armpit of real estate. Have you ever heard that?
00:04:19
Irelynn Zurflueh
i I've heard it and I agree 100%. What? No, it's not. It is needed. It is like the most important part of real estate is property management. Well, we should say Jenny's property management owner broker runs it.
00:04:31
Irelynn Zurflueh
I'm in sales now. I tried property management and it made my hair fall out. It turned, my hair turned white. My hair used to be dark and beautiful. Property management did me in. But anyway.
00:04:42
Irelynn Zurflueh
So then i we opened up and we took over, um called all the investors and we said, hey, we've got our own property management company.
Growth and Focus of McKenna Property Management
00:04:50
Irelynn Zurflueh
You want to bring your properties on board? They said, sure. We started with probably about 50.
00:04:55
Irelynn Zurflueh
And then just over the years, by word of mouth, um we have now grown to $1,300. Now, we only do single family townhome and condos, so I'm not commercial and I don't do multiplexes, but right now we're managing about $1,300.
00:05:13
Irelynn Zurflueh
So you don't spread out to commercial and industrial and multi-unit like big apartment buildings? Nope. But but allowing not doing that allows you to really focus in on being the specialist and really good at what you do, I think, right?
00:05:26
Irelynn Zurflueh
That's what we're we're striving for because what what our goal is is customer service. We found that it's a niche market. And the reason why the individuals that were reporting back to us saying that they didn't really like ah their property management companies was because of communication, never really knew what was going on.
00:05:46
Irelynn Zurflueh
ah Their owner funds were inconsistent. And so when we stepped in, we created a company the way I would want property management to be. So that's why we're doing it with all that customer service.
00:05:58
Irelynn Zurflueh
And do you own any property any properties, investment properties yourself? We do. Who do you hire to manage your properties? um My own company. Oh, good. And they do a great job. You like your property manager, do you? I do. I do, I do. Awesome, awesome. but So then the property management company was built. It's grown just tremendously over the the last, I guess it's 20 years now. My gosh.
00:06:19
Irelynn Zurflueh
It's a long time. It is long time. Anyway, it's grown great. And so now we've got McKenna Property Management on one hand. We've got the McKenna team on the other hand, the McKenna team in real estate. We're associated with Keller Williams, the marketplace here in Las Vegas.
00:06:33
Irelynn Zurflueh
And we do all the sales. And the beauty of that is the synergy that is created between the property management company and the sales team. When we sell an investment property to somebody, it's after you've reviewed it and And you've advised us and the client that it's going to be a positive rental. It's going to have a good cash flow and it's a good place to buy a rental in Las Vegas. So that synergy really, i think has helped our clients over the last 20 years.
00:06:59
Irelynn Zurflueh
and And I think we've had great success in helping people buy properties that are turning into great rentals and great investments.
Client Success Stories and Real Estate Appreciation
00:07:05
Irelynn Zurflueh
Yes. I mean, I have a client right now that brought on properties back in 2007, 2008. And if you look at his portfolio, he's a multimillionaire.
00:07:15
Irelynn Zurflueh
there Those properties have quadrupled to vote from what he paid. And then what's the, what's the saying that you, that we always say, you know, it's always great to have bought real estate, you know, 20 years ago when the prices were so low. plant to tree yeah What is it?
00:07:33
Irelynn Zurflueh
20 years ago. What's the next best time? Today. Right now. Yeah, that's right. It's Chinese proverb. We should give the Chinese community. Well, and just like that Chinese proverb that follows true when it comes to real estate. I think people get caught up in values though. Like, is the right time to buy? Is it the right time to buy?
00:07:50
Irelynn Zurflueh
So I think some investors will miss out on some opportunities because they're very concerned about where the market is. Is this the right time to buy? But I've learned from many wise people that you really can never determine what the actual bottom of a market is.
00:08:05
Irelynn Zurflueh
So if you buy a property, it's going to increase in value over time. So don't try to don't try to gauge exactly where the market is because it's it's going to be a losing losing game. Well, and what I've always thought too is if you buy the right property, meaning location, location, location, right?
