Peter Lohmann's Podcast

Hosted by Peter Lohmann

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126

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Helping Property Managers Streamline & Grow Their Businesses Peter Lohmann shares candid interviews and actionable insights from top operators, entrepreneurs, and industry experts in property management. Whether you're managing 100 doors or 10,000, this is your playbook for building a smarter, more scalable property management business.

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June 11, 2026Episode 141 hr 7 min

The PM Insurance Model No One Talks About (But Should) with Nicolas Lares

What if the premiums you're paying your insurance company could partially come back to you? That's the premise behind captive insurance, and it's been standard practice in large multifamily for years. SFR is just now catching up.In this episode, I'm joined by Nicolas Lares, founder of Insur3Tech, a brokerage that places property managers and rental owners into captive insurance structures (essentially co-owned insurance companies where policyholders share in the underwriting profit).We discuss:(00:02:27) - Nicolas's background in insurance(00:05:18) - Building an insurance company from scratch(00:07:05) - Why carriers left despite profitability(00:13:24) - The origin story of insurance(00:20:19) - Sponsor - Enterprise Bank & Trust(00:15:55) - Are insurance companies unfair?(00:21:43) - What is a captive insurance program(00:25:31) - How captives work for property managers(00:31:34) - Identifying good operators through data(00:34:59) - Administering captive programs(00:37:45) - Sponsor - Haven AI(00:39:14) - Handling disputed claims(00:44:22) - What happens in catastrophic events(00:46:22) - Captives for scattered site managers(00:49:33) - Renters insurance captive profitability(00:53:36) - What people should be asking when shopping captives(00:58:55) - How captives get started and funded(01:02:46) - How InsurTech fits into the market(01:05:34) - ClosingFair warning: I push back on some of the framing. Insurance companies aren't a scam. They run real businesses with real costs. But there may be a better structure for the right operator.Learn more about Insur3TechNicolas on LinkedIn___Resources for Property Managers & Real Estate Entrepreneurs• Crane – Private PM Owner Community → Join a private network of property management owners and operators: https://joincrane.co/• Free Weekly Newsletter → Property management insights, strategies, and industry updates direct to your inbox: https://peter.beehiiv.com/subscribe• RL Property Management → Learn more about Peter’s company and services in Columbus, Ohio: https://rlpmg.com/__Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I may have consulting agreements with, or financial interests in, companies mentioned in this podcast (more info here: https://www.peterlohmann.com/financial-interest-disclosure ). Additionally, some of the links included may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial or business decisions.

May 28, 2026Episode 131 hr 4 min

Inside Keyrenter's 14,000 Door Franchise Model with CEO, Nate Tew

75–100 doors is where most PM companies hit the wall. And the reason is almost always the same: the owner won't hire fast enough.In this episode, I'm joined by Nate Tew, CEO and co-founder of Keyrenter Property Management. They’ve got 94 locations and about 14k (yes, thats fourteen THOUSAND) doors under management. We dig into PM franchise models, Nate’s Model 300 framework, and why he's deliberately keeping growth slower than it could be (Keyrenter would be 2-3x its current size if they accepted every applicant).We discuss:(00:01:40) - Nate’s background and career(00:07:07) - Taking a Franchisor approach(00:16:29) - Sponsor - DoorLoop(00:18:05) - Unit Economics(00:21:41) - Painful Decisions and turning away potential Franchisees(00:25:31) - Early signs of the success of a Franchisee(00:28:30) - Intellectual Property(00:39:18) - Sponsor - Enterprise Bank & Trust(00:40:42) - Breaking out of the discomfort in hiring and training(00:49:05) - What the most profitable franchisees are doing differently(00:52:05) - Leadership philosophies and plateau points(00:58:07) - Contrarian Thinking in PMNate breaks down the unit economics behind 23% same-store revenue growth, what separates his most profitable franchisees, and the early signs that tell him a new franchise owner is going to win.We also get into a contrarian take I mostly agree with: most "bad owner" stories aren't really about the owners.If you're scaling a PM company (or thinking about the franchise path) this one's well worth your time.__Resources for Property Managers & Real Estate EntrepreneursCrane – Private PM Owner Community → Join a private network of property management owners and operators: https://joincrane.co/Free Weekly Newsletter → Property management insights, strategies, and industry updates direct to your inbox: https://peter.beehiiv.com/subscribeRL Property Management → Learn more about Peter’s company and services in Columbus, Ohio: https://rlpmg.com/__Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I may have consulting agreements with, or financial interests in, companies mentioned in this podcast (more info here: https://www.peterlohmann.com/financial-interest-disclosure ). Additionally, some of the links included may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial or business decisions.

