Who works for Property managers

jlpressure

jlpressure

JL Pressure Washing
Just wondering who if any of you all out here work for property management companies on a regular basis

I work for several local PM companies and have since 2004 and I target others all the time. Most of my work is condo complexes.
Well its that time of the year for the PM's to set up budgets for 07. I am getting slammed with calls to give them rates for cleaning buildings, sidewalks, garages gutters. I've been looking at at least 5-7 goodsized properties every week for the last month or so. Most I will be doing in 07

Who else does this kind of work????


If you live in an area that has condo complexes I suggest you target them, they are worth it

Myrtle beach is one of the condo capitals what other areas has a ton of condo complexes??


JL
 
This is really cool to have you over because you have had recent success with the HOA management companies.

I really have not even geared up for working with community pressure washing companies.

I do turn away this work referring down the road to anyone that I can get to do the work.



1. My first suggestion to anyone trying to work a list of property of managers would be to focus on the expertise of what you’re trying to wash.
2. Take your list and make call to the management companies asking what they manage.



Categories

1. retail
2. residential
3. commercial residential
4. industrial
5. light industrial
6. office
7. malls


After your list is broken down now you can direct focus on what type of contractor you want to be.


Jeff has had obvious success and that’s why I invited Jeff to be a part of PWI. He is and innovator in this specific type of industry. (Residential commercial real-estate.) HOA

My personal choice is retail property management focus. (Strictly)


I’m not suggest you don’t mix and match its just a personal preference for myself.


I will follow this with a video thread as well.
 
PowerWash Pros said:
Our main business is with our property management company and another contractor. We also do a crap load of condos, apartments, townhomes and other stuff like that!
Click to expand...



Hi Nicole, you own a PM company?

Now that would be a good way to secure this kind of work, owning your own PM company

Do you target PM companies to get this condo work?

Jeff
 
Thanks Ron, glad to be here. You all have a great BB here. Tons of great stuff to read and a lot of knowledgable people here also.

Like Ron said make a list of these PM companies, find what they manage and then target these companies

I like doing condo complexes, hell I love doing them they are nothing but a big house wash job. Myrtle Beach being an coastal vacation area, theres tons of condo complexes & condo towers. I've been targetting them for over 3 years and I also have been targetting the condo towers because most have parking garages that are 50-400K sq ft. The parking garages around here usually if they clean them they want the work done in the off season Late Sept to March. When many PW companies are slow we are doing garages & some complexes.

Ron likes retail and he's an expert at not only doing the work but getting & keeping the work, even with a lot of compitition in his area. Well I did my 1st complex in 2003 and it was easy, so I looked around town and realized theres a zillion condo complexes so why not go after them. Now I really dont like to do any other kind of work. I havent gotten to the point Rons at. I'll do just about any kind of PWing , but in the past year I've completly stopped advertizing for residential work and other types of work like restuarant dumpster areas I'll bid high and either not get the work or if I do get it I just recently been passing it off to other local PW companies.

I'v read post on BB's that say Property Managers dont care about anything arent loyal to contractors and are a PITA to work for. I find the total opposite. I love my PM's, with PM's they just want a good reliable contractor and they will be very loyal, Believe me!!! A lot of the calls Im getting to price complexes are from my PM's and all they are saying is go look at this or that property, give them a price so they can add it to their 2007 budget. No other bids even taken. I also have told PM's I want all their work and told them let me see my competitions prices. Just yesterday I looked at close to 70, 2 & 3 story condos. I asked the PM who I only worked for once if they were taking other bids on this project. they were, so she knows I do most of her bosses work and she said wait a minute and got me the other bid. It was close to what I was going to bid so I just made sure my bid was under the others. Looks like we'll be doing the work at the end of October unless the HOA waits, but no matter what we have the job as long as this PM company is manageing this property.

