Fix It Forward - Episode 12

 If you're really young, still in school, or about to finish school and college is maybe not a career for you, have you ever thought about a set of skills that you could learn in one place and take with you all over everywhere you go? Have you ever thought about, like, maybe doubling your salary within a year or two-year period?

Well, all of that is really possible, and also there's many possibilities beyond that. You could create a career for yourself for life, and that is multifamily maintenance. If you're that type of individual that's really not now sure which career, which path to follow after school, this particular docuseries is for you

Everyone, welcome to another great story of Fix It Forward. How about going from entry-level maintenance employee to managing a multi-million dollar asset? That's a real-life story, and it's Avery's story. Uh, if that's of interest to you, you should not be missing this episode. Here with Avery at...

Woodpoint Apartments.

Thank you for having us.

Of course. Thank you for coming.

Where are we going? What, what do you have to show us?

Uh, first we can check out the amenities back, our resort-style pool and our gym, and then this is our beautiful office and our office staff over here.

All right.

Uh, we have property manager and assistant manager- Le- let's, let's, let's say

hi to all

of them.

This is Carrie, our property manager, and then, uh, Angie, our assistant manager.

Very nice to meet you both. It's

nice to

meet you. And thank you for having us today. Of

course, of course. Yeah, so this is our newly remodeled office. Um, a lot of the stuff we've done here is remodeled or newly painted. Um, so let me go show you guys the resort pool in the back.

You got it. Okay.

Right. As, uh, as we're walking-

Yeah ...

uh, tell me a little bit about how you got in the business.

For sure. Um-

How long ago, first of all?

Uh, about six years ago. About six years ago? 2019. Mm-hmm. Okay. So me and my wife, we moved from Alaska. Okay. I'm born and raised Alaska. I, I,

I notice that your ph- your cell phone number is, like, Alaska.

Yep. Most people won't pick it up when I call. Uh, they're like, "Who's calling me?"

Yeah.

So, uh, me and my wife moved here because my wife went to college, um, and got her bachelor in business management with a focus on property management, so she was actually recruited by a property management company here.

Um, so I just moved with her. I was actually working at GNC in, like, a fitness... Doing personal training, that kind of stuff. Um, and so when I got here, I worked at a juicery, actually. It was a up and coming one, and I just didn't really feel like that was the career path for me, 'cause fitness is a lot of sales, not really helping people.

Mm-hmm.

And so I talked to my wife and I was like, "Hey, you know, I fixed up cars in Alaska. I'm kind of interested in getting maintenance." And so I started working with the company that she got recruited at from Alaska here. Mm. So I started working as a punch technician.

As a punch tech?

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

So, uh, did you have any, like, hands-on skill?

Have you done any, like, uh, work with your hands before?

Yes, sir. So, um, in Alaska, uh, I used to buy cars and fix them up as kind of my side business.

Okay.

Um, in Alaska you get a lot of rust problems because of the salt on the road. Yeah. Uh, so there's a lot of mechanical issues just from corrosion and that kind of stuff.

Mm-hmm. So also just being from Alaska, you have to fix everything yourself. 'Cause there's no one-day Amazon at all in Alaska. The... I'd never heard about that until I got here. So everything's so hard to get, so when it's broke, you fix it. So that's how I grew up. Um- Yeah ... I'm sure you've seen those Alaskan shows where they go out in the wilderness.

From the time I'd get out of school till I'd go back to school, three months I'd live off the land. So I'm used to fixing stuff. I'm used to building, so it was kind of a easy crossover.

Uh, that's incredible. Uh, so which company was that?

Trinity Property Consultants.

Oh, Trinity. Mm-hmm. Okay. And tell me how you, how your career evolved from, like, punch tech.

When did, when did you become a full tech? How long did it take you?

Uh, I wanna say about six months.

About six months?

Mm-hmm, yep. I worked at a student property downtown as a punch tech. So it was a high rise. It's basically painting. I remember one of the first work orders they asked me if I could replace a blind.