May 25, 202657 min

BONUS EPISODE: I Sat Down With Mark Ainley in Chicago

Dropping a bonus episode in your feed today for fun. I was in Chicago a few weeks back and sat down with Mark Ainley on the Straight Up Chicago Investor Podcast. I'm actually the first PM industry guest he's had on his show. A few of the topics we hit:(1:09) How PLM came together, and why caring about your audience matters more than a marketing background(3:45) What actually makes a community work (and why it can't be about you)(6:23) The story behind meeting Wolfgang and how Crane went from idea to launch in six months(12:53) What property managers are getting wrong about AI — applying the theory of constraints(16:29) How I structure my week and calendar to actually work on the hard stuff(21:19) The AI disruption nobody in our industry is talking about loudly enough(24:14) Why rapport with owners is going to matter more, not less, in an AI world(27:31) Why I love being a customer of vendors I want to see win(29:22) Why I'm not taking the full month of June off this year — and what that says about the work(34:31) Why I keep going live (even when only 5–10 people are watching)(40:27) How Lazy Leverage came together with John, and what I've learned from doing zero-prep content(48:23) Why newsletters are still the highest-leverage media channel you can buildWe covered a lot of ground: how PLM came together, the conversation our industry isn't having loudly enough about AI, why I'm not taking the full month of June off this year (a first in five years), and plenty in between. Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I may have consulting agreements with, or financial interests in, companies mentioned in this podcast. Additionally, some of the links included may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial or business decisions.

May 14, 2026Episode 121 hr 3 min

The Owner's Dilemma: Should You Build with AI or Let Go? with Sam Eddinger

Should you, the owner, be the one going deep on AI and vibe coding? Or is that a trap that pulls you right back into the work you spent years trying to delegate?In this episode, I'm joined by Sam Eddinger, owner of Ironclad Property Management in Connecticut and a former nuclear engineer. Sam built hundreds of LeadSimple processes himself, then realized he'd become the bottleneck. Now he's wrestling with the same temptation all over again, this time with AI.(00:00:00) - Intro(00:01:08) - Introducing Sam(00:05:12) - The AI journey as a PM owner(00:09:33) - Vibe coding as a solve for constraints(00:14:10) - The AI impact on great employees(00:17:36) - Don’t be just a consumer(00:19:51) - Sponsor - Appfolio(00:21:19) - Closing thoughts on AI(00:23:04) - Ironclad’s org structure(00:38:25) - Sponsor - Haven AI(00:39:55) - Process focus(00:58:44) - Sam’s 3rd party investing(00:02:06) - Getting in touch with SamWe get into Ironclad's "single-person departmental" pod structure (5 people, 300–400 units, one client success manager per pod), why he switched from annual to monthly performance reviews, how he runs a nearly fully remote team, and what he's doing differently in a Connecticut market that had zero rent growth from 2002 to 2017.If you're an owner-operator under 1,000 doors trying to figure out where to spend your attention, this one's for you.Learn more and connect with Sam here: Sam on LinkedInIronclad Property ManagementCrane – Private PM Owner Community → Join a private network of property management owners and operators: https://joincrane.co/Free Weekly Newsletter → Property management insights, strategies, and industry updates direct to your inbox: https://peter.beehiiv.com/subscribeRL Property Management → Learn more about Peter’s company and services in Columbus, Ohio: https://rlpmg.com/Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I may have consulting agreements with, or financial interests in, companies mentioned in this podcast. Additionally, some of the links included may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial or business decisions.