Look around your area and see what there is to clean and if you like that kind of work, go to Gorilla Marketting and get the work. Its worked for me

As I tell everybody I want to be --- The Pressure Washing King of Myrtle Beack, I used to say it jokenly, but if biz keeps going well, I figure in the next 5-8 years I will be the king

PWing is a GREAT biz


Here some pics of some of the type of work/buildings we do. Got to love it

Life is Good

Jeff
 

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I am all for doing these complexes. I did 3 last year, but didn't get any this year. The hurdle I keep running into is the objection of "We do it in house" No matter how hard I try to explain that thier staff is most likely not able to do the same scope of work that we are, I still can't show them how I can save them Money by using an outsider. I believe the complexes I did get last year were luck. Most I've talked to aren't jerks or anything like that. They just want reliable and dependable and professional but at a beer money price.

Are you playing the numbers game? Meaning, talking to 100 PM's and only working for 10. Or are you working for 50 and relying on a small profit but in quantity?

I really would like to better understand wht I can't seem to close many of these. I think most will say that I am too high.
 
Sorry - didnt mean to mislead you. I said "our pm company" as we are the only pressure washing company that works for them. Not in the sense that we owned it....But that would be nice.

PM's usually get 3 bids on each job that they send out so on these you have to be really aggressive in price. Once they see they work you do then they will lead toward your bid sometimes even if yours is a little bit higher, but not often....they are all about price in the end. Its a hit and miss game.:confused:
 
FCPWLLC said:
I am all for doing these complexes. I did 3 last year, but didn't get any this year. The hurdle I keep running into is the objection of "We do it in house" No matter how hard I try to explain that thier staff is most likely not able to do the same scope of work that we are, I still can't show them how I can save them Money by using an outsider. I believe the complexes I did get last year were luck. Most I've talked to aren't jerks or anything like that. They just want reliable and dependable and professional but at a beer money price.

Are you playing the numbers game? Meaning, talking to 100 PM's and only working for 10. Or are you working for 50 and relying on a small profit but in quantity?

I really would like to better understand wht I can't seem to close many of these. I think most will say that I am too high.
Click to expand...


Hi Mike

Its somewhat a #'s thing.

As for Inhouse people doing the work on complexes, you can tell the ones that do it in house. I hear from a maintence man they do everything in house I mention to them I can do it better & quicker, but I don't really try to sell hard to them. Either the HOA or the maint. chief is cheap so I dont waste my time to educate them. In time they MIGHT realize they arent doing a good job or they're killing themselves and not doing a good job.

Also if I see a real dirty, moldy complex I dont try real hard to find who the PM is or I don't try to target the real dirty properties at all. I figure if they dont keep a property up, they are cheap also. If these people dont take pride in their own homes , they are probably not going to want to pay, thats why it looks like crap

Now PM's can be very untrusting of contractors, because at least around here many unfortunately most contractors arent reliable at all. As one owner of a PM company I know says " Jeff you are the only vendor I have that I can trust" she told me no one ever shows up and does the job right , This PM company is very large. I'd just figure most would want a good relationship with a PM company of this size, but there a lot of bums I guess

Building trust & a good relationship is what has worked for me. I target PM's all the time and it can take time. I've been calling writing, faxing some companies for 3 years with out ever getting a call back, but just this year I've gotten 2 PM companies to finally call and use us on several large & small projects. Many PM's will start you off on small jobs, say a pool area or clubhouse. I guess they just want to see if you'll show up and do a decent job. But thats your foot in the door

Now with all that said, pricing, getting the jobs & keeping the jobs is a tricky thing at times. I'll try to explain in detail what works for me.

Get ready for a long rambling post LOL

I target every PM company i can find, I check the Yellow Pages, The web and I ask at properties who the PM company is. I make a list with addresses and #'s and I start calling , writing, faxing. In the biginning I was nervous doing cold calls so i would call & ask for a certain PM's voice mail and I'd leave a short message. Just something like " Hello I'm Jeff of JL ---- ------ I'm own local PWing company and I'd like to offer my services. We offer quality work great rates & On time service. Please give us a call, my # is -------- and thank you" I still make voicemail calls all the time, its quick & easy and it gets my name in front of them and IT WORKS


Pricing -
You ask why you arent getting many of these type project? You probably are the higher bidder. If the properties are getting cleaned and you arent doing them someone is! When you bid a job and dont get it do what I do, First I call within 24 hrs of submitting the bid to make sure they got my bid, then I'll tell them thanks and please call us for any other properties they need cleaned. Now if you dont get the job another follow up call you can ask the PM who got it and what was the winning bid price. Then you start to learn what your competition is charging.


