Summary of Courses
Crown offers a wide variety of training opportunities for real estate investors, licensed agents, and professional property managers that can be presented in the Lunch-and-Learn format or one-to-six hour workshops (with or without continuing education credit), as well as provide speakers for local and national real estate conferences.
Some of the workshops listed below are specifically designed for 3 hr Georgia CE classes, some for small study groups while others fit the designation course requirements for the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM). Crown also developed specific workshops to fit the specific needs of the student/member group or association.
Several workshops were developed jointly with the law firm of Gilroy Bailey Trumble LLC (specialists in real estate litigation) and are often taught, in part, by one of their attorneys.
Six 3 HR Property Management Workshops SERIES
(These 6 workshops are often done over three weeks, with an am and pm class on the same day … like three Wednesdays in a row).
A workshop for sales brokers (and their agents) who are moving into the business of renting/leasing properties. This is NOT a property management class.
Sales agents too often think “If I know how to list a million dollar home, and generate a $50,000 commission, I guess I can lease a $1,200 rental property without much study … YES?” This may seem a reasonable conclusion but this class will show you It’s Not. You’ll be shocked at what didn’t know about the leasing process and maybe rethink whether or not you want your agents doing leasing. Every broker, letting their agents do leasing, and every agent doing leasing, needs this class.
This course starts with an overview of the 10 processes of property management starting with marketing to owners, and ending with owner terminations. Basically the entire process of listing, leasing and property managing (first hour). The second hour is spent just on signing up new owners. The last hour is dedicated to setting up the tenant properly starting with processing applications to scheduling and completing the move-in inspection.
Workshops 102 and 202 are sister workshops and are often taught on the same day, back to back. They cover the entire 10 processes of property management and are ‘down-in-the-weeds’ workshops with lots of details.
Here we examine ‘the building blocks of property management.’ Every management company must establish a Scope of Service. a Model, their Management Style, build a Tenant Handbook, an Owner's Handbook and define your company's Job Description. If you want to build a smooth running management company you must start with these critical building blocks.
To say “property management is full of conflict and often litigious” would be the understatement of the century. To avoid lawsuits you need to know where they most often come from and prepare yourself to deflect them before they become a full-blown lawsuit. We’ll address foreclosures’ HOA battles’ move-out inspection disputes, mold claims, wrongful dispossessed, personal property disputes, constructive eviction, “They trashed my house and I blame you”, disbursing to the wrong owner, rodents and more. This is about managing high-risk issues for property managers and preventing lawsuits. This class is a joint venture with the law firm of Gilroy Bailey Trumble LLC and is often taught in part by one of their attorneys.
301 and 302 are often taught back to back on the same day. They garner the biggest crowds and best reviews.
In this class we learn how to ‘turn a nickel-dime businesses into a money machine’ by generate revenue from residents, owners, and vendors without losing anyone. We’ll address the contractual issues, policy issues, and challenge of implementation of new fees and charges. We’ll address the ethical issues of who you disclose to, what you disclose, and when to disclose fees and charges. This class is all about making property management profitable.
301 and 302 are often taught back to back on the same day. They garner the biggest crowds and best reviews.
More 3 HR Workshops
Why develop a management business? Learn how to set up a management company from scratch; licenses needed to be a property manager; how to put together the right team for your management business/department; address liability issues of property management and how to minimize them; education and credentials you can acquire for Property Managers; and the state, federal and local laws that regulate the property management business. This is about “setting it up right” so you are successful with property management.
This is a detailed study of the terms and stipulations brokers should have in their residential management agreement (and periphery documents) to protect themselves (and their clients) from the risks of managing rental property. We'll review case studies that challenge the management document and force brokers to pay close attention to the legal issues. This is a nuts and bolts down-in-the-weeds workshop. This class is a joint venture with the law firm of Gilroy Bailey Trumble LLC and is often taught in part by one of their attorneys.