I don't even... I didn't know how to do that. I had to tell them, I was like, "I don't know how to do that." Um, so I really learned fast, and then I moved to a 500-unit property in Dunwoody as a technician. Okay. And then from there, that's when I took over another property, and ac- actually, the property I took over as supervisor was my first property where I was a punch tech So about six months later, yeah

Incredible.

So how long between the time you started in the industry until you became a supervisor for first time?

Only about a year. On- only about

a year? Mm-hmm. Only about a year.

Uh-

Mm-hmm ... w- what do you think about opportunities for, like, you know, this upward, upward mobility and opportunities in the industry?

It's absolutely there.

Absolutely. I, I don't think this is a industry that's gonna cut you off short or you can't climb the ladder, but it's just like every other industry, you have to work for it.

Of course, yeah. You have to, you have to- Nothing's gonna be handed to you. No. But what do you have to say for those that, you know, I, I guess, you know, they're looking at career options and don't know about multifamily?

Um, I think this is an easier career field to get in because you have the steps before you become a tech, right? Just like me, I came in as a punch tech. All I really did, started, was painting, and I learned from there because you're working with, like on this property, two or three other people who can show you and bring you along.

So this is a great career field to kind of dip your toes in and learn as you go, because that's exactly what I did. Oh. So, um, over here we have our grill, our resort-style pool. We have tons of chairs, and this is actually only 180 unit property, so this is one of the bigger pools I've seen for a smaller property.

Yeah.

Do, do, do you have any staff working with you?

Mm-hmm. I have one person. I would say for about three years. I've been by myself for about two years. It's really hard to find techs. Mm-hmm.

Yeah. W- why do you think it's hard to find techs? There are so many opportunities, as you said. Mm-hmm. Uh, i- incredible career, you know, like, uh, opportunities and it's, it's still hard to find, find people.

W- why do you think it is?

I can only speak from personal experience and- Of course ... I remember as growing up, uh, my parents did not want me to do any blue collar job. They did not want me to work in mechanics or plumbing or anything 'cause they saw that as a lower class job, so I kind of stayed away from that and that's why I went into fitness and these other things.

Um, I don't think people should be scared or think that this job isn't, um, as good as an another job because of where I'm at. If I would have saw my future when I was in high school where I'm at now, I absolutely would have delved into this way earlier.

Have a beautiful looking pool and, uh-

Thank you ...

it's, uh, i- it's really not too bad be- being, you know, given that it's surrounded by, by trees and, you know, this takes, like, a lot of work to, like, keep it-

Mm-hmm ...

uh, maintain it clean. How old the property is?

Uh, it's 1982. '82. Mm-hmm.

This is a super vintage.

Mm-hmm.

Like, uh, my brother was born in 1982. Oh, wow. And he's not young. He's not young, yes. So-

But no, it's a great, uh, it's really well taken care of. Like you said, the pool, I mean, it takes me about an hour every morning, but you have to do it because this is one of the biggest things when people come to tour, this is what they see.

Mm-hmm. Right.

Going back to when you started, uh, how did you, how did you learn the trade? How did you learn the technical skill, the troubleshooting?

From other people. From- And I think that's what I was explaining of this one is kind of easy to dip your toe in this career field because there's so many good teachers out there, at least from my experience.

I've had great teachers, right? Um, but really where I learn from is also myself. So when I delve into something and I can't figure it out, I'm not the type of person to just say, "I can't figure it out. Let's get a specialist." I'm gonna try a few times. Sometimes it's trial and error. Hopefully you're not making too many errors, but if you do, you can learn from that mistake.

Got it.

Los días son grises, el tiempo se va y en cada suspiro lo vuelvo a mostrar. Pero ese silencio grita más que nunca

So tell me now, if you recall the first moment when you were able to troubleshoot something on your own, like something that's not as simple as, like, unclogging a tub or, you know, fixing a minor league, uh, leak, something that takes, like, some steps and some thinking and some skill. Yes, sir. What,

what was that first time?

Hold on. Wait, wait, let me do this again. Hold that. So the first time was, uh, I was at my second property that I worked at. I was a technician, 500-unit property, only two of us.

Mm-hmm.

