The Property Manager’s Wealth Mirage & 3 PMs That See Through It

We were driving back from the Grand Canyon, zooming past majestic Saguaro cacti, Mark Brower at the wheel of his new Tesla…. out of nowhere, he does that thing he’s famous for—turns introspective and drops a question that cuts a little too deep:

“Am I wasting my talents trying to scale a property management company?”

Then he followed it with a Warren Buffett line that landed hard:

“Don’t Try to Scale a Business That’s Too Hard to Scale”

And he referred to some insights he got from Peter Lohmann’s list of the Top 20 Property Management Companies 2025.  

The List That Tells An Uncomfortable Truth

[Peter Lohman’s Illustration]

At first glance, it looks like a leaderboard, but Mark saw something else entirely.

Only 3 companies are anywhere near 20,000 doors.

Four crack 10,000.

And nearly all of them got there through acquisitions—not organic growth.

Worse? He’d heard there was 40% churn behind the scenes..

So when a guy like Mark—who’s built a brand on care, craft, and contribution—starts asking if he’s chasing a hollow mission…

That’s not just introspection.

That’s insight.

Maybe the question isn’t:
“Is this too hard to scale?”

Maybe it’s:
“Why would I want to scale this?”

Not Every Climb Is Worth the Summit

Let’s be real:

If you’re running a 300-door PM business, clearing $250K+ a year, living with autonomy and peace of mind… you’re winning.

You don’t need to scale to validate what you’ve built.

But if your long-term plan includes a financial windfall—a business that can fund your freedom so you can live life on your terms?

Then you’ll need to be investing wisely… or plan to get acquired by someone else..

And when the latter comes, your two options might be:

1. Take a job at the company that bought you.
2. Start something entirely new.

Most PMs think they’ll be fine with #1—until they’re not.  That’s why Mark’s question should be one more PMs are asking.

Don’t Change Your Business.  Change Your Scoreboard.

If I were running a PM firm today, I wouldn’t be chasing more doors under management.

I’d be chasing doors owned.

Because here’s the truth:
Property managers already sit on the two scarcest resources in real estate:

• Off-market deals
• Operational advantage

You don’t need to invent a new business. You just need to tweak it to gain the following advantages:

• Better sales conversations by owning alongside your clients
• Higher profitability/ROI by paying yourself as an operator.
• Differentiated experience based on your insights as your own client

It’s what JWB Real Estate Capital did.

Today, they own 400 doors, manage 5,000+, and control 20 city blocks in Jacksonville.  Their (massive) property management operation isn’t the main source of wealth creating. It’s the thing that drives up the value for the wealth created.

They’re in the same game you’re in.

They just have a different scoreboard

And they’re not alone.

Here are 3 other PMs doing the same, in their own way:

Tracy Streich Turned Property Problems into Equity

Tracy didn’t build his investment model outside of property management; he built it into the heart of his PM process.

He reframed property headaches as the first step toward ownership.

Step 1: Listen for friction, not just service needs.
When an owner expresses burnout, maintenance fatigue, or tenant turnover stress, Tracy doesn’t just offer support, he sees it as a signal that they’re ready to sell.

Step 2: Offer a solution, not a pitch.
Instead of offering to list the property or refer an agent, he asks: Would you consider selling? Sometimes he proposes creative terms (sometimes it’s a straight purchase).

Step 3: Leverage operational readiness.
Because his team is already managing the property (or one just like it), there’s no friction on takeover. His PM system is his post-close ops plan.

Tracy didn’t add an acquisition strategy to his business. He built one from his business. And now, every painful owner conversation is a possible path to equity.

Listen to Tracy’s full podcast episode here.

Then, here’s Nicholas Cook…

Nicholas is Building Forever Holds from PM DNA

Nicholas didn’t jump straight to investing. He wanted to, but he “didn’t have enough gray hairs for people to trust him with their money.  So he built a property management company instead.

What’s unique is that he intentionally used PM as his proving ground: building trust, refining operations, and crafting a platform that investors could believe in to launch something bigger: a slow-burn fund model.

Here’s his approach to reaching his goal:

Step 1: Use PM to build track record and credibility.
For years, Nicholas focused on running a tight ship. That experience now powers the credibility behind his investment platform.

Step 2: Design a fund that fits the mission.
No flips. No exits on a 5-year clock. His fund structure holds forever, returns capital early (via refi), and includes aligned equity for operators.

