Corona Virus Update from Monique

Where have I been???

So much has happened since we went into quarantine and even before then that I’ve been eager to share with you.

Property Management Good Changes

Before the quarantine in February I made a radical change to how I’m doing the property management. I completely changed my staff and improved my methods. I stopped making videos while I figured this all out. I was hoping it would be good for everyone. And was I ever right! There have been a few learning curve bumps, but now it’s figured out and it’s going beyond my expectations GREAT! Give me a call and I can tell you more.

Maintenance During Quarantine

When everything was shut down, it was the hardest for Pat, my husband. During our renovation of the property management company, a lot of the maintenance fell on him. He did NOT want to enter houses in Detroit where the general consensus was to NOT quarantine. But he had to do it in a lot of cases and we are all fine.

Renovation During Quarantine

We also struggled to keep our business flowing of buying 2-3 houses a month and renovating 2-3 houses and selling 2-3 renovated and rented houses. The renovation was difficult. We were all told to stay home and that we could be ticketed for doing nonessential work. The lines at Home Depot could be hours long. Then Home Depot stopped selling paint because they deemed it nonessential. Our special order window company shut down for 8 weeks. Then our renovation staff went on unemployment. Pat was truly a one-man-show! It’s amazing what all he accomplished anyway though. And we are so happy now to have our renovation crew back to work.

Renting Houses During Quarantine

Meanwhile I had to figure out how to get these renovated houses rented (with a few boarded windows) and not violate the real estate mandate of not showing houses. NO PROBLEM. I SWAM!!! I already had videos of them anyway. The applications flooded in and I was able to choose the best applicants EVER! And I never had to meet them until move-in day. This was good because I also was going through a staffing change at the time so it was all on me.

New Education During Quarantine

I was able to work from home too, which was really nice. I took the time to take a Udemy.com class on digital marketing. I’m rather proud of myself for making a successful Facebook ad that I targeted in Argentina. I even used Upworks.com to hire an Argentinian interpreter to help me speak with my new leads. Then I went on Indeed.com and found someone to train me on some better video editing. My video production slowed down in the process because there is so much to learn! But it’s FUN!

Selling our Renovated and Rented Houses During Quarantine

By June though things were rolling so well that I had my best real estate sales month of my entire career. People are buying up Detroit like crazy! My real estate contacts in Detroit are telling me the same. It’s going well in the suburbs and in Detroit. The prices aren’t going down so now is a good time to BUY!

I’d love to tell you more. Call me on my cell phone because I’m not at my office again yet. I like being near my family too much. (248) 390-3982.

Molly, Lucy, Monique, and Julia at the Pink Pony on Mackinac Island in July. It was totally open!