So my supervisor, he was doing what he could, 'cause it was middle of summer, so tons of ACs. So he goes, "Hey, I need you to replace a water heater."

And I said, "I don't know how to replace a water heater." He said, "You have six hours. Can you do your best?" And I replaced the water heater. So that's what I mean when, um... Oh, thank you, sir. Um-

So what, what resources- Let me get- ... did you use if you've never done it before?

Uh, you know, obviously you have... It's kind of like a puzzle.

But the other thing is you have the power of your phone. You really do, you know? And you have the power to call other people. Like, I called my old supervisor when I was at Punch Tech. I called him and I said, "I'm replacing this water heater. What can you tell me about it?" Or if I ran into an issue, call him, he'll help me right out.

You should never be afraid to ask for help, especially in this industry, 'cause people ask me, how do I know how to fix things? I'm sure you know what a Rolodex is. My brain is like a Rolodex. So if I have a work order that I have to go to, I just go through the Rolodex in my head of, like, I've already done that before, right?

Or I ran into this issue. Oh, I remember three years ago, I ran into this issue. Um, the heat, the cool wasn't working 'cause the heat strips were on. It's the same issue 'cause I've already done that before. Yeah.

You also remember in your Rolodex people that are specialized in that particular-

Mm-hmm ...

uh, issue.

Mm. Hey, I, I could call Johnny. Yep. Johnny will tell me. Uh, by the way, who are some, uh, some people that inspired you and helped you along the way? Let's give them a shout-out.

Uh, so Reggie from, um, Arai Perimeter in Dunwoody. He was my supervisor at the 500-unit property. Um, he was a great supervisor. Uh, an ext- outstanding example of someone who's not afraid to get their hands dirty.

I've worked with supervisors who will stay in the office, who will just type all day, set up work orders. He was not afraid. As soon as you called him, he would get in his truck, run over, and help you install a toilet line, even though he could maybe just explain it over the phone, or he would say, "Hey, that's a small job."

He wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty at all, pick up trash, anything like that. And that's a great example for me, because that's how I operate. I'm never gonna ask, um, one of my techs to do something that I would not do. And if I see trash on the ground, I'm gonna pick it up. And I'm on my feet all day.

I'm 20,000 steps a day. One of those things of where he asked me to do a water heater, he pushed me to learn. He didn't just give me simple things like, "Go pick up grounds. Go do this." He really did push me, and that's why I was able to become supervisor within a year, because it was go, go, go.

Yeah, shout-out to Reggie.

Yep.

Shout-out to Reggie. I hope Reggie watches- ... wa- watches this conversation, this episode, and he hears his name, and- Mm ... he's proud of you

Tell me about your day-to-day. What's your, what's your day-to-day like?

So my day-to-day is I come in, and for about the first 30 minutes I spend on the computer just getting the day set up. Um, you never know what's gonna happen overnight, uh, here, at any property, right?

Yeah, of

course. Um, so I come in for the first 30 minutes, I check our work orders, and I put them into, um, order of importance, right?

If we have a heat call like right now, that's the first thing I'm gonna go to that morning. So I write those all down. I write down my work orders. I'll also write down what my tech needs to do for the day. That's listing out grounds, listing out work orders, or listing out what he has to do at a punch.

Then after that, I usually spend about an hour to two hours at the pool doing chemicals, cleaning it up, and cleaning the gym. And then after that my whole day is usually just set up by the work orders, so work orders or turns or small things like painting speed bumps.

Uh, what's, uh, your favorite part of the day?

My favorite part of the day?

Yeah.

Is when I get a w- a challenging work order that I haven't done before. I know that might sound funny, but when you've been at a property like this for three years, everything's the same. All the work orders are the same. When I say... When I see a work order is my garbage disposal isn't working, I know exactly what to do.

Yeah. But I do like a little bit more the challenging ones, 'cause then, hey, that's another lesson I learned, and it's gonna be easier next time.

What is the part of the day that requires the most out of you? Like, i- it takes the most energy, the most w- it- it takes whatever you, whatever you have- Um- ... or a lot of what you have

for most days here, it's usually the pool. Unless I have an AC or heat replacement, obviously that's gonna take a lot of energy, but you saw that pool. It's surrounded by trees.

