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00:00:01
Meet the Third Generation
8 Plays8 days ago
Welcome back to "Thoughts for Rent; Realtors Keeping it Real". In this episode, we get personal as Jenni introduces Irelynn—not just as her co-host, but as her daughter and the next generation in their family business. We dive into what brought Irelynn into the company, the lessons passed down , and what it’s really like working with family. Tune in, subscribe, and let's keep it real!
https://www.mckennapropertymanagement.com/
702-434-(HOME)
Jenni McKenna (Broker/Owner) B.29819/ PM.163810
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction and Family Dynamics
00:00:20
Irelynn Zurflueh
Welcome back to the show, Thoughts for Rent, Realtors, keeping it real. Keeping it real, baby. Hey, I think we should keep it real right now. Okay. You gotta like, let's do like a little dance.
00:00:31
Irelynn Zurflueh
Oh no, that's not real. Come on, we need to like a little dance. That's your, that's the happy-go-lucky, peppy mom that I've known for 26 years. So that's your version of real and I'll stick to my version.
00:00:46
Irelynn Zurflueh
You gave it away. Now you told everybody I'm your mom. So who are you? i am, um my name is Ireland. And I am Max and Jenny's daughter, and I work for McKenna Property Management, and I also am a realtor, so stuck in the family.
00:01:04
Irelynn Zurflueh
Stuck in the family. What's that about? Realtors. We're all realtors over here. We're stuck in our DNA. You're our third generation that is a realtor.
00:01:16
Irelynn Zurflueh
Tim McKenna, then myself, Jenny McKenna, and then you. Yeah. Hey, I want,
The Origin of Ireland's Name
00:01:23
Irelynn Zurflueh
everybody's probably wondering why you're named Ireland. And that's Ireland without the D on the end.
00:01:30
Irelynn Zurflueh
And no, I did not copy anybody. If you go back and say, I think there was somebody that was named that. no what happened is I thought she was going to be a Madison. So we had everything planned.
00:01:43
Irelynn Zurflueh
Everything was going to be Madison. and then it just didn't feel right. And we went out to ah lunch with my mother-in-law, Max's mom. And she jokingly said, well, if you're not going to name her Madison, why don't you name her like Ireland?
00:02:01
Irelynn Zurflueh
That's so cool. So that's how you got your name. She knows that though. We're just sharing that with everyone. We're keeping it real. It's a very fun name. And I think a lot of people remember me, but I also get a lot of wrong names over the phone. So that's also very fun. I think my favorite one so far this day is a resident who used to call me or still calls me Miss Island.
00:02:23
Irelynn Zurflueh
So she thinks that's my name, but i'm I'll just let her think that. well and Well, my name is Jenny. Should be pretty easy, right? Short for Jennifer. And how many times do I get the, hey, is Jenna McKenna there?
00:02:37
Irelynn Zurflueh
Yeah, the running joke is Jenna McKenna or Jenta McKenta. We've heard both of those. people like People want your name to rhyme, the Jenny McKenna name. they don't like they want the syllables to be the same at the end. Yeah, maybe I've got the face of a rhyming face. with
Transitioning to Real Estate
00:02:54
Irelynn Zurflueh
Let's see.
00:02:55
Irelynn Zurflueh
So Ireland, why'd you get into the family business? ah So I really like Vegas, which is where I was born and raised. And I kind of had a feeling I was always going to be coming back because I like the big city vibes.
00:03:09
Irelynn Zurflueh
and But I also like the suburbs of it all. And when I finished high school, i wanted to try to go out of state because I didn't want to always be in Vegas. So I knew if I was going to end up back here, i wanted to try to expand my bubble just a little bit. So I went to the University of Northern Colorado and did four years there getting my degree.
00:03:31
Irelynn Zurflueh
And then I was a 2020 COVID graduate. So no graduation, didn't get a walk. And when that happened, i was working at a coffee shop, got furloughed at the coffee shop.
00:03:43
Irelynn Zurflueh
And i remember I was home and you called And it was totally looking back planned. And you were pushing some buttons in the background. But I remember you were like, I just walked the best property.
00:04:00
Irelynn Zurflueh
And it's amazing. It's this one bedroom. It's the perfect part of town. What a shame that you're not here. And I was like, I just got... basically fired from my job and I'm not in school anymore. So we got on the phone, talked about me coming back to Vegas and having a job in the company.
00:04:20
Irelynn Zurflueh
So about a month after that phone call, I was back in Vegas. I had finished school, came back here, moved into that rental that you were talking about. Which had an attached garage.