TIME OUT smoke break


Mike I'll get back to this later . The babies crying time to go be dad. I like to share my experiences so get ready for a small novel when I get back later

Jeff
 
Pricing your not going to get what you do on a residential house. The key to making good money on condos is to have 2-4 machines running and just go down the line and get it done. One man operation is pretty time consuming for a mid to large complex

I can do a house say for $400 and I'll do a single condo building twice the size for the same $400. But when you can do 3-5 condo buildings a day thats good money. I always try to do them the easiest way possible. 75% that I do are mainly vinyl so its basically spray on rinse off. I'll put one guy on the walkay/breezeways and the rest of the front and another guy on the back & sides

I always use a lift if they are 3 stories or more, you can use extension poles & long range nozzles but you'll probably have to use a ladder sooner or later. But if your doing 5, 10, 20, 30 40 buildings extensions & ladders are a real PITA and you'll just wear your crew out

After labor & material & average biz cost with a crew of 2-3 Im making anywhere from $500 - $1500 a day. $1500 a real good day.

You just have to be careful on pricing competitivly, you want to make sure there no problem areas, like a stucco or a rough sided painted building. You get webs on these surface they can take a long time to get off. I had a job that took me double the time I figured becuase we had a misrable time get spider webs & nest off a stucco & wood building

When I 1st started I went low just to get the work and let them see what great work we do, but I told the PM's I was going low just for those reason

You have to have a crew to make the good money but even a 1 man operation can make good money. Just remember your not going to get residential prices, but hell you dont have to. We have a complex coming up its almost 70 2& 3 story buildings its almost a 27K job and we'll get it done in 15 days or less

If its a rich area we bump our prices up, if each building has a lot of units we bump our prices up. Sometimes they ask for a per unit cost.

Like I said target every PM you can find. We do complexes about 35 weeks a year and sometimes we'll have 2 jobs going at the same time

I know I went to low when I first started out but I just didnt know what other were charging. Now I know better and over time these PM's got to trust our work and now I have many that dont even get other bids if they dont have to. Like I said ask the PM what the winning bid was and you'll get an idea on pricing. Now I've run into some ridiculously low bids and passed on jobs. But if its real low I'll ask the PM to see if they have insurance, I'll tell them if it doesnt work out to call. I have several PM's that went with low bid and then came back to me when the other PW company screwed up or just didnt do a good job

If you in an area like mine with thousands of complexes you just cant go wrong going after this work aggressively


I love condo work its just soooooo easy

Check out gutter cleaning at complexes too, these are my best money makers.


JL
 
jlpressure said:
Pricing your not going to get what you do on a residential house. The key to making good money on condos is to have 2-4 machines running and just go down the line and get it done. One man operation is pretty time consuming for a mid to large complex

I can do a house say for $400 and I'll do a single condo building twice the size for the same $400. But when you can do 3-5 condo buildings a day thats good money. I always try to do them the easiest way possible. 75% that I do are mainly vinyl so its basically spray on rinse off. I'll put one guy on the walkay/breezeways and the rest of the front and another guy on the back & sides

I always use a lift if they are 3 stories or more, you can use extension poles & long range nozzles but you'll probably have to use a ladder sooner or later. But if your doing 5, 10, 20, 30 40 buildings extensions & ladders are a real PITA and you'll just wear your crew out

After labor & material & average biz cost with a crew of 2-3 Im making anywhere from $500 - $1500 a day. $1500 a real good day.

You just have to be careful on pricing competitivly, you want to make sure there no problem areas, like a stucco or a rough sided painted building. You get webs on these surface they can take a long time to get off. I had a job that took me double the time I figured becuase we had a misrable time get spider webs & nest off a stucco & wood building

When I 1st started I went low just to get the work and let them see what great work we do, but I told the PM's I was going low just for those reason

You have to have a crew to make the good money but even a 1 man operation can make good money. Just remember your not going to get residential prices, but hell you dont have to. We have a complex coming up its almost 70 2& 3 story buildings its almost a 27K job and we'll get it done in 15 days or less

If its a rich area we bump our prices up, if each building has a lot of units we bump our prices up. Sometimes they ask for a per unit cost.