Yeah.

That takes a lot of energy here.

Oh, it- i- yeah Yeah. It

should have. And just grounds in general, just because we like to keep this property very clean, and just because of how we're surrounded by woods and stuff, it takes a minute every day.

Yeah.

Yeah, when you have a property this age, obviously- Mm-hmm ... 40-plus years old, uh, it tends to get, uh-

But it really just does depend on the day. If I have a exploded water heater, that's gonna be a heavy day, right?

Hopefully not this week.

I know. We just had a, a heat replacement, um, last week. So this is our model.

Beautiful in here, um. We actually just built this too so

All righty. So show us around.

Yeah. So this is one of our, uh, one-bedroom units. Mm. Um, like I said, we have actually just done this model, so this is all-new paint, all-new furniture in here. I really like these properties. There are... Or the units, sorry. They're renovated, so there used to be cabinets and stuff above here.

All new open space. Um, and then back here we have laundry room, bathroom, and a really sizable bedroom back here as well. And the nice thing is too is, uh, most of our units now are all vinyl, which a lot of people really enjoy. Yeah.

How about second floor and third floor? Still vinyl?

They're mostly carpet, but now what we've been doing since last year is doing all vinyl.

Mm. Especially if it needs a replacement, we just do all vinyl. Because in the long run too, that's really good for the business because every time you're replacing carpet, especially at this property, we're surrounded by clay, so the carpets get clay on them instantly.

Yeah. Yeah. Uh, a- any noise, uh, any noise complaints?

No.

With the new floors, no noise complaints? No, we, we don't even get

no- Great ... noise complaints. Yeah.

Any subfloors issues that you-

No ...

uncover?

Mm-mm. Yeah.

That's excellent.

I worked at, um, one property in Sandy Springs, every unit had a subfloor issue, but no, haven't run into one

here yet. So it means that the property had, uh, good ones.

Mm-hmm. Uh, are the six panel doors original, or they came with the renovation?

Renovation. Mm-hmm. Yep, yep.

Yeah. I mean-

We did heavy renovations ...

this, this looks incredible. Uh, if you're not, like, if your eye is really not formed, you can't even tell it's 40-plus year old, like, vintage product because, like, the six panel doors and all the other stuff that you guys put in make it look, like, very-

Mm

close to today's date, right? Yeah. Very modern. It looks great. Mm-hmm. Right. Not, like, old, you know? Mm-hmm. N- there's nothing here that, like, screams old at me.

Oh, exactly. I was surprised when I took over this property that they said 82.

Yeah.

I was expecting early 2000s or '90s.

Yeah. A- and are all the, are all the units like this?

Mm-hmm. They, they pretty much look like just like this, especially if we're doing turns now. Now, if the resident's been there for a while, no, but new turns, they look pretty much just like this.

Incredible.

Mm-hmm.

Well, uh, amazing job they did, for sure.

Thank you. Yeah. Yeah, it was, uh, it was, um, fun hanging up all these pictures.

Yeah. Bed- bathroom looks great too.

New cabinets, um, granite countertops

Yep, new cabinets- Yep ... new, uh, countertops, cause, um, before they were the Formica

Yeah

And then even new backsplashes too that we're doing back there

When you're thinking about Someone that's outside of the industry, right? And, uh, they're trying to get in, and they're trying to do a great job, right? But maybe they don't have someone that they could turn to for inspiration, for advice. What are some pieces of advice that you have for them?

Um, I think with this career, like I said, it's always good that if you have help from somebody. But if you don't, it is a career that if you're self-driven, you can climb the ladder. Because I had a great supervisor, uh, that taught me a lot at first, but after that it was all on me. It really was. So if you're a go-getter and you're, um, a self-driven person, this career field is something that you can really excel in, I believe, 'cause I'm just p- speaking from personal experience.

And the other thing is if you can learn, um, don't be afraid to ask, 'cause if I wouldn't have asked to become a supervisor, it wouldn't have happened as fast as it did. The worst thing somebody can say is no, right?