Step 3: Create value for everyone involved.
Tenants get stability. Investors get low-risk returns. PM staff gets ownership. The fund isn’t about yield-chasing, it’s about long-term contribution and control.

His investment thesis is slow and durable: acquire assets that cash flow from day one, return investor capital via refinance, and hold for decades, compounding both revenue and operational leverage.

Nicholas’s episode isn’t out yet, but if you subscribe to the Property Management Framebreakers Podcast, you’ll get it.

Ed Kirch takes it even further…

Ed Created The PM-as-Portfolio Engine Model

When I sat down with Ed, he was really clear about how he feels:

“ When it comes to managing for other people. They're a pain in the butt. They demand a lot. There's not a lot of money in management.”

Ed didn’t scale for clients.

He built a flywheel for himself.

And now?

His PM business feeds his personal investment engine.

Meaning- he owns 220 units of the 300 that he manages.

Ed’s Flywheel looks like this:

Step 1: Treat PM as a deal funnel, not a services business.
Ed isn’t focused on contracts. He’s focused on inventory. PM gives him eyes on undervalued assets.

Step 2: Partner with investors on simple terms.
Forget the fund complexity. Ed co-invests with trusted capital partners—typically 50/50 terms.

Step 3: Use the same systems to stabilize and scale.
He doesn’t reinvent ops post-acquisition. His PM systems are the investment platform. Then, he just reinvests, repeats, builds wealth.

300 units under management. 220 owned. Ed’s not chasing growth. He’s compounding equity one repeatable deal at a time.

LISTEN TO ED’S EPISODE TO GET ALL THE DETAILS

So ask yourself:

How many of the properties in your portfolio right now are being run better than they’re being owned?

You have the power to do something about it.

The Models Are Working. But the Ground’s Still Shifting

I’m not trying to convince you to wholesale change your business here- just think twice before you rush to sell a property for an owner in distress, think about what you’re passing on- leverage.

The most important thing I’ve learned about rental property investing is that owning them gets better over time, especially when compared to other retirement strategies.

Most people think they need to save, save, save to retire, then spend.

The problem with that is we’re living longer, medical bills continue to go up, and there seems to be weirder and weirder crises taking place more often that are making the stock market feel like an unending roller coaster.

If the roller coaster dips at the wrong time, that magic number you were saving for may not do the trick.  Rental properties have qualities to them that allow you better options in retirement when something goes wrong.

Following Tracy’s lead, or Nicholas’s, or Ed’s Model, will set you up to withstand an ever changing future…

Especially when the future is changing faster than we can really keep up with…

You Might Win The Race Just as the Finish Line Disappears

AI is the elephant in the room for everybody, but property management is also going through two other massive shifts:

• Regulations are rewriting the rules: the home affordability crises has made landlords a target for politicians looking to gain favor with the masse
• The next generation won’t tolerate friction the great generational wealth transfer is changing your clientele every year to people with completely different expectations and behaviors

I’ve said this a lot, but it bears repeating- massive changes in context lead to massive innovative disruption.

Imagine buying a local video chain in 2005 (or inheriting one from your family).  The obvious plan would be to update the tech stack, buy Google Ad words and move away from YellowPages, and increase the valuation enough in a couple years to sell it to Blockbuster…

But Blockbuster wasn’t buying by the time you were looking for your exit.  In fact, no one was.  

When there is risk, hedge.  But don’t take your eye off the scoreboard.

I don’t know what’s coming.  No one does.  But there is enough risk baked into the system that hedging seems like a really good idea.

This is one of those times, and growing a real estate portfolio is maybe the most attractive hedge of all time.

But in business, defense doesn’t win championships.  So if you’re gung ho on scaling and exiting, I promise no one is cheering harder for you than I am.

Either way, leveraging AI to create the outcomes you want will be necessary to get there, and that’s what Vendoroo is here to help with.  Our AI agents can help you:

• Take care of residents’ needs quicker to keep your properties occupied
• Make better decisions to increase the IRR of you and your clients’ portfolio
• Increase your team’s capacity so you can focus on building for the future

In the meantime I will be here to keep asking you the same question:
Are you building to preserve the past or adapt to the future?

Pablo Gonzalez,

Chief Evangelist at Vendoroo

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