The owner reached out in early August. Their previous manager had quietly stopped returning calls, the lake-side unit's tenant was threatening to move out, and the upstairs unit's lease was up in six weeks. Three states away, with peak season closing in, they needed a manager who could actually be on the ground that week.
We did a property walk the next day.
What we found
A solid 1980s lakefront duplex on a quiet side street — cedar siding, original windows, a deck that needed work but wasn't unsafe. The downstairs tenant was a long-term renter who'd been patient but was now openly frustrated by months of unanswered maintenance requests. The upstairs unit was tidy but its lease was about to lapse with no plan in place.
The bones were good. The relationships were what needed work.
What we did
Week one. We replaced the missing kitchen faucet the downstairs tenant had been asking about since June, fixed a slow toilet, and walked through every maintenance ticket from the previous twelve months. The tenant agreed to renew on the spot.
Week two. We rebuilt the listing for the upstairs unit — new photos, accurate copy, a fair-market rent — and posted it the day the existing lease ended. We had three qualified applicants inside seventy-two hours.
Week three. Tenant placed, lease signed, deposit collected. Owner's DoorLoop dashboard set up, vendor list rebuilt, seasonal inspection scheduled before the first freeze.
Where it landed
Both units occupied, both leases stable through next summer, and an owner who actually knows what's happening with their property. Maintenance is on a schedule instead of an emergency cycle, and Brandon walks the property every quarter.