Conferences

Sessions & Workshops

At this year's convention, we will be holding several workshops designed to help you improve your businesses and your busy property managment lives. These are sessions you will not want to pass up attending!

General Sessions

FOCUS ON PEOPLE SKILLS

Wednesday, October 21st, 4:00 - 6:00 pm
Speaker: Steve Oniki, Steve Oniki Seminars, Sarasota, FL

In today’s fast-paced society, where change and adaptability are continually confronting your life patterns, it is mandatory that you stop long enough to focus upon a sense of purpose, direction, goals, and commitment. It is essential to be able to act decisively with confidence and choose your destiny. Don’t miss this informational and inspirational session!

MANAGING YOUR TIME WHEN YOU WEAR TOO MANY HATS

Thursday, October 22nd, 9:00 - 10:00 am
Speaker: Bob Losyk, Innovative Training Solutions, Inc., Greensboro, NC

Time is your most precious resource, one that is often overlooked and mismanaged. Do you know where your time goes each day? Do you feel you never have enough time to do all the necessary things? Are you concerned that you are not doing the right things? Do you suffer from paralysis of analysis and cannot decide what to do next? These are just some of the reasons why you may not be achieving your true potential!

This program will show you how to determine your priorities. You will find out how to say no to unimportant activities and projects, and yes to those that result in the greatest payoff. You will learn proven techniques for accomplishing goal-achieving, not tension-relieving, results!

ECONOMIC FORECAST

Thursday, October 22nd, 11:45 am - 1:15 pm (during Networking Lunch)
Speaker: Dr. Clay Singleton, Crummer Graduate School of Business, Rollins College

Get up-to-date on the current economic environment in our country and gain insight as to what impact that environment will have on your business.

CHALLENGING TIMES ARE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROPERTY MGMT.

Friday, October 23rd, 9:15 - 10:15 am
Speaker: Mark Kreditor, MPM® RMP®, Get There First Realty, CRMC®, Dallas, TX

Is your glass half empty or half full? Can you consciously decide to not participate in an economic downturn? Are there innovative ways to adjust the fees you charge to actually benefit clients and customers while increasing your bottom line? Throughout time, there have always been individuals or industries that make more money while the world around them crashes. Perhaps these past 12-18 months have given your company the challenge to really work smarter and not harder. Perhaps now is the right time to dramatically change your business focus.

The nature of the true service business is its ability to change with client and customer needs. Never before have markets changed so drastically making such innovative profit centers as foreclosure protection and eviction protection some of the best new products your firm can offer. These may just be the tip of the iceberg, so come to this innovative and entertaining general session to learn what you can do to emerge from challenging times wealthier, wiser, and even better at property management.

Workshops

1) MORE FOCUS ON PEOPLE SKILLS

Thursday, October 22nd, 10:15 - 11:45 am
Speaker: Steve Oniki, Steve Oniki Seminars, Sarasota, FL

2) DRIVING USERS TO YOUR WEBSITE

Thursday, October 22nd, 10:15 - 11:45 am
Presenter: Tony Drost, MPM® RMP®, First Rate Property Management, Inc., Boise, ID

This workshop will show you how to increase traffic to your website by posting your URL on all ads, signs, and business cards; switching to online statements so that your tenants, owners, and vendors use your website to get their information; have online payments, maintenance requests, and forms; and more. Learn what keywords are and how to incorporate them into your site. Learn about re-directs and links—who to link to, why, and how to improve relevance to the keywords. Google ad word campaigns will also be covered; find out how to cheat and what happens when you get caught. This is a real nuts and bolts session.

3) THE GREEN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT OFFICE

Thursday, October 22nd, 10:15 - 11:45 am
Presenter: Sina Shekou, Propertyware, Inc., San Rafael, CA

This workshop is focused on explaining how property management companies can make a substantial impact by practicing conservation, and contribute to the bottom line by initiating a green strategy in your office. Explore actual technologies and strategies that will help any property management company take the first steps to becoming green. The workshop will include real customer case studies from NARPM® companies that have gone green such as Prudential Tropical Realty (Betsy Morgan, MPM® RMP®), Residential Property Management, Inc., CRMC® (Dave Holt, MPM® RMP®), and others in attendance.

4) MORE MANAGING YOUR TIME WHEN YOU WEAR TOO MANY HATS

Thursday, October 22nd, 1:30 - 2:45 pm
Speaker: Bob Losyk, Innovative Training Solutions, Inc., Greensboro, NC

This workshop will build on the morning general session by giving you detailed information that you need to protect your most precious resource—time! This program will show you how to set priorities, how to say no, and how to determine when it is appropriate to say yes.

5) WANT TO MANAGE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS?

Thursday, October 22nd, 1:30 - 2:45 pm
Presenters: Vickie Gaskill, MPM® RMP® CPM®, Bell Anderson & Associates, LLC, Kent, WA; James Emory Tungsvik, MPM® RMP®, Around The Clock, Inc., CRMC®, Kent, WA

In this session, you will understand the philosophy, hierarchy, and authority of governing documents within community associations, and keep an eye toward determining if managing a community association is right for your company. The presenters will discuss the authority of the Board of Directors and the role of a management company. They will also discuss administrative and accounting needs.

6) MORE EFFICIENCY WITH LESS PEOPLE

Thursday, October 22nd, 1:30 - 2:45 pm
Presenter: Glenn Dorsey, myHomeSpot.com

