The Financial Backend of Property Investing

Jacob Walter - VP of Finance - Patriot Properties On the Property Management Conundrum: "We look really good when everybody's making money. You know, we're always the problem when they're not." The thing about investing is that the financial part is the important part. It's all fun and games until you realize you aren't making money, or worse. This is where it pays, literally, to have a smart finance guy in your corner. Jacob Walter is the VP of finance with Patriot Properties. As the guy watching the money go in and out for themselves and clients, he is in charge of making sure the numbers are not in parenthesis in the wrong spots. Listen in as Jacob Walter shares his journey from college intern to finance executive, offering a behind-the-scenes look into the complexities of managing thousands of rental units, navigating the fast-paced real estate market, and building a team that can handle everything from apartment complexes to storage units. Whether you’re an aspiring investor, experienced landlord, or simply curious about the business of property management, you’ll hear plenty of candid advice, funny client stories, and hard-won lessons on scaling up in a competitive industry. Enjoy! Visit Jacob at: http://www.patriotpropertieswisconsin.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patriotpropertieswi/ Podcast Overview: 00:00 "Client Forgot Their Property" 05:12 "Life Insurance: Niche Necessity" 08:30 Hiring Considerations for Job Roles 11:35 "Client Forgot Their Property" 13:24 Property Deals and Financing Insights 18:08 Madison's Rental Market Trends 20:52 Real Estate Rent Challenges 24:24 "Leaky Boiler Water Feature" 28:30 "Unrealistic Deal Evaluation" 31:01 Unit Maintenance and Value Maximization 35:19 Madison Property Repositioning Strategies 36:53 Tired of Property Management 41:37 Barrack-Style Madison Property Sold 43:49 Less Competition, Greater Opportunity 46:28 "First Deal Matters Most" 50:15 "Scaling Property Management Success" 53:26 Competition and Property Pricing Factors Podcast Transcription: Jacob Walter [00:00:00]: I do have a funny story. One of my clients, he, he left for, I believe like Italy or Greece or something. He was gone for like two, three weeks. That was right. You know, when he came back was like, right when we were sending out our monthly statements and he called me, he's like, Jacob, like, I forgot I had this property. I'm like, what do you, what do you mean? He's like, yeah, you just, you guys have been handling. I haven't had to worry about it. Nice to see that there's plenty of money in the account. Jacob Walter [00:00:23]: Like, this is great. This is exactly what I want. James Kademan [00:00:31]: Have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link [e-mail] we are locally underwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie and today we're welcoming, preparing to learn from Jacob Walther, the VP of finance at Patriot Properties. Jacob, how's it going today? Jacob Walter [00:00:56]: I'm doing well, thank you. Thank you for having me. James Kademan [00:00:58]: Let's start with what is Patriot Properties? Jacob Walter [00:01:00]: Yeah, Patriot Properties, full service property management company. So we kind of joke around that if you can rent it, you know, we will manage it for you. We do. Obviously our bread and butter is multifamily. We do short term rentals. At one point we did camper van rentals. James Kademan [00:01:19]: Oh wow, you weren't joking. Jacob Walter [00:01:21]: Yeah, yeah, don't do that anymore. That was, that was an interesting time. But storage units, whatever you can rent, real estate wise, we can manage. James Kademan [00:01:32]: All right. And how long have you been with them? Jacob Walter [00:01:35]: