Beyond the Lease

Episode 1 OurPetPolicy
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Alex: [00:00:00] The current state of animal management within the space. The biggest one I think right now is they're moving away from no pet policies and then that can be lost revenue. It seems like efficiency is becoming like the forefront of property management in tech. The world has really learned about AI and seen it in our state.

Alex: Welcome to The Beyond the Lease podcast. I am Alex. And I'm Marvin. We are your host today. We are super excited to launch this podcast for you guys, you property managers out there, really just kind of hearing what market trends are, what we can help you guys with, how we have seen ways to help your businesses, Marvin.

Marven: Yeah, and I think this is gonna be a really cool opportunity for us to kind of dive in this first episode. We're from the company, our pet policy. Really what our company is known to do is just handle all things animal related for. Anybody within the property management space, multifamily, single family, this is where we've cut our teeth for the last few years.

Marven: And so [00:01:00] Alex and I saw it to be a value for us to be able to talk about how things look like today. We want to go over just the current state of animal management within the space, some different trends and things that we've been able to see in 2025 and kind of start the the conversation. And so Alex is our account executive at the company.

Marven: He kind of is the one that is heading up everything to do with the sales side of things, but would love to kind of open up that conversation with you, Alex, and see. What are you seeing right now with, with some conversations you're having with property managers when it comes to animals in the space?

Alex: There's a couple of things I see, 'cause I'm having conversations all the time. One being about the parakeet that curses at people who are walking down the street. But the biggest one I think right now is how companies management, they're, they're moving away from no pet policies. Yeah, that's what I'm really seeing in the space.

Alex: I just had a conversation today. They're like, we are no pets. We are trying to fix that. Owners don't want that. And we're really trying to figure out a way how to have those conversations with [00:02:00] owners of how they are limiting themselves in the market. I mean, it's like 60 to 70% of residents currently have pets.

Alex: Yeah. And then that can be lost revenue, both for management as well as the owners. So just helping those conversations. And then I think that's where we really add value is. Hey, we can take this on. Yeah, this isn't an extra job for you. This is us doing the job for you. And then you can reap the rewards through the revenue as well as being able to lease up units easier.

Marven: That's awesome. Yeah, I think. I think this is something that just transitions nicely into this topic of how, how are we really adding value in the sense of what are we doing at our company to, to add that revenue value that, that companies are switching over to us or utilizing us to really make that impact.

Marven: I know the animal management side of things is huge. Getting rid of the swearing, parakeet at night or Yeah. Mitigating a dog bite. Like that's a huge deal. Um. From the, from the owner side or from the property management side. What do you think we are doing and what are you seeing on your end with your customers that we've been able to [00:03:00] add value in when it comes to revenue?

Marven: You're talking about people who don't have pets or trying to make that switch over. What's that value financial look like? Well, I

Alex: think like a big one is there is a been a huge rise since COVID on assistance animal requests. It's been huge and. For good or for bad. There's been these advertisements, advertising how to avoid paying pet fees and pet rent, and property managers don't really wanna touch that.

Alex: Yeah. At this point they're just kind of like, yeah, we just kind of accept it. We'll ask maybe like one question, but. Like, I've heard stories of people who literally got personally fined $60,000. The company didn't get fined. They got fucked.

Alex: Yeah.

Alex: 60 grand. And they, they got out of it fortunately, but they're just like, we don't wanna touch this.

Alex: I had a call literally yesterday. They said they're making it on the particular title of this person. They're the ones who are supposed to decide whether it's reliable documentation or not. It's a stressful role. So that's a stressful role. So we're taking that off their plate. Yeah. And [00:04:00] then dude, like the ancillary services, we provide the animal management support.

Alex: So let's say just, I'm trying to sleep at night. It's 10 o'clock at night and there's a cursing cock tool next to me. Yep. I mean, they don't want to deal with that. So they contact us. We're the point of contact. We take that word off their, their workload off their plate. So there's just so much there that we can provide as a service.

Alex: Yeah,

Marven: that's awesome. Well, we, we've been talking about the, the swearing parakeet. Do you have any other stories that have been kind of current that you've heard off recently of animals and par property management? Animals and property management?

Alex: No. I could think of a couple, like where a guy shot himself in the shoulder with a crossbow.

Alex: That was pretty cool. How'd that go on? Well, he was doing things he probably shouldn't have been doing for got he booby trapped his apartment, opened the door shut himself with a cross bow on the shoulder. And then you wanted to see the property. I guess it was their fault for Booby Trapp in the apartment.