This is a detailed study of the language brokers need in their rental agreement (and periphery documents) to protect themselves from the many risks that inevitably come with managing rental property. Tenants are not a protected class, but they are a favored class in the courtroom, and managers need language that protects them from the many claims tenants will make against them. We'll examine 32 stipulations in a good lease that have been developed and tweaked over 35 years of hands on property management to give the student a deep understanding of what language should be in a residential rental agreement. Learn from our many mistakes with over 10,000 tenants and protect yourself from making those same mistakes.
This class is a joint venture with the law firm of Gilroy Bailey Trumble LLC and is often taught in part by one of their attorneys.
Any of these workshops can be trimmed down to accommodate conference breakout sessions, luncheon presentations or study groups.
This course familiarizes the student with the basic understanding of why buyers and sellers should consider a lease purchase and why property owners should look for lease purchase opportunities. The student will leave with a comprehensive overview of the issues involved with a lease purchase, an outline of how lease purchases should be structured, what issues to negotiate and how to get them closed. We’ve done over 500 and can show students how to avoid the most common mistakes and Get Them Closed
After structuring over 500 lease purchases over 20 years we have a model that generates lots of home purchases for buyers, tons of happy sellers and buckets full of commissions for agents. You'll work through negotiating the sale, structuring documents, managing the tenant, completing credit repair and getting it closed. We'll do case studies and review actual closing statements for successful transactions. We'll examine the strategies that work and the ones that have failed so you'll know exactly how to do it successfully the first time.
In the litigious world we live in owners of real estate have become increasingly susceptible to frivolous lawsuits. With the county deed records now available on the Internet, angry tenants, nosey neighbors, snoopy in-law, ex-spouses and hungry lawyers can easily identify property owners, serve them, and involve them in a lawsuit, founded or unfounded. The public nature of real estate holdings can make life miserable for unprotected investors. Camouflaging ownership goes a long way to keeping you from being identified as a ‘wealthy real estate barren’ and getting targeted by predators looking for an easy mark with deep pockets. This is an old and established strategy used by property owners, and the rich and famous, for centuries. Land Trusts have a long history of common law, as well as state statutes and tax law, that gives them good standing as a privacy tool for the investor. This class is a joint venture with the law firm of Gilroy Bailey Trumble LLC and will be taught in part by their attorneys.This class will build your confidence in land trusts. This ‘basics class’ is designed to familiarize the student with Land Trust's as a title holding strategy and prepare them for the advanced class where you will learn to form and manage your own trusts.
This course gives you all the details, documents, forms, and reasons for doing Land Trusts. You will learn the history of land trusts, the players, the tax issues, and be prepared to fill out the forms and handle them without paying an attorney. This class is a joint venture with the law firm of Gilroy Bailey Trumble LLC and will be taught in part by their attorneys.
This workshop breaks the Georgia Landlord Tenant Act down into bite-size pieces. It examines the do’s and don’ts of the act and applies it to the real world landlord (and professional manager) live in when renting and managing properties in Georgia. It addresses in detail the issue of contracting around the law and what the law requires of the landlord regarding maintaining the property, handling the security deposit, move-in inspection, rent collection (and eviction) as well as managing the move-out issues. The Georgia legislature has a strong opinion about how landlords are to treat tenants and landlords face serious penalties if they ignore the rules laid out in this law.
This workshop was authored by (and is often co-taught by) attorney Monica Gilroy and 35 year property manager Robert M. Locke RMP, MPM.
Reviews & Testimonies
"As education coordinator at the Columbus Board we love it when Robert comes to teach. Students always appreciate his enthusiastic presentations and the obvious experience he brings. He keeps everyone's attention for 6 hours on a topic (property management) often seen as boring. He brings life to the classroom and students ask often ask "when can we get him back?" Kari Kinser, Education Char, Columbus Board of Realtors.
