PMI Franchisee and Franserve Franchise Consultant Jeffrey O'Shea Is Changing the Rental Landscape in Albany, One Unit at a Time

For Albany, New York-based Jeffrey O’Shea, real estate is part of his DNA. “I love real estate,” he says. “I love everything about it. I love being able to help other real estate investors because I understand the struggle. I enjoy helping people out, helping them grow and preserving their portfolio.”

A real estate broker and investor for the past 12 years, O’Shea recently became a franchisee with Property Management Inc., a rapidly growing franchise with 300-plus locations that helps franchisees maximize their profitability across four pillars — residential, commercial, association and short term rental. It was a natural fit for someone who lives and breathes real estate. 

It was also a smart business move. “We own almost 150 rental units here in Albany,” he says. “For years, my business partner Jim Fruscio and I struggled to find a trustworthy and capable property manager. When I discovered PMI, I liked everything about it immediately. And it seemed like an easy transition where we could have somebody managing our properties in-house with all systems in place and everything we’d need to take on additional investors.”

After completing virtual training with PMI due to COVID-19 and hiring an assistant to handle the phones and other administrative tasks, O’Shea and his partner hit the ground running. They launched PMI Albany just six weeks ago.

“We’ve had countless people contact us already, including a lot of realtors,” O’Shea says. “We can come in and do it the right way, thanks to all the systems put in place by PMI. And that’s how you build your network.”

O’Shea credits PMI’s thorough training and invaluable support team with his successful launch. “They’ve been great so far, and our business coach has been extremely helpful,” O’Shea says. “Besides coaches, you have marketing managers, blog writers and hundreds of years of property management expertise at your fingertips. I can’t say enough great things about the people at PMI.”

The feeling is mutual, according to PMI President Danessa Itaya. “We’re honored that Jeffrey decided to franchise with PMI,” she says. “Jeffrey’s success is our success, and we’re committed to supporting him however we can.”

No stranger to managing rental properties, O’Shea brings his own knowledge and expertise to the table as well. “A lot of the small mom-and-pop property management companies out there don’t have the tools to properly screen people,” he says. “They’re renting the apartment to get paid and don’t care what happens afterward.”

According to O’Shea, finding the right tenant is one of the most important things a property manager can do, especially with the current moratorium on evictions.

“We recently took over the management on a 16-unit building, and 14 out of the 16 were not paying rent,” O’Shea says. “While you can’t evict them, you can offer cash for keys — not every property manager understands that. We could tell them the pandemic is coming to an end and then you’ll be evicted, and it will be on your record. Instead, we offer them a way out with cash, which allows them to cover their first month’s rent and security deposit somewhere else.”

It’s a win/win for everyone involved, O’Shea says. “Even with a judgment, it’s usually hard for a landlord to collect. It’s better if they can just take over the property again.”

Aside from dealing with messy tenant situations, O’Shea says it can be a challenge to get an owner to understand his vision for the property. 

“A lot of times they don’t understand that if you put a little bit of work into the property, you’re going to get a better quality of tenant and you’ll end up making more money,” he says.

Often, adds O’Shea, it’s just a matter of some simple cosmetic fixes, like painting kitchen cabinets white and installing new countertops. 

“You don’t have to do major renovations — just cleaning and painting can transform an apartment. Bathroom tiles can be painted, you can buy a new vanity for very little and reglaze the bathtub. Doing a few small things like that can dramatically increase the value of the apartment.”

In addition to being a busy investor and now PMI franchisee, O’Shea also works as a franchise consultant with a company called FranServe, where he helps people who are looking for a franchise opportunity find the right brand.

“I’m an entrepreneur, so I’m always looking at additional businesses,” he says. “I came across FranServe, and it lined up with everything I like to do — to share ideas, talk about business and help people achieve their dreams.” 

O’Shea’s work with FranServe is how he discovered PMI. “As a franchise coach, you learn that there’s always something for everyone. It’s all about helping them find the right fit.”

For O’Shea, PMI was not only the perfect fit, but he also saw enough value in the company to invest in it as a franchisee himself. His instincts have proven to be correct.

“We have about 30 doors already, so it speaks to the demand for quality property managers,” he says. “It’s a nationwide need. We’re already on pace to have 200 doors by the end of the year.”

The startup costs for a Property Management Inc. franchise range from $22,750 to $175,100. The franchise fee ranges from $16,200 to $128,600. To learn more about franchising with Property Management Inc., visit propertymanagementincfranchise.com.