Alex: I'm not sure, but

Marven: it's just a regular Monday for property manager. Exactly.

Alex: Marvin, what do you like about this space?

Marven: Yeah, no, I think this has been my first full [00:05:00] year in the space of property management and coming around this first full year. I think the number one thing that I've loved is just the community.

Marven: May it be the brokers and the owner side of things, the single family space, or just the regional property managers for. Huge multi-family companies. It seems like everybody in the space is, is trying to be the most efficient as possible and, and kind of wants everybody to feel involved and everybody to feel comfortable and trying to find the newest thing to be able to stay in front of the gun.

Marven: And I don't know. I think it's been really exciting to be. In a space that's growing with tech, growing with efficiency, and to be able to kind of add a, a true solution to an issue rather than be a part of a company or a sales process that might lead to something that that may add bene, so might add benefit.

Marven: Right. I think when it comes to animals, everybody struggles with it, especially in the property management space. Every single show I go to. This is a number one point of conversation of how do we actually resolve the issue rather than, rather than just add a, a temporary solution or put a bandaid on a, on a huge leak in the system.

Marven: So I really love what we do at our [00:06:00] company, not only being able to find out if documentation is considered reliable or not, um, but like Alex was touching on. Being able to have somebody to reach out to when you have questions about animals, um, is huge. And this is a, this has been something for our company that I think has been adding so much benefit is not only are we here to verify documentation or make sure that your applicants have all of their rabies and documents and things like that.

Marven: I think it's, it's a matter of knowing that your staff and your team has somebody that they can reach out to at any point to be able to get answers on questions when it comes to animals so you're not just. Having somebody work with you to handle these things that you guys are out working on.

Marven: Everything else that property managers have to work on, the million things that they have to do, but just being able to be a resource. I love going to trade shows and people coming up with questions of, okay, HUD guidelines says that I can't ask anything. I have to accept everything. And knowing that no, there's actually methods and ways that you guys can.

Marven: Follow up with, with health professionals and we can follow up with documentation to make sure that [00:07:00] you guys are given reliable documentation and in this space. I think that's been my favorite thing, is just being a resource of, of education for property managers and hopefully that grows as I, this is another topic that I wanted to kind of cover.

Marven: What do you think in this space right now when it comes to changing laws, coming state to state, how. How do you see that impacting just the common renter? May it be with an animal that's common with our space and what we're keeping up with. Do you have any opinions or any thoughts on just kind of the ever-changing tide when it comes to animals within property management and rentals?

Marven: It seems like we keep up to date on laws, like for the state of. Uh, California, where now an ESA or emotional support animal has to come from, uh, a health professional who's had a 30 day working relationship with a resident. Yeah. But then on the flip side, it seems like every single property management company is now required to allow an animal on the unit.

Marven: PET policies are being kind of pushed to the side for the sake of letting people into rentals, you know? Yeah. Do you have

Alex: some thoughts on that side of things? Well, I just [00:08:00] had a call with a guy this morning and he said in his state, they. It's a bill right now that they're trying to just make it statewide that you have to allow people to have one dog.

Alex: I don't know why it was dog. It was specified that way, but you have to allow any resident, the ability to have one dog. Yeah. So with that, I mean that comes, uh. A rabbit hole of other things that can happen. He is like, he's, he said in his own words, we're kind of a reactive company around here. Yep. And we have dog bites.

Alex: Okay. Can we find the rabies? Well, we think it might be in a file cabinet in the closet, but essentially our database and having that documentation there, because it does seem like there are a few states that are going that way where it's like it, it doesn't really matter what your pet policy is. Right.

Alex: They're gonna want. You're gonna have to allow it in some capacity, whatever that is. So that's kind of what I'm seeing in the space. [00:09:00] There are certain states that are like, they've kind of gone a little crazy where it's like, well, you can have a hundred pets in one unit. That's a little strange. But they are at least going to the point of like, no, this is like becoming a family member and it doesn't really matter if you're no pets anymore.

Alex: That's kind of how it's gonna be.

Marven: Right. And I think that's where our company has come into the space. It's a, it's a double-edged sword. I think it's hard when, when property managers are kind of held to this point where they have to do things right. It, it kind of puts a struggle that if you're not prepared, you feel like you have to get prepared really fast.

Marven: This is another value I think that I've seen out of our company that we've been able to offer to. Even people that aren't even our customers, just people asking us questions about animals is building out an animal addendum and, and how do I accept some animals? How do I learn how to require different types of insurance per breed of animal?