How did you get with, uh, Cushman Wakefield?

I was a floating supervisor for Trinity Property Consultants.

So they would call me on Monday and say, "Hey, we need you in Connecticut." And so I would go for a week to Connecticut, knock out... They had, like, 300 work orders or something, knock out as much as I could and come back home. Um, I was tired of spending my life in the airport and I missed my dogs and my wife.

So after that, I just kind of looked for properties and this one popped up, and I live 10, 15 minutes away. Um, and so we did the interview, and it just seemed like a great fit, and that's how I ended up here. So I've been here-

How, how long ago was that when you started with them?

Uh, three years.

Three years ago.

Three years ago. Mm-hmm. So you've been here for three years- Mm-hmm ... I mean, with the company. If someone's now out looking and, you know, they're looking at various companies and everything, why Cushman? What would you tell them that they should be working for Cushman?

Cushman is a very large property, uh, larger than Trinity, which is the one I worked for originally, but I feel like Cushman cares more about me than a smaller property that I've worked for.

You know, when I do a good job, there's, there's kudos. There's kudos for that. Um, but it's also they know my name. I'm not just another number. In the whole, uh, field in Georgia, we all know each other, which is really great, and that's what I like. Um, I like being able... Like I was saying earlier, if somebody wants to call me, they can call and I can help them, or if I have to call somebody, I can.

Just last week I went to a different property 'cause they had someone without heat for two weeks, so I went and did that real quick. But if I know if I needed that too, I would have it right away. So it's kind of like, um, it's a family here, but you wouldn't expect that with such a big company 'cause Cushman is huge.

Yeah, it's huge. You know? Uh, top, uh, five or maybe third or fifth, right? Or-

Mm-hmm ...

largest in the country.

And it doesn't feel like that, at least in Georgia. It does not feel like that.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, companies like this are, uh... They're national, they're large, but also in many ways they're regional. Mm-hmm.

In other words, based on how... based on the people that you have leading a region could feel a certain way, and not always two different regions feel the same way.

Hmm.

Uh, I speak this from experience 'cause I worked, uh, you know, for a, for a very long time, like seven years I worked at Greystar.

Okay.

Also the largest now Mm,

big.

Mm-hmm ... was still, uh, y- you were still very large back in the day and it was kind of the same, right? Based on the local leadership that you have- Mm-hmm ... it feels a certain way. So I'm glad that you have some amazing leadership, uh, right here.

Yeah.

And speaking of leadership, uh, if we, if there were to be, uh, getting, uh, like looking at you and, you know, you were to, like, tell them something that- You think they, they he- they need to hear or they need to know, what would that be?

Oh, I mean, thank you so much, especially to Matt Boyd. Uh, Matthew Boyd is my regional. Um, he's provided a lot of opportunities for me, even here. Uh, this is a great opportunity that he provided. All the regionals and any leaders, especially my property managers, they've all been great. Um, and what I love is if you do your job, they don't micromanage, right?

If you do what you need to do in this career field or wherever you're at, um, this is a great career that you can kind of be by yourself. You know, you're not micromanaged, at least from the people I've had. So I, I appreciate them with the opportunities they give me, and then also, um, to just kind of let me breathe and run this property, and that's why it runs so well.

Yeah.

Yeah. Shout out to Matt.

Yep. Thank you, Matt.

And, uh, yeah, thank you Matt for, uh, for getting us in touch. Looking forward, looking into the future, how do you envision your future to be in this, uh, in this industry?

I wanna keep climbing. Uh, I've been climbing ever since I started this career, uh, six years ago.

So my ultimate goal is to be a regional property manager. I hope it's with Cush, you know, but that is my goal is to always continue to climb. Uh, because I know I have the leadership, I know I have the skills, and I have the drive to keep doing that. Yeah.

Excellent. Well, uh, I, uh, I hope everything comes to fruition for you.

Thank you. Um, and then, uh, you keep shining- I appreciate that ... and you keep doing great things in the industry. You are doing an amazing job. And I just remember when you said a year from like, you know, being a punch tech entry level to becoming a, a service manager. That's an incredible way to, uh, move up, but also says a lot about you, right?