May 7, 2026Episode 1154 min

Why Column Built a Real Banking API for Property Managers w/ George Cheng

What if your bank was also a technology company that actually understood property management? In this episode, I sit down with George Cheng, GM of Vertical Solutions at Column - the bank powering companies like Ramp, Bill.com, and Wise behind the scenes.Column is unusual: they are a nationally chartered, FDIC-insured bank AND built their core banking software from scratch (the founder also started Plaid). That means real APIs, real-time data, and a level of integration that legacy banks running on FIS and Fiserv simply can't offer. We discuss:(00:01:48) - Column’s work for property managers(00:05:22) - How banks differ from companies like PayPal, Stripe, and Venmo(00:09:04) - Banking APIs(00:18:27) - What Column is providing tech-forward PM companies(00:31:54) - How PM companies are taking advantage of Column(00:41:45) - Corporate accounting and trust accounting(00:46:41) - AI predictions(00:51:46) - Closing thoughtsGeorge also shares why accounting is the area of PM most ripe for AI disruption (and why nothing has happened there yet), what it looks like when one of his PM clients built a CEO-level dashboard pulling from both their PMS and their bank in real time, and his take on how agentic AI is reshaping the SaaS landscape. We also get into earnings credits, the state banking laws still tripping operators up, and the future of outcomes-based pricing in software.Learn more about Column: https://column.com/property-managementConnect with George: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgecheng7/

April 30, 2026Episode 1059 min

EOS, Maintenance Math, and Why RPU Beats Door Count with Matthew Tringali

What if 80% of your team's time isn't actually being spent in their unique abilities, and you don't even know it? In this episode, Matthew Tringali (BetterWho) is back for an unfiltered debate on EOS, profitability, and what most operators are getting wrong.(00:00:00) - Intro(00:00:44) - Welcoming Matt back to the show(00:02:18) - Matt’s latest on EOS(00:05:29) - The #1 error PMs are making on EOS(00:12:01) - Role Mapping(00:14:53) - Sponsor - Haven.AI(00:16:22) - EOS weak points in role mapping(00:19:24) - Increasing Revenue per unit vs. cutting expenses(00:23:36) - How to know if RPU is high enough(00:24:36) - Where to trim the fat in a PM company(00:28:00) - Maintenance philosophies(00:33:40) - Sponsor - Enterprise Bank & Trust(00:35:04) - Vendor Marketing fees(00:42:18) - Bringing maintenance in-house(00:50:32) - Coaching vs. Consulting(00:52:56) - Remote team philosophiesWe dig into why "right people, right seats" is the foundation most companies fluff over, the three classic EOS failure modes (solving circumstances vs. issues, fluffy core values, and weak role maps), and why you need two org charts - one for today and one for six months from now.Then we get into the spicy stuff: vendor marketing fees, the right billing rate for in-house maintenance (hint: 3x labor, minimum), and whether you should be charging a flat-fee maintenance coordination fee. Plus: when in-house maintenance actually pencils out, RPU vs. door count, and why your next great hire might not live in the U.S.BetterWho Matt on LinkedIn