00:04:32
Irelynn Zurflueh
It was so cute with a little courtyard. it was so adorable. And the owner let me have my dog, so that was also worked out perfect. And then I started working here as the front desk director first impressions.
00:04:45
Irelynn Zurflueh
And then I moved into leasing and applications, which is the year that I got my license so I could do that job. and I'm still in leasing applications but I've gotten one more title shift since then so I'm now officially the special projects that is my title here at McKenna so my first day on the job was June of 2020 and it's 2025 now so I've been doing it for five years it's crazy it just seems like seriously like yesterday yeah it went by very fast it does and
00:05:16
Irelynn Zurflueh
I know that my father always said to me, don't go into property management, real estates, you know, being a realtor and selling and listing properties, that's what you want to do. And he used the tagline property management is like the armpit ah real estate.
00:05:33
Irelynn Zurflueh
What do you think? I don't think I would call it the armpit. My biggest fear or my biggest concern coming back to Vegas is I'd always have these moments of crises where in my head I would say to myself, I did four years of college and I had four years of high school. i had three years of middle school. I've never done anything longer than four years in my entire life.
00:05:56
Irelynn Zurflueh
i I'd only had my dog for three years at that point. So I was like, the only thing I've done longer than four years is be in the family. um So the fact that it's now five years and it feels like it went by so fast, if you had asked me back in 2020, you know, how quickly do you think five years would go? i I wouldn't believe
Understanding the Rental Market in Vegas
00:06:15
Irelynn Zurflueh
it. And a lot of people that work for you been here 15, 20, 11 years. i know. We got to give a shout out to Brian. Yeah. Last December, we celebrated 20 year anniversary that he has been with the McKenna team.
00:06:31
Irelynn Zurflueh
So when I used to hear that, i just, I don't know, it didn't seem real. It didn't seem possible. And even when I thought about how long you've been in the business, it didn't seem possible. And now it's like, oh, I've already done five years. I guess it seems more realistic now. Did you see how she said that? I've already done five years. It's almost like she's in jail. ah I got my my time. I've always got i got my five years done. no So what is the biggest surprise? um that you've got from property management?
00:07:04
Irelynn Zurflueh
I think the biggest surprise I've probably gotten is that it it's a range from, it's it's just as big of a range as real estate.
00:07:15
Irelynn Zurflueh
I used to think that rentals or the rental market was only meant for people who were transitioning or people who were just getting started or for 20 year olds. And so all the houses would only be like two bedrooms or all of it would be apartments or things of that nature.
00:07:30
Irelynn Zurflueh
And I've learned that people might want to rent out really nice, high quality homes. People might still want to be renters with their large families.
00:07:41
Irelynn Zurflueh
People still want to be renters and have it still feel like an established home. So I used to always think that a rental was temporary, but I've learned that it actually can be something permanent for quite a lot of people.
00:07:56
Irelynn Zurflueh
Yeah, I mean, just off the top of my head, we have some gorgeous properties. I mean, we're talking four to 5,000 square foot, maybe only about seven-year-old properties, pools in the backyard, gorgeous.
00:08:11
Irelynn Zurflueh
And the reason why they aren't selling them is because they have an interest rate that's like 3%. So when you have an interest rate of 3% and your mortgage is so low, why not take advantage of someone paying off your house?
00:08:25
Irelynn Zurflueh
Yeah. Yeah. And I also think that sometimes people come into Vegas and they're not sure if they're really going to like it. I mean, we are, we're known for being Sin City. um Mayor Goodman, I think was the one who did the tagline, what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. So, you know, some people with families might want to come in and go, um is this really the place I want to raise my family?
00:08:48
Irelynn Zurflueh
And you know what?
Life and Misconceptions about Las Vegas
00:08:49
Irelynn Zurflueh
I've got to tell you a funny story. Yeah. I have been, i was with Disney on ice and I was a figure skater. And so I went on to to the road, we called it.
00:09:00
Irelynn Zurflueh
And when I first went on the road, everybody asked me where I was from. And I said, Las Vegas. And remember, I'm born and raised here. So I'm Vegas, baby. And i I, more than one time, I have had people come up to me and say, hey, what hotel did you live at?
00:09:17
Irelynn Zurflueh
And I thought they were joking, but they weren't joking. They were being totally serious. They thought that Las Vegas was just full of hotels and not really a place to raise a family, schools, you know, all the fun stuff.
