A former AFL footballer who fell into a real estate career has spoken about the strategy that grew his rent roll from 120 properties to nearly 1,000 in just a few years.
When it came to scaling his business, H & B Real Estate director Tim Harris used a less conventional approach, focusing on his property management division rather than sales.
In a recent episode of The Property Management Excellence (PMX) Podcast, Harris shared his scaling tactics, including embracing a unique business perspective rather than a sales lens, focusing on investors’ needs, and not restricting himself to a single location.
Harris, who started in real estate at 33, said his performance-driven mindset, shaped by his Australian Football League (AFL) background, helped him grow the business, increasing his rent roll from 120 properties to just shy of 1,000 in five years.
He said that in the first six years of his business, setting a foundation was critical, and he devised a strategy with his business partner, who led the property management division.
While his business partner wasn’t a salesperson and didn’t fit the traditional mould for the industry, Harris said he brought a unique businessperson perspective to the role.
“What he brought was very much a desire to grow through acquisition, but also through systems and technology and efficiency. I think those things are the key to any business as we want to be successful,” he said.
According to Harris, focusing on the property management side of the business and the foundational income it generated, rather than sales, was the most beneficial starting point.
He said hiring salespeople was initially too laborious, given that many agents he trained weren’t fully committed, and he decided to focus on building his long-term landlord clientele to have a solid income stream.
Harris also said another tactic that benefited him early on was having a rent roll that was not limited to specific locations, allowing him to manage a broader area.
“My original organic list was grown without a territory focus. Just because one vendor was one suburb away, I couldn’t turn around and say, oh, you’re too far to travel. I had to take what I could get.”
Additionally, Harris said a deep understanding of investors’ needs and a drive to build a long-term, mutual relationship had been pivotal to scaling his property management division.
He said businesses needed to be aware of their vested interests when dealing with clients, ensuring any expectation of financial gain from the relationship didn’t cloud their interactions.
“Because that’s then lost on the client, and the client suffers. The best thing is to say, I want to focus on what I can be sure is mutually beneficial for both of us.”
He said while property managers had a duty to ensure tenants had a good experience, they needed to fulfil their responsibilities to landlords as their clients by ensuring all rules and regulations were followed.
“I don’t want any tenants to have a bad experience, but I also can’t pander to them, and I can’t give tenants below value, rents or favours,” he said.
“It’s up to us to provide the service that we’re paid to do to our landlord, and that’s to get their market value rent. And we must stay focused on that at all times,” he concluded.
Listen to the full episode here: From the AFL to 1,000 properties: How Tim Harris broke every rule in property management
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