April 16, 2026Episode 91 hr 3 min

What Nobody Tells You About Selling a PM Company with Bri Leichliter

What does it actually feel like to sell your property management company? Not the theory - the real thing. The texts, the negotiations, the meltdowns, the wire hitting your account. In this episode, I sit down with Bri Leichliter, who built a 220-door PM company in Cincinnati from scratch, ran it for four years, and sold it last October. We discuss:(00:00:00) - Intro(00:02:18) - Bri’s business leading up to the sale(00:04:31) - Bri on building the business up(00:07:17) - How Bri ran the sale process(00:13:04) - Sponsor - DoorLoop(00:14:41) - Deal terms, structure, and financing(00:26:49) - Portfolio churn post-sale(00:31:18) - Sponsor - Appgentic.ai(00:33:05) - The mindset behind deciding to sell the business(00:42:15) - Feelings immediately post-close(00:45:13) - What Bri would have done differently(00:56:43) - Reflections on the sale process(00:58:48) - What’s next for Bri(01:02:12) - How to get in touch with BriWe get into all of it: how she ran a scrappy, no-broker sale process (starting with a Labor Day weekend text to three potential buyers), how she structured the deal as an installment sale with a true-up instead of a clawback, and the tax strategy behind timing payments across calendar years.We also talk about the part nobody prepares you for: the emotional weight of handing over relationships you built one by one, watching your systems get replaced, and navigating the transition when the buyer's tech stack is completely different from yours. Bri is refreshingly honest about what went well, what she'd do differently, and why her boyfriend told her he'd be happy if she sold for zero.Learn more & connect with me here:⁠Crane⁠, the private community for property management business owners.⁠My Free PM Newsletter⁠⁠RL Property Management⁠Learn more and connect with Bri here: WebsiteFacebook

April 2, 2026Episode 81 hr 11 min

Stepping in as CEO at a 6,000+ Door SFR PM Company with Dan French

What happens when a multifamily CEO with 18,000 doors under his belt jumps into single-family… and says SFR is the bigger opportunity?!Dan French nearly went bankrupt during the Great Financial Crisis, slept in vacant units, ruined his credit for a decade, and used every lesson to eventually scale a multifamily platform from 2,500 to 18,000 doors. Now he's CEO of Northpoint, one of the largest SFR management companies in the country, and he's building something fundamentally different: separate divisions for scattered-site SFR, BTR, and small multifamily - all running on a shared platform.We discuss:(00:00:00) - Intro(00:01:45) - Dan’s background and career(00:08:39) - Northpoint(00:14:54) - Sponsor - Enterprise Bank & Trust(00:16:18) - SFR following in the footsteps of multifamily(00:26:07) - The difference between BTR and SFR(00:30:47) - The division of labor in PM(00:34:28) - Sponsor - Haven AI(00:35:57) - How a PM would implement a BTR community(00:40:51) - Northpoint and their acquisition strategy(00:45:43) - Separating unit churn from revenue churn(00:50:27) - The melting iceberg problem(00:58:19) - Dan’s experience with Crane(01:00:44) - The competitiveness of MF property management(01:04:26) - The lack of ‘scaffolding’ in SFR(01:10:15) - Getting in touch with DanWe get into the "melting iceberg" problem that's killing PM roll-ups (and why most buyers underestimate churn), how to build a trust layer with owners that actually reduces churn, why he thinks tech is not a moat (and what is), and why the Innovator's Dilemma means SFR operators are better positioned to move upmarket than multifamily firms are to come down.Dan also shares his take on NRR vs. logo churn, the talent scaffolding gap between MF and SFR, and why North Point is keeping acquired brands intact instead of rebranding day one.Learn more and connect with Dan here: NorthpointLinkedinResources for Property Managers & Real Estate EntrepreneursCrane – Private PM Owner Community → Join a private network of property management owners and operators: https://joincrane.co/Free Weekly Newsletter → Property management insights, strategies, and industry updates direct to your inbox: https://peter.beehiiv.com/subscribeRL Property Management → Learn more about Peter’s company and services in Columbus, Ohio: https://rlpmg.com/___Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I may have consulting agreements with, or financial interests in, companies mentioned in this podcast. Additionally, some of the links included may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial or business decisions.