Not just about the industry or the opportunities there, but just like you were saying, you had to work for it 'cause nobody's gonna hand it to you.

Mm-hmm.

So congratulations on that. And, uh-

Thank you ...

I, uh, I, I wanna keep up, I wanna keep in touch and, uh, look forward to your continued success. For sure. I appreciate that.

And, uh, ho- hoping that, uh... I, I know that there are great things in the store for you.

Thank you.

You just gotta be, you just gotta be careful and do what you've been doing, you know? Mm-hmm. Already. To keep doing a g- great job. Mm-hmm. So tell me about a situation that was like incredibly tough or incredibly challenging.

How did you overcome?

Yeah. Um, one of the situations that always come to mind with that is, uh, my first property that I supervised was a high-rise. It was downtown, and it was actually selling. It sold within six months that I took it over, which I was devastated because like, "No, my first property that I took over..."

But when they sold, um, they did a tour of the property and on the roof there was a lot of older AC units that had been taken out and already replaced, but they left the scrap up there. That had to be removed for the sale. It was just part of the stipulation. Um, with the high rise, we had no way to get ACs up there.

The only way they were doing it before was pulling it up by hand with a rope So I bought a thing called a... You know the cherry pickers? To engine, to pick an engine out of a car, you kinda crank it with a chain? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. Cherry picker. So I bought one of those, and then I secured it to the roof with bolts, and then we just wind it up and wind it down the AC units, and we got it done in a day, 'cause it had to be done in two weeks.

So it was either that or I think I got a quote for $10,000 for removal. And so we bought a $500 cherry picker, installed it on the roof, and then just wheeled it up, wheeled it down.

That's what, that, that's what I'm talking about when I tell people a good, uh, maintenance professional, it's worth their weight in gold, you know?

Uh, it's not daily where, you know, you f- you hear people saving their company like, uh, $9,500 just like that in a, you know, one day worth of work.

Mm-hmm.

Getting it all done. What is the situation that, you know, ma- makes me, when you think about, makes you really proud?

Um, for me, one of the stories that I always tell is when I was a floating supervisor, I went to a property and I think...

Which, where was this one? It was in Tennessee actually. Um, and this, uh, gentleman had no hot water for two weeks. So I went in there, I diagnosed it, ended up just being the thermostat on the hot water heater. Um, I repaired it. I told him, "Hey, I got your hot water." And he started crying and hugged me, 'cause he had not had hot water for two weeks, and it was an older gentleman.

Um, I just really remember that because it's not every day where something that you fix hits a resident like that, right? It might just be unclogging their garbage disposal, takes five seconds, and they say, "Thank you." But for, to see someone cry and be s- um, you know, help someone in that way was really touching for me and showed me that my job is helpful towards people.

Yeah. And was really doing something.

Also thank you for the great rem- minder. I think we just, uh, tend to get into this mindset of like, well, it's not a big deal for me 'cause it's my job. But if you're doing it well, and you're touching people's lives like you touch, uh, this gentleman's life, it makes such an incredible difference.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Right? Um, so thank you for sharing that. That was very powerful. As we're wrapping up the conversation, Avery, uh, what are some things that, you know, uh, you, you have to say that maybe, uh, you wish we would've touched on we didn't have the opportunity to?

Um, I think we touched on a lot of things, but I will just say from experience again, and being at this property, it's hard to find technicians.

I think that anybody looking for a career to get into, especially nowadays with, um, people being scared of AI or going into remote jobs are going away, this career field or any sort of blue collar career field, 'cause it's hard for me to even find AC techs to do special jobs if I need them, um, this is something that you should really look into jumping into.

C- because your future is gonna be bright if you're a hard worker and, um, like I said, you're self-driven.

Well, I hope we do a good enough job that many out there that, you know, don't know that this career exists-

Mm-hmm ...

watch this conversation and, you know, get inspired by you and by your story so we could get more people with potential into multifamily.

I, I hope so. Mm-hmm.

Thank you so much for having us today.

Hey, thank you for coming. I really appreciate it.

I appreciate you.

Yeah.