Lessons from an ‘unstable’ rent roll

Rental divisions and rent rolls seem easy to manage, and to the inexperienced agent they are money for jam. To the veteran however, a rent roll is always treated with enormous respect, as we have all experienced times when we have almost lost control of them.

Many of us let our rental businesses run along on autopilot. It may seem to be running well and then, all of a sudden, it breaks down.

This has happened to me twice now in 30 years and let me tell you, it’s not nice when it happens.
A rent roll requires genuine smarts and business nurturing. It must be both maintained and driven continuously.

Young players may look at a brilliantly run rent roll and think the business runs itself. But let me warn you, this is a trap.
Rent rolls cannot be left unattended for too long or they become unstable, risking enormous brand damage to the business, not to mention the loss of long-standing clients.

On the up side, an unstable rent roll can be turned around quickly once the signs have been acknowledged and when the principals understand what is happening.

The most common fix is for the owners to sell the rent roll and celebrate no longer having the headache.

The reality is they are selling the farm and will have cashed in the equity of their business.

Notwithstanding the above, some agents are great at building a rental business, and providing they sell every year or two, they get away with being poor managers.

Rental businesses have a habit of slowly unraveling and by the time the really big issues surface, the business has developed some significant problems; usually it has accumulated the wrong people and lost its service culture.

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