March 26, 2026Episode 757 min

AI Agents, PM Policy Tracking & the Pod Hybrid Model with Wolfgang Croskey

🔗 Register for Crane's Access Granted launch (April 2)This week on Peter Lohmann's Podcast: What if your property management company had its own AI agents?... Ones you built yourself, running on your own server? Crane co-founder Wolfgang Croskey built two custom AI agents (Bruce and Sophia) that triage emails, delegate tasks via Slack, and pull AppFolio data, all on his own server. Chapters:(00:00:00) - Intro(00:03:09) - Meet Sophia and Bruce(00:04:23) - OpenClaw workflow wins(00:06:03) - Building agents on VPS(00:12:36) - Texting and voice assistants(00:18:03) - Crane HQ origin story(00:24:32) - Data providers and costs(00:29:00) - AI policy email alerts(00:31:33) - Crane launch details(00:36:53) - RL’s hybrid pod structure(00:43:31) - Early results and tradeoffs(00:50:09) - Phone and email setup(00:53:03) - Tech gaps and next steps(00:56:21) - Wrap up and outroWe get into the security scare that changed his approach, why messaging through your normal channels matters more than the AI itself, and what it takes to actually set this up.We also reveal a new Crane member benefit: an AI-powered local policy tracker that monitors city council, school board, and county meetings across your service area — down to cities with 2,000+ people.Then I break down something I haven't shared publicly: RL Property Management's shift from departmental to a pod hybrid model at 750 doors - the owner churn that drove it, how we structured one-person pods with centralized ops, and early results including two saves from churning clients this week.If you're thinking about AI agents, org design, or giving owners the relationship they actually want, this one covers it.🔗 Wolfgang Croskey on LinkedInResources for Property Managers & Real Estate Entrepreneurs• Crane – Private PM Owner Community → Join a private network of property management owners and operators• Free TWICE Weekly Newsletter → Property management insights, strategies, and industry updates direct to your inbox• RL Property Management → Learn more about Peter’s company and services in Columbus, Ohio__Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I may have consulting agreements with, or financial interests in, companies mentioned in this podcast. Additionally, some of the links included may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial or business decisions.

March 19, 2026Episode 658 min

AI, Fraud, and Tech Bloat in Property Management with Dom Beveridge

AI, fraud, and tech bloat are quietly reshaping property management… most operators just haven’t connected the dots yet. In this episode, I sit down with Dom Beveridge (20for20) to break down what’s actually happening inside large multifamily portfolios - and what it means for single-family operators.We discuss:(00:00:00) - Intro(00:02:23) - The 20for20 annual report explained(00:04:44) - Deep vs wide research(00:05:51) - Multifamily vs scattered-site differences(00:07:47) - Maintenance operations deep dive(00:15:52) - Sponsor - DoorLoop(00:17:28) - Cross-learning between SFR and multifamily(00:34:14) - Sponsor: Enterprise Bank & Trust(00:35:38) - Tech consolidation(00:42:00) - AI impact on property tech(00:43:54) - AI-first vs AI-enabled software(00:48:53) - PMS vendors heading toward irrelevance(00:53:04) - Data as the ultimate moat(00:56:23) - Accessing the report and speaking engagements(00:57:22) - Closing remarksWe get into why fraud isn’t really about “bad actors," it’s a bad debt problem hiding in plain sight. And why a lot of screening processes (yes, even yours) are more guesswork than science. We also unpack how tech stacks ballooned to 30–40+ tools, why that’s creating operational drag, and what companies are doing to fix it.Then there’s AI. We talk about the shift from “AI-enabled” to truly AI-first software, and why that distinction is about to matter a lot more than people think.Along the way, we compare multifamily vs SFR (especially in maintenance and leasing) and where each model is ahead (and behind).Learn more and connect with Dom here: Download the new edition of the 20for20 Annual SurveyLinkedInWebsite__Resources for Property Managers & Real Estate EntrepreneursCrane – Private PM Owner Community → Join a private network of property management owners and operators: https://joincrane.co/Free Weekly Newsletter → Property management insights, strategies, and industry updates direct to your inbox: https://peter.beehiiv.com/subscribeRL Property Management → Learn more about Peter’s company and services in Columbus, Ohio: https://rlpmg.com/__Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I may have consulting agreements with, or financial interests in, companies mentioned in this podcast. Additionally, some of the links included may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial or business decisions.