00:09:28
Irelynn Zurflueh
So back to they move into Vegas. They're not sure if this is actually where they want to raise a family and pleasantly surprising them. Our Vegas is wonderful.
00:09:39
Irelynn Zurflueh
Yeah. And that is to be said with our Golden Knights players. So we know a lot of Golden Knight players that have come in and their contracts are a little different. So you kind of have to be a renter most of the time. Yeah. Because you're never sure how long your contract is going to be.
00:09:54
Irelynn Zurflueh
And they love it. They absolutely love it. They are retiring or getting out of the industry of being a professional hockey player. And they're actually coming and buying properties here. So.
00:10:07
Irelynn Zurflueh
That tells you that our city is just unique. Yeah. I think I see a lot of people transitioning from California, Washington, people in Utah and Arizona. So anyone who already has that Western coast vibe or West coast vibe are still moving to Vegas because there's just a lot here and it's constantly growing. And it's been fun to get to see that.
00:10:31
Irelynn Zurflueh
When I was a kid driving down St. Rose and it was all dirt and now it's houses and Costco and a casino. So it's a big city that is still growing, which I think is really impressive.
00:10:42
Irelynn Zurflueh
And relatively affordable. I mean, if you go back to when I was young. Bad, horrible public transportation. I know. What is up with that? yeah There was a study done and we were like the 34th worst city with public transportation. I think it should be lower than that because it is awful. Yeah. and And the other thing that we've always heard is the bullet train is coming or some kind of massive transit is going to be happening from Vegas to California.
00:11:10
Irelynn Zurflueh
We I have heard that since I can remember hearing that at the dining room table. And remember, dad's been in the business since 1978 and he came to Vegas in 1950. So we when is this train going to happen?
00:11:23
Irelynn Zurflueh
When is that going to happen? Because I would hop on that, go down to California, visit Disneyland for a day, hop back on and pop back over to Vegas. That would be awesome. And they are closer.
00:11:34
Irelynn Zurflueh
I do hear right now it's very close. um some people will say it's a it's definitely going to happen, but I've heard that too many times to be able to profess that. But no, we are a big bigger city now. And I think in your lifetime, you've seen it grow.
00:11:51
Irelynn Zurflueh
In my lifetime, it's even crazier if you could plop those memories out of my head. i mean, Vegas is totally different now. One of my favorite things about my grandpa is that he loves to tell a story.
00:12:03
Irelynn Zurflueh
One of my least favorite things about my grandpa is he'll tell you the same story about 45 times acting like it's the first time he's ever told you it. But one of his stories that he always used to tell me was he was in a casino elevator and there were two tourists and while they were going up this open like windowed casino elevator, they pointed out to all those homes and one of the tourists said,
00:12:24
Irelynn Zurflueh
yeah, all those homes, those are fake. Those are like wooden fake homes just to make it look like that's where everyone lives. And he was, you know, just hearing that I think is so funny because that just shows you what it was like way back then in the 50s.
00:12:39
Irelynn Zurflueh
And then even when I was in school in Colorado, I would tell people I was from Vegas and they still kind of
Building Long-term Relationships in Property Management
00:12:45
Irelynn Zurflueh
had that little look in their eye of like, why are from Vegas? So I love it here.
00:12:49
Irelynn Zurflueh
Why would anybody have thought to create a city in the desert, like in the desert? There was nothing here. And then they came up with the idea, people are going to want to flock to this place.
00:13:06
Irelynn Zurflueh
And they're going to want to flock because we're going to put a casino so that we have gambling. Yeah. I mean, if you think, and obviously it's a huge success, but if somebody had tried to sell me that plan, yeah i would have been like, um no, I think I'll stay in California where there's oceans and it's beautiful and it's green and it's not 113 degrees in the summer.
00:13:29
Irelynn Zurflueh
um but yeah, I mean, it's just crazy the amount of growth. Max and I, we did a date night just the other night. and We went down to Bellagio to see the conservatory where they have the celebration of the year of the snake.
00:13:42
Irelynn Zurflueh
unbelievable. This city is absolutely crazy. Sometimes I forget how totally cool it is with the chefs, the restaurants, the casinos, the Ferris wheel, we call it the link.
00:13:57
Irelynn Zurflueh
Some people might look at it and say it's Ferris wheel, but we have so many really cool things and it never stops. Yeah. And it's great because you get to see a little bit of the city in who you rent to because we've had people who are those chefs at those restaurants or even are people who are working for the Cirque shows or working for the shows on the Strip.