Key Investment Strategies and Management Integration
00:08:21
Irelynn Zurflueh
What are those? The three most important things in real estate? Absolutely.
00:08:24
Irelynn Zurflueh
And like Max every one of the properties that he sells to an investor gets my approval on. So it's going to be the right location. It's going to be the right floor plan. It's going to be the right neighborhood.
00:08:36
Irelynn Zurflueh
um One that I know is going to attract that ah qualified resident. And you know what? Maybe... You know, you could have got it for $10,000 less, you know, four or five months earlier.
00:08:50
Irelynn Zurflueh
But the key to it is the minute it closes escrow, it slides right into McKenna Property Management's portfolio. We get it rented right away. We make sure that the tenants pay their rent. If they don't.
00:09:02
Irelynn Zurflueh
They go to eviction. i mean, so in reality, it's just about holding it. And if we make it easy for our owners to hold real estate, then it's a win-win.
00:09:13
Irelynn Zurflueh
There's just no way they can lose, in my opinion. No, that's absolutely true. And I just think the track record speaks for itself right now in our company, our organization. we've We've helped a lot of people buy some list properties and we've helped them manage those and grow value.
00:09:27
Irelynn Zurflueh
And like you said, the person you were talking about, we keep track of values on the homes of our owners and we let them know annually what the the value of their home is so they can track what kind of, you know, what kind of investment, what kind of return their investment is giving them.
00:09:41
Irelynn Zurflueh
And Las Vegas is a great city for that. Seems to be always growing. I know. Why is that? Seems to be growing now, 2025. two thousand and twenty five I remember when I moved here, i moved here in 1992, just before we got married. 1993, right before we got married.
00:09:56
Irelynn Zurflueh
And the Luxor had just been completed. and There was no 215. The city stopped at sort of like Lake Mead Boulevard. And it's just crazy to see how fast it's growing and continues to grow over the years.
00:10:10
Irelynn Zurflueh
Economic ups and downs throughout the country don't seem to affect Las Vegas. Why is it? I think it's because we have a unique dynamic of fun, weather, even though it is hot in the summer, not a lot of natural disasters, knock on wood. Void of disasters is certainly part of it. And there is an opportunity of space. Like you can go 20 minutes and be in the desert and not be around homes or people.
00:10:38
Irelynn Zurflueh
And I think that's a good feel. I think there's other cities where you just can't get away from people. That's true. You don't have to go very far to get away from people in Vegas. And, you know, people think we don't get snow, but you can go 45 minutes and you can go to Mount Charleston and you can have as much snow as you want in the winter.
00:10:53
Irelynn Zurflueh
That's true. And when it does snow here, people kind of lose their mind. They don't know how to drive in the snow. I don't know how to drive in the snow. Anthem a community on a, I'd say a hill, but it's kind of like a little mound. Most places in the country, they'd be like, that's not a hill. But people were having a hard time getting back to their homes when it snows.
00:11:09
Irelynn Zurflueh
Well, I mean, I'm Vegas. I'm Vegas born. So if you're going to put any kind of snow on the ground, i better get somebody to drive me because there's no way I can do it. Born and raised in Vegas.
00:11:19
Irelynn Zurflueh
Yes. Just like the Golden Knights. That's true. Just like the Golden Knights. Just like the Golden Knights. um So i'm I'm excited about Las Vegas. I always have been. It's really interesting. i think part of the reason it grows also is because Americans love to play.
00:11:34
Irelynn Zurflueh
When times are tough, let's go have a good time. I think that's a lot. A lot of people have that answer. So, you know, people keep flocking here and and and that's a great thing. So anyway, we'll, you know, we'll, we'll focus on that. We also guided our clients to some other communities around the country.
00:11:49
Irelynn Zurflueh
that seem to be growing. People can sell a property here, 1031 exchange it, which means you can, um you know, move the tax liability to later on and then they'll buy, you can buy real estate anywhere in the country.
00:12:01
Irelynn Zurflueh
yeah So, so we've, we've seen our clients do that and we've seen clients then sell outside of Nevada and bring their investment money into Nevada real estate. But I agree with you going back to the fact that what drives the flock of people coming here and what keeps the real estate value stable.