Marven: I think this is a, sometimes this could be the hiccup that a lot of property managers run into. Especially if you're a smaller property manager under a coup, under a thousand doors, right? You're [00:10:00] handling all this yourself, and I think that could be such a stress, an added stress, when these states are saying that you have no choice anymore.

Marven: You gotta add a pet, you gotta allow a pet, you can't say anything about it, and you can't say no. Like how do you, even at that point, how do you even approach this big topic that could be animals in your experience when you're on these calls with smaller property management companies. What do you think has been just the biggest point of contention for them when they are building?

Marven: When they are transitioning from, we've never allowed pets before, but we know that we're missing out on a ton of the market, so we need help building that out. What do, what have you said or what has been a value or a point that you've been able to add to kind of help them start that process of adding animals?

Alex: Yeah, I mean, I, I first off, tell them the revenue that's being missed and there's a couple ways you could do that. Keep the pet fees. The owner keeps the rent. Yesterday I was talking to somebody, they were keeping both the fees and the rent. Yeah. Pet, pet fees and pet rent. So then there's [00:11:00] something called a pet guarantee that is dependent on state by state.

Alex: Yeah. And it depends on how you phrase that language, but there is a pet guarantee where essentially you charge an upfront deposit and then if the damage exceeds that, you keep that money. And so that is an additional source of revenue. Yeah. But then on the other side, I mean. Oh my gosh. Look at, look at what happens.

Alex: These people, these property managers tell us like, if we fund unauthorized animal, we backdate. Yeah. What they're gonna charge them. So if they've been in the unit eight months, it's pretty hefty. They're gonna get charged that. So, and that is an additional source of revenue. So it's a super cool business.

Alex: I just love the people in it. Yeah. What I have found is it is really still a business that, like a husband and wife could do. Yeah, they could start from zero doors, turn into a thousand doors. I just had a call last week with a guy, he was with a corporate company for 20 plus years. It was during COV. They said, you're gonna have to move.

Alex: He said, no. And I mean, he started his own property management [00:12:00] company. It's able to pay his bills and he was able to replace a corporate job from that. So it's, it's just a super cool business. I love what you can do with it. You could scale it as how, however much you want, if you just want it small, if you want it large.

Alex: Yep. But yeah, on the animal revenue side. For pets. There is a lot still, I think, untapped there. Yeah. Which is where we come in.

Marven: Yeah. So another question as we're starting this out, I think there's a million vendors within the space. Sure. My gosh. There's a million different tech companies that. Obviously, it seems like

Alex: there's one popping up every day.

Alex: Yeah. It

Marven: inspired us to be able to take the step into this area and of, of podcasting and things like that. What, what excites you about the future of property management and what do you want to get out of and forward facing and looking forward for just even this podcast? Yeah. What would you like it to look like and who, what do you wanna learn more about in the, in this space?

Marven: I, I

Alex: wanna learn about the technology that's coming out, like the world. I feel like for the last year. Has really learned about AI and seen it in our space. Yep. I I, it's kind of cool to [00:13:00] see and see the emergence and we are still in kind of a rusty business Yep. Where property managers have been around a long time and they, some are very, very open to, I know this, I need to be more efficient.

Alex: I know this isn't working. I need to better process for this. And then some are just like, I don't want one more tech product on my tech stack, but to see where AI comes in. And seeing how that could make whatever more efficient, whether it's leasing, whether it's maintenance. Yep. Whether it's pet animal management that I'm really excited about.

Alex: And then I'm really excited to see some of the new PMSs that are coming out, because some pmms is, man, it feels like they were built in the eighties. Yeah. And I'm seeing new PMSs come out where it looks like, wow, this was actually tailored. 4:00 PM Yeah. And it was built for them. So Yeah.

Marven: It seems like efficiency is becoming like the forefront of, of Yeah.

Marven: Property management and tech. Yep. And I, I love that we're in the space where we are today is [00:14:00] we want to every, it seems like everybody is wanting to maximize efficiency, however that looks like. And it seems like. What was the biggest technology of yesterday is running the race against these smaller companies that are growing quickly, um, because of technology that they're innovating with.

Marven: And I think this is just a. Booming space of innovation. Yep. And it's super exciting to just be in the space and be able, being able to connect with other like-minded individuals who are coming from just huge companies. We got the, the opportunity to meet a guy who's starting up, a company who used to work with for Uber, you know?

Marven: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It, it, it seems like you're just butting heads with a lot of just super innovative people and in that property management is ripe for companies to come in and build efficient processes. So what do you see

Alex: different? I mean, this is a very generalized question, but what do you see different in a single family space versus multi?