00:14:18
Irelynn Zurflueh
I mean, we've had people who are the construction workers are working for the Golden Knights or working for the Raiders. So that's another reason why. and I think that that's why I wouldn't call it necessarily the armpit of real estate, because, yes, you get to meet people when you're a realtor.
00:14:32
Irelynn Zurflueh
But when you're specifically working on property management, you can meet everyone. Because you're meeting the owner of the house, you're meeting the client who supplies, who gets into it, then you're meeting the agent who worked with the client. So it's It's a great little way to be reminded about how cool your city is.
00:14:50
Irelynn Zurflueh
And
Humor in the Workplace and Professional Boundaries
00:14:50
Irelynn Zurflueh
I always like to to use the analogy, real estate is like courting. Yeah. When you're courting, you're going put on your best face because you're really only going to be maybe in this courting phase for a couple months.
00:15:05
Irelynn Zurflueh
And in real estate, you go out and you find the house, you make the offer. And if the offer gets accepted, 45 days, later, boom, you get your key, you move in, bye-bye realtor, and you live your life.
00:15:16
Irelynn Zurflueh
But in property management, it's like a marriage. I mean, our owners, some of our owners, I know so much about their life. I mean, their kids were young when we started our business together, and then now their kids are off to college.
00:15:31
Irelynn Zurflueh
Some of them are married with their own kids. It really is relationship, um, the longevity of that relationship. So it is like a marriage and property management.
00:15:43
Irelynn Zurflueh
I've gotten a chance to enjoy that. I do try to not let people know too quickly that I'm your daughter just to try to remain a little professional. But sometimes I'll even get owners on the phone and I'll say, hi, it's Ireland. And they go, oh yeah, Jenny's daughter. How are you? I'm like, okay, well, who are you? And they probably believe me they probably knew about you when you were like in middle school and high yeah school. So that's crazy. Yeah.
00:16:08
Irelynn Zurflueh
Um, it is funny because one time I had somebody that called me and they were mad at something you had told them. She probably didn't let them like pay, wave a late fee or something.
00:16:19
Irelynn Zurflueh
And they called and wanted to talk to Jenny McKenna and only Jenny McKenna. They probably called me Jenna, probably called Jenna McKenna for that one. But, and I got on the phone and she's like, I just talked to somebody on your team and I think you should fire them.
00:16:32
Irelynn Zurflueh
And I'm like, oh, well, who was it? And she's like, it was this lady and her name was Ireland. And I go, what happened? And she's like, while I was talking to her, I could hear that she was typing on her keyboard.
00:16:46
Irelynn Zurflueh
And that's just unprofessional. And I said, I will make sure to talk to her about that. And then we just solved the problem. But it's funny that they they didn't know that one obviously didn't know that they were talking to mom.
00:16:59
Irelynn Zurflueh
Yeah, two different two different last names helps with that. But i yeah, I think the armpit of real estate is and exaggeration. There's always going to be tough challenges in your job.
00:17:10
Irelynn Zurflueh
But at the end of the day, getting to meet all these people, getting to work with the team, getting to see all these really beautiful houses, it's And being able to help people find a home, whether they just came to Vegas, they're going through a divorce, they're just getting started because they're in their twenty s they're going to school at UNLV, you start to feel like you're helping them fall in love with the same city that I've known and loved my whole life.
00:17:36
Irelynn Zurflueh
I feel the same way. The best days are when I can pop in and somebody's getting their keys to their new rental. And they are
Conclusion and Future Insights
00:17:44
Irelynn Zurflueh
so excited. I mean, you can just feel it. You can feel that they are just, they're ready to go in and make memories in that home.
00:17:52
Irelynn Zurflueh
And it just makes us feel like we're doing something more than just handing a key to them. Yeah. And I think it'll be cool to come back on here and get to talk about it more often because we'll be able to, through this podcast also get to share about the city that we love and we'll get to give people advice on how to get a rental and we'll be able to give owners advice on how to get an investment property because I think that anyone who comes to Vegas if you have an air conditioner and you have water you'll realize that Vegas is a really amazing place
00:18:27
Irelynn Zurflueh
I agree with you 100%. And I am ready to do that real talk on our next episode. So take it away. Well, thanks for joining us, guys. Again, we're just realtors trying to keep it real.
00:18:39
Irelynn Zurflueh
And if you like what you listen to or you want to keep keep up with us, click the subscribe button and we'll see you guys next week. Bye-bye.