Like I said target every PM you can find. We do complexes about 35 weeks a year and sometimes we'll have 2 jobs going at the same time

I know I went to low when I first started out but I just didnt know what other were charging. Now I know better and over time these PM's got to trust our work and now I have many that dont even get other bids if they dont have to. Like I said ask the PM what the winning bid was and you'll get an idea on pricing. Now I've run into some ridiculously low bids and passed on jobs. But if its real low I'll ask the PM to see if they have insurance, I'll tell them if it doesnt work out to call. I have several PM's that went with low bid and then came back to me when the other PW company screwed up or just didnt do a good job

If you in an area like mine with thousands of complexes you just cant go wrong going after this work aggressively


I love condo work its just soooooo easy

Check out gutter cleaning at complexes too, these are my best money makers.


JL
Click to expand...

was going through old post and came across this one from Jeff.
Jeff thanks for sharing.
(I will post here first before I start a new one)
since this is an old post and I assume you even know more NOW!
I realize that you have to find the right price, but what is the best formula to come up with the price?
Price per unit? Lin. ft? sq. ft.? This year we are going to push this market hard and trying to put together a formula that we can plug in numbers so we can estimate on a timely basis.
If any else wants to chime is on this, I think it would help us all out a lot!
 
Al Patterson said:
was going through old post and came across this one from Jeff.
Jeff thanks for sharing.
(I will post here first before I start a new one)
since this is an old post and I assume you even know more NOW!
I realize that you have to find the right price, but what is the best formula to come up with the price?
Price per unit? Lin. ft? sq. ft.? This year we are going to push this market hard and trying to put together a formula that we can plug in numbers so we can estimate on a timely basis.
If any else wants to chime is on this, I think it would help us all out a lot!
Click to expand...


Al there is no set model for pricing. I do not do lin ft or sq ft or anything like that. There can be so many variables. I basically look at it as time & material

There's 2 different styles when you are talking condo work Townhomes & condos. Townhomes are the one, one & a half to two story longer buildings with units side by side. Condos are the 2, 3, 4, 5 story buildings with units over units. say 4 units 1st floor, 4 units each floor above.

Townhome buildings we give a per unit price meaning. if there a building with 6 units and there 10 buildings thats 60 units X $xx.xx = TOTAL of all 60 units

Now condos I usually give a building price say 10 buildings X $xxx.xx per building. It may not be easy for a newer guy to bid on time & material just becauuse they may just not be able to figure out the time it takes but lin ft a sq ft I have seen guys bid real high and never get a job. Al if you want to give me a call sometimes I can bable about this stuff with you. There's a lot of little do' & don'ts on bidding these that some don't know. Pricing is different in many areas but if you know what to look at and think about it helps. Call anytime other than today I am real busy with work & sick kids
 
jlpressure said:
Just wondering who if any of you all out here work for property management companies on a regular basis

I work for several local PM companies and have since 2004 and I target others all the time. Most of my work is condo complexes.
Well its that time of the year for the PM's to set up budgets for 07. I am getting slammed with calls to give them rates for cleaning buildings, sidewalks, garages gutters. I've been looking at at least 5-7 goodsized properties every week for the last month or so. Most I will be doing in 07

Who else does this kind of work????


If you live in an area that has condo complexes I suggest you target them, they are worth it




Myrtle beach is one of the condo capitals what other areas has a ton of condo complexes??


JL
Click to expand...

Most of our work is handled by a P/M company, so i would say that is 75% of our client's.
 
DJ Carroll said:
Never read this before . . .great post jeff
Click to expand...


Hey DJ your avitar keeps changing, it's almost like watching you grow up before my eye's...:D
 
Hey Jeff, you can still price these types of jobs by using a linear foot measurement. Just average it out with your time and material method and then when you work faster your making better money. $1,500 a day running two or three crews is good but you can do better than that if your using higher volume equipment, good soap and a faster routine down. We did a 35,000 complex a few months ago in 5 days. Most of the buildings I do we knock out in 2-3 days.
 
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