Alex: Like, is there a difference in your mind? Yeah, I,

Marven: I, a hundred percent I think, I think you, you come to two points, I think. I think both a [00:15:00] single family property manager and a multifamily property manager, if you call them, they're gonna tell you they're busy. And that's probably the first thing that is the, is the middle of the Venn diagram.

Marven: But I think for single family, what I find a lot of the times is we're here as more of, um. As an educator for a lot of things, a lot of the times you run into multifamily who, who have been familiar with the space for a really long time, and it's their job to know about, for us at least, animal management and what avenue and what rules they're allowed to ask.

Marven: A lot of the times we're hopping on these calls with single family operators and it's more or less a q and a for a lot of the points. Yeah. What am I allowed to ask? What am I allowed to charge for? What breeds am I allowed to allow and what breeds can I not allow? Is that legal in my state? Yeah. So we're more of that, I think, informational value for the single family space.

Marven: But sometimes you run into single family operators that are, because they are running everything from leasing, maintenance Yeah. And rules, applications, et cetera. They are a well of knowledge when it comes to animal [00:16:00] management. So there, there is both. And, but I think what's super cool is the single family operator, like Alex said, could be, could be have, could have a day job.

Marven: Yeah, they could be working in the office from nine to five, and then they have 30 doors that they're, they're managing and, and, and trying to keep up with and trying to keep leased. And so you get to learn a lot about how gritty and hard work, how hardworking property managers really are. They are. In charge of so many facets of business.

Marven: Yeah. Where you, the single family operator is in charge of finances, in charge of maintenance coordination. And um, again, may it be animal management. And I think a lot of the times with single family operators, it's, we come in and we're like, Hey, let's give you a breath of fresh air and, and give you the opportunity to take a breath and not deal with the 10:00 PM calls from a dog barking.

Marven: Right. The multifamily operator. Has been awesome for us. I think just because it's, it's the other way around. Sometimes it's a well of knowledge for us, we get to learn. That's [00:17:00] true. So much about the business and the way that property management works. We have the opportunity to go visit an office last week who works in the franchising side of things.

Marven: We got to see firsthand how much goes into Yeah, helping build property management companies within the space and how to set yourself apart from competition. And it, it isn't just pricing, it isn't just what your business can offer. It's are you willing to partner. With other people in the space to help grow the company.

Marven: It's not just a sign here and pay me this amount every single month and we'll help you work. It's what? What resources, what education, what can we provide our clientele so that they're succeeding and they're setting themselves apart from other property managers in the space. There's thousands. How many, how many property managers are there in the us?

Marven: Oh. Geez, I think it's over 300,000. Yeah. It, it's a crazy amount. So there's, there's a million places that anyone can go to to rent a house. Yeah. And I think when, when [00:18:00] you think of the space, I've rented multiple apartments and houses over the years, I think. It's crazy that it's just for the matter of living in a space.

Marven: Yeah. When I'm, when I now think back of when I flooded my apartment and somebody had to change out the com, all the flooring, how much work actually had to go into that process is insane. As a renter and as as a tenant, you just expect it to be done. Yeah. And so I think that's the crazy side of, of rental and, and, and, and property management just in general.

Marven: But how about you? Single family, multifamily, what's the biggest differences you see?

Alex: Man, I, I feel like there's so much activity in the single family space in terms of just new technology, new vendors. I feel like there's so much going on in the single family space. Yeah. I feel like I, I definitely feel like the industry has been a hit hard with new products, and I feel like sometimes they're almost exhausted by it.

Alex: And so the, the separation of like. What is the actual value [00:19:00] you're creating and how do you separate yourselves from, I don't know, like what is it, down payment assistance Sure. And things like that. Sure. Like how are you separating yourselves and adding value? But what I do see too is a lot of companies are moving towards how do I add better value to my residents and keep them happy, because the happier they are, the longer they stay.

Alex: Yep. And so the less time that a unit's on market. Yep. So what I am seeing in that is like. How do I, how do I retain residents more because then my owners will be happy. So that's, that's been pretty cool to see as well. Yeah. And then the multifamily side, I would say it's just what you said, like there's been people in that industry for so long.

Alex: I would say there's more likeliness to have an incident. Multifamily just from the sheer volume. Yeah. I sw like, feel like we always hear dog bites. Yeah. In an apartment. Yeah. There's always a lawsuit filed about a dog bite at an apartment, but there is a total wealth of knowledge in the multifamily space that I get from.

Marven: Yeah. I think, I think that's, it was [00:20:00] something you were seeing just in the, in the, in the masses is a lot of. Risk mitigation, maybe that's may, we've seen companies rise up for handling all things evictions, so the property management company doesn't have to come in. Companies like ourselves to handle, handle things like animal complaints.