"Robert has been a trainer at Georgia Real Estate Investors Association (GaREIA) for at least 20 years. He is one of my favorite speakers because his teaching is practical, informative, and specific. I always get great comments from those who attend.” Karen Yaap, Executive Director, Georgia Real Estate Investors Association (GaREIA), Atlanta, GA
The following Workshops were specifically developed for shorter Breakout Sessions and Luncheons
Keeping Tenants … Equals Keeping Owners … Equals Growth … and a lot more profit! Keeping a good tenant take less work than signing up new ones, keep owners with you longer and generate lots of net profit for the company. We’ll examine 10 strategies for keeping good tenants and lay out methods and processes of keeping them around, paying rent and earning fees for you.
Few managers have actually sat down and figured out Where The Tension and Litigation In Property Management Comes From much less how to push back on it. This workshop will examine the causes of the tension and addresses strategies for addressing it and lowering the chaos that seems to come with managing rentals.
Most of us have figured out that property management is a nickel-dime business with very thin margins. Along the way we all discover how to set up other businesses around our management company to service the needs of owner/clients, tenants, vendors, your colleagues and staff. Identifying the needs of your customers, and looking for ways to meet those needs, may entice you to open a maintenance company, a brokerage business, and lease purchase department, a collections department and other businesses to meet those needs and generate more income. We'll identify over 20 management related businesses, all related to servicing needs of your various customers, and generate lots more profit than your management business ever could.
Any of these workshops can be trimmed down to accommodate conference breakout sessions, luncheon presentations or study groups.
When tenants move out they often leave an unpaid balance and property managers don't quite know what to do about it. This workshop will remind the student of things to charge the tenant for, handle the move out so charges are clear and set on a course to collect those outstanding charges. We'll address the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, collection letters, attorney letters and filing negative marks against the tenant's credit. We'll address the collection process and how to settle outstanding balances without having to file in court for a judgment. This workshop is great for private investors and professional managers.
This workshop is NOT the same as the three hour version. Here we examine the language needed in management agreements and leases to deflect lawsuits and address strategies to manage hot-spots was they are recognized. We’ll lay out policies for managing litigation and training staff on how to recognize them before they becomes litigious.
“This was indeed the best class I have ever attended on practical litigation avoidance techniques. Robert is right on and covers the issues very competently speaking from years of personal experience. The information was on right on point, accurate and the students would have easily stayed another 4 hours. Robert's presentation style is full of energy and kept the attendees all wanting more. As a landlord attorney for over 20 years and trainer of thousands of property managers I really appreciated Robert's expertise on property management related legal issues. If all property managers followed Robert’s guidance, a lot of unnecessary litigation and grief would be avoided"
Attorney Harry Heist, Managing Partner of HEIST, WEISSE & WOLK P.A. Clearwater, Florida.
Whether you want to run a business, or hold title to a piece of real estate, the LLC has some great benefits for the investor, realtor, developer, builder and business owner. As a state sanctioned entity they offer perfect liability protection and create numerous opportunities for the investor and business owner. Every real estate investor needs at least one. Smart investors will use two or three. This workshop will teach you when and how to use the LLC in real estate.
Most people know that ‘owning real estate brings tax benefits’ but cannot explain exactly what those benefits are. Many make the mistake of just letting their CPA handle their return without realizing the impact on their tax owed. This course familiarizes the student with the "10 tax benefits of owning real estate" from an investor's perspective and will arm you with the information you need to ask intelligent questions to your CPA.
We all learn from our mistakes but most don’t have to be experienced by every generation of managers. After managing rentals for 35 years you can imagine we’ve made more than most and can help our colleagues avoid some of the most severe and costly. This is about helping managers avoid some of the pitfalls we’ve made and finding ways to escape some of the carnage we created for ourselves.
The investor market has changed over the last few years with large equity groups gobbling up tens of thousands of houses and renting them out. Local managers are frequently asked to help these large players and often get burned in the process. This course will examine the current investor market and educate property managers and agents on their current role in the investor market and not “get burned”. Protecting your license is far more important than making a few dollars working with investors. So, how do we embrace them, help them, and keep our license and sanity?