00:12:20
Irelynn Zurflueh
And I used to remember when dad and I would go out on our listing appointments and this is years and years and years ago. And they would say, oh Tim, I think that the real estate market's just going to crash here in Vegas.
00:12:34
Irelynn Zurflueh
People are not going to want to move here. And this is back in 1995, 1996. would at him say, and my dad would look at him and say Everybody likes to have fun. And they're always going to come to Vegas because this is a town to have fun.
00:12:49
Irelynn Zurflueh
And we're open 24-7. I mean, there's some unique things about Las Vegas. It used to be unique that way. Now we have other things like a hockey team, a football team, potential for an NBA team. We're going to get the Oakland Athletics. We're going to be moving here. They're spending the next couple of years in Sacramento, which is kind of funny.
00:13:07
Irelynn Zurflueh
They're playing their team games in a my minor league ball. They'll be excited when our stadium actually opens. looks pretty nice. But those four major sports you're going to be here. We're almost up to 3 million in the metropolis, the Valley.
Las Vegas Real Estate Opportunities
00:13:18
Irelynn Zurflueh
That's a big city.
00:13:19
Irelynn Zurflueh
And it just seems to keep going. It doesn't seem to have an end in sight. And when you have a city that doesn't seem to have an end in sight and everybody seems to be moving there, I'd say that's a pretty good place to invest in real estate. Absolutely. no there's There's so much opportunity here. It's crazy.
00:13:36
Irelynn Zurflueh
And the beauty is the builders are still building. So if you're the kind of investor who says, I don't want to buy a house 20 years old that's going to fall apart, the fence is going to start caving in, the plumbing is going to go to crap. I want to buy new.
00:13:47
Irelynn Zurflueh
There's lots of opportunity for new builders here in Las Vegas. It's happening as we speak. So I remember that years and years ago, they would say one of the things that you can tell if you're built if your city is is growing is if your flower, your state flower, is yeah the the orange cones in the road.
00:14:08
Irelynn Zurflueh
And if your state bird is the crane, crane the building crane, you know, those big cranes. Not white cranes, but no the The building cranes that you see, those big old cranes. And you know what? I can't remember at time that I don't drive down the street and not see any of those. Those are always everywhere.
00:14:27
Irelynn Zurflueh
Cranes all over the place. It's like a bird sanctuary, aviary. What is it? There's so many cranes. It's unbelievable. And right now the strip has got new projects. The new athletics ballpark is going to huge, right? Where the Tropicana used to be.
00:14:42
Irelynn Zurflueh
Where they just blew it up. Tropicana is gone now. Yeah. Growth is continuing.
Achievements of McKenna Property Management
00:14:46
Irelynn Zurflueh
That's not going to be an issue here. um You know, and so Vegas is exciting, but that's not news to anybody listening to this podcast. You guys all know that.
00:14:55
Irelynn Zurflueh
What's more exciting is the way that McKenna Property Management has grown in the last 20 years has been just like a rocket. It's really shot up. and And the best thing about it is it's leader.
00:15:06
Irelynn Zurflueh
This one right here, she runs the company great. She cherishes her clients and her che she cherishes her staff. So a lot of people have been here for a long time. And that's I think that's ah that that honors you and all the efforts you've put into what you've
Engagement and Feedback from Listeners
00:15:20
Irelynn Zurflueh
built here. so Well, thank you. Maybe I'll stick around with you for year 32. Well, that's going to keep you in our marriage? Maybe.
00:15:27
Irelynn Zurflueh
Lucky me. Well, that pretty much does it for our first episode. So what do they need to do if they want to continue to hear about Las Vegas and McKenna Team and McKenna Property Management? Subscribe to this podcast. you know Come back and watch all of our episodes. And again, like I said at the beginning, give us feedback. We want to talk about things that you find interesting.
00:15:48
Irelynn Zurflueh
And just ah you know keep us in your minds and your hearts and then try to always keep track of what McKenna Property Management and the McKenna Team is doing because we're ultimately here for you guys. Sounds good. Take care.