Marven: So your staff does not say the wrong thing. I, I wanted to ask you for the, for the single family property manager, for the multi-family property manager, just anybody in the space who could be listening to this. You talked about resident like satisfaction being a huge part of, of these vendors and working with a vendor.

Marven: What's that value for our pet policy? We're a company in the space that in a lot of ways we we're known for enforcing rules. Yeah. We're known for making sure that documentation's up to date and pretty much being like a. PMS for all things animals. For all the animals, correct. Yeah. Um, how could that you, do you see this as being something that a resident would push back on utilizing a company like ours?

Marven: Or do you see it [00:21:00] as almost like a vetting service for some property management companies that the right resident with? A responsible animals moving in, kind of, how do you, how do you picture that for us, because I think that can sometimes be a misconception is, well, I don't want my residents to be mad at me for asking them about information for their animal.

Marven: Is this something that you see as an issue within our space in our company or something that actually has been a value add in the long run for, for a company to, to keep track of all things animal related, if that makes sense?

Alex: Yeah. I mean, a lot of residents, just what I said, will act like their dog is their second child.

Alex: Yeah. And this is a part of their family. That's great. We're not here to like question that. That's awesome. I'm glad you have that. But we are here to pretty much vet whether documentation, whether that their rabies, their parvo is up to date and current. Yep. We are there to vet for that. And that is a workload that gets taken off the pm [00:22:00] I mean, I, I personally, if I were a property manager, wouldn't wanna have a phone call for an hour about someone's chihuahua.

Alex: Yeah. I just personally think I have better things to do. The guy who fell down the stairs Sure. Or the work order or the dishwasher that just exploded. I think I have better things to do with my time than listening to somebody complain about why they can't have their chihuahua on site. Yeah. So I do think that's the value, but we are, we're, we're not here to play I gotcha.

Alex: With the resident. We're just here to explain to them about their application. Yep. And then where it is in the process. They're more than welcome to provide the documentations that needed to have that pet in the unit. Yep. But I, I believe that's the value we're adding right there. Yeah,

Marven: I, I agree. I think this is sometimes the missed value is, I think everything is always focused, in my opinion, on the resident experience.

Marven: Which is huge. I, I will, don't get me wrong, I think it's super important we pride ourselves on being able to offer customer service that is respectful to the, the resident and offering education to them about topics that they, they may not [00:23:00] not understand within the rental space. But another thing that I think is super huge that so many vendors miss out on in the space is staff experience.

Marven: Yeah. I think what our company is here to do. Is, like we said, it seems like every time I call a property manager, may it be at a managing 80,000 doors or 150 doors. The answer is I am just trying to keep my head above water. Yeah, absolutely. I'm just trying to keep my head above water and, and that's what I, I so much so I love about our company is we have customers come up to us.

Marven: At trade shows, at dinners, at NPA events, things like that, that are able to tell us how much work we've been able to take off of their shoulders so that they can focus on things Yeah. That they really need rather than a dog com, a dog complaint or something like that. So I just wanted to kind of say that I think that's a huge part of our company is just, is just being able to be a, a benefit to the staff and the resident.

Marven: Um, basically offering support to them too. [00:24:00]

Alex: Alright. What is your funniest PM story? Funniest PM story. What you got Blackmail? Yeah. What? What you got? We'll

Marven: keep it pg. Okay. Pg. Yeah. We'll keep it pg on this one. I think we've had multiple occasions where, oh, this was a good one. A resident got mad at, at the property manager for something.

Marven: I, I, a hundred percent was not the property manager's fault. Had a everything to do with the resident being laid all about something. Okay. And they threw paint on the, on the property manager's car as they were leaving work that day. And that's not a funny story. I'm just saying that is only in property management.

Marven: Is your customer's response or just your daily workload include the risk of a gallon, five gallon bucket of paint being thrown onto your car. Got it. Yeah. And I, I just have never been in a space. Anywhere in the country, I don't care what job you work, where a part of your workload could be the risk of a stranger [00:25:00] throwing paint on your car because of they missed their rent or something like that.

Marven: Oh, wow. Good one. Yeah. But thank you guys so much for tuning on to the first episode of Beyond the Lease. We're excited to just get into this space, open up conversation for everyone and bring some guests along the way to add value to your day. So thank you guys for tuning in. Please like, subscribe. Yep.

Marven: We wanna hear from you guys. Yeah, we look forward to seeing you guys soon.