Licensees across the nation have been exhorted by their brokers and trainers that their agency duties to their client are paramount. These duties have been revised for decades to serve the real estate sales community and were shaped specifically for that community. When agents move into the world of leasing and property management they find they are often at odds with their clients and feel caught in situations when they have to ignore their agency duties in an attempt to protect their clients and themselves. This workshop takes an honest look at how and when property managers must NOT follow their client's instructions to protect them from the consumer protection laws that govern managing rentals. It addresses the tension, conflict and often hostile situations managers get themselves into with their clients trying to balance properly their agency duties and legal requirement to follow the law. Sales agents have little conflict with their owner/clients. Managers experience it all the time and need a well-thought strategy to manage these conflicting priorities.
Managers get confused with what should be (and should NOT be) in their property management agreement. This workshop examines the dos and don’ts of what belongs in the management agreement. When state association forms go on for 10 pages (in small print) and others go on for 15 pages, it’s obvious there is little agreement what belongs in the management agreement. Agents often default to standardized forms that don’t serve them well and are forced to fit their management model into these one-size- fits-all forms that make property management harder than it has to be. This workshop covers the good, the bad and the ugly of standard form contracts offered by our colleagues in the sales industry and consider what a customized document might look like.
Reviews & Testimonies
"Robert is not only passionate about his topics but he is a walking, talking wealth of information. He has taught at our school for several years and it’s always a pleasure to have him back in our classroom. His willingness to share his experiences consistently draws a big crowd and gets great evaluations from the attendees. I highly recommend his programs and, if you take one of his classes, you’ll want them all”. Ms. Rebecca Fletcher, Executive Director Georgia Institute of Real Estate, Atlanta Board of Realtors, Atlanta GA
NARPM Designation Classes Robert Locke is Certified to Teach
(formerly Owner/Client Relations Essentials)
This fundamental course covering the 4 steps in the cycle of Owner Relations will assist you in developing and managing your Clients from first contact to termination. From the big picture to the small details, you will learn industry best practices in obtaining new clients and working with them during several scenarios.
View Student Evaluation (PDF) Form
View More Here http://www.narpm.org/education/course-descriptions/developing-rewarding-owner-relationships/
(formerly Risk Management Essentials)
Managing risk in residential property management is an often overlooked aspect. Prudent property managers are very aware of the potential of risk in all aspects of management. Participants in this course will be introduced to the basics of risks, its sources, and the proper approaches to risk as well as minimizing and controlling risk.
View More Here
http://www.narpm.org/education/course-descriptions/essentials-of-risk-management/
The course is designed for the owner, leader, or executive of the property management company. There are discussions pertaining to managing risk, understanding laws that affect the real estate manager, items of importance that should be in a policy and procedures manual, how one can structure their business in order to negate some liability, and preparing for a legal situation when necessary.
View More Here
http://www.narpm.org/education/course-descriptions/advanced-risk-management
The main course objective for this class will be to expand on key elements of an effective personnel plan for the residential property management company.
View More Here http://www.narpm.org/education/course-descriptions/personnel-procedures-advanced/
This course provides an overview of the process necessary to market your management business. Marketing techniques such as making presentations to owners, prospecting new contacts, and closing will be discussed. Marketing principles specific to residential property management will also be presented.
View More Here
http://www.narpm.org/education/course-descriptions/marketing/
This is a comprehensive look at the Tenant Cycle that all property management companies experience in their businesses. From Procurement through Move out, this is an immersive examination of the details involved in the day to day administration of the tenants.
View More Here
Reviews & Testimonies
“As the staff Liaison for the NCAR Property Management Division I coordinate all of the PMD educational sessions. We asked Robert to do an all day class on “Turning a Nickel Dime Business into a Cash Cow.” We were able to accommodate 110 registrants and I still had an extensive waiting list of those wanting to attend.. The seminar provided great information, it was entertaining, and our members left with innovative new ways to survive in the management business. We are very pleased with the outcome of this seminar and look forward to having Robert back! If you are looking to put on a workshop on any property management topic – put Robert Locke on your list! You will not be disappointed!”
E. Edwards, North Carolina Association of REALTORS®, Assistant Director of Professional Development, Property Management Division Staff Liaison
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