TEN Takeaways from Michael Mintz, Founder and CEO of MD Squared Property Group
ICYMI: HILO’s David Abrams hosted Michael Mintz, Founder and CEO of MD Squared Property Group, to chat about building tenant relationships to improve engagement. Here are some of our takeaways:
Find ways to do things better
When Michael reflected on his past working in property management, he recalls being inquisitive about trying to find ways to do things better. He shares “For example, David Kuperberg and his personal portfolio. We did a lot of work to try to increase rent in that portfolio to try to improve the tenant experience in that portfolio, improve efficiency with repairs and work orders, and things like that, so that things work better.”
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New York is unique
Michael’s business has been in New York City for a long time, and he tells David “one of the unique things about New York City with multifamily property management is there are some really unique rent regulations in place that have very nuanced laws. And it is, I’d say, a challenge to fully understand how to work within the framework of those laws. Oftentimes you’re working hand in hand with attorneys who are kind of guiding you on that, but obviously the more knowledgeable you are the more you learn, the more you experience, the more fluent you are in that, in navigating those laws and navigating that space.”
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Hard work is huge
When David asked Michael about what affected his success, Michael shared that hard work was huge for him: “But I would put the time in and do what I needed to do and keep the clients happy, and make sure I was doing a good job for them. So for me, it was an amazing learning experience but hard work was definitely a huge portion of it.” Sometimes those late nights are worth it to have the best outcome for your clients!
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Surround yourself with the right people
Michael and David agree when it comes to surrounding themselves with people who can help them grow. Michael tells David “you have to be willing to put your work in, but at the same time, if you’re surrounding yourself with the right people and they see that you’re working hard, they see that you get it, and they see that your mindset is aligned with theirs, oftentimes they’re willing to step in and help you. It’s amazing how generally generous people are with their time, with their relationships, with their willingness to help you.”
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Build relationships
Along with his reflections on working hard and putting in long hours early on in his career, Michael also has this to say about the power of relationships: “I would strongly encourage anyone who is starting off in any industry to figure out where their interests are in the industry world, whether it’s philanthropic, whether it’s just general industry organizations. Get involved, network, meet people, those relationships really drive so much of our success. And so I would strongly encourage everyone to just build relationships.”
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Tenant Experience doesn’t have to cost big bucks
Even though David shared this takeaway, Michael suggested a few low-cost things his organization does to welcome new tenants: “We try to give welcome packages to new people who move into the building, right? Give a couple of MD Squared giveaways, give some neighborhood gift cards. When they move into an apartment you give them some toilet paper, you give them a toothbrush, things that they might forget on that first night. Just give them some things to show, hey we’re here, we care, we’re thinking of you. And it just makes a huge difference. And so small touches that give people that human experience that they really appreciate.”
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Create relationships to build commitment
The intangibles that speak to Tenant Experience (beyond the helpful items Michael shared earlier) are important to creating relationships between residents. “When you create community gatherings, when you do breakfast in the buildings, when you do sort of get together once a month or whatever in the building, you create more relationships between the residents also, it’s not just between management, right? So when you create relationships between residents which is similar to what I believe WeWork had done, it keeps people committed. People will stay longer. People will renew more often, ’cause they don’t want to leave their friends. They feel comfortable. They feel part of a community.”
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Commercial Real Estate is a people business
David asks all of our guests on TEN what they would do with an additional $100k in budget, and Michael shares that he would spend the money on people. “The pandemic has created (at least in the US) a really weird environment where your workforce has really diminished…I would say if I had extra money right now I would probably want to put it into hiring good people. At the end of the day, I could put as much technology into this business that I want that could create more efficiencies to create better margins for me, but it’s still a people business, right?”
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Don’t sleep on Miami
“Miami has had a real surge. And I think Miami, interestingly, I think has probably passed the tipping point where for college grads it’s going to be one of the top cities on people’s lists. So I think that’s a unique one that really has just gotten such a huge volume over COVID that now it’s going to be a top city for people…because the companies have relocated there you have a massive number of people that are down there. And I think with that combination, it’s going to make it that now it has the infrastructure to attract the young talent also in mass. So it’s going to be competitive with LA, with New York, with Chicago, and previously Miami was kind of on the fringe of that.”
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Tenant Experience is where you’re adding value
Looking back on the amenity race pre-COVID, Michael shares that Tenant Experience was really important. “Obviously location is still key to any real estate but tenant experience is where you’re really adding value, right? It’s become not just renovations, it’s become the value-add that you kind of include with [it]…but truthfully I think amenities in the space are probably going to be less important. I think it’s going to be more about experiences and relationships, and the people that you’re ultimately working with.” We couldn’t agree more!”
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We would like to thank Michael Mintz for joining us on the TEN podcast and for sharing his journey, from early beginnings as a property manager, to now leading his team at MD Squared. If you’d like to hear more of Michael’s interview, click here. Stay tuned for more episodes and takeaways from leading professionals and industry experts who all have something to say about tenant experience in the built world, and the impact that technology is having on the largest asset class in the world, commercial real estate. Until then, wishing you all continued success in building community where you work or live.Stay tuned for more episodes and takeaways from leading professionals and industry experts who all have something to say about experience in the built world, and the impact that technology is having on the largest asset class in the world, commercial real estate. Until then, wishing you all continued success in building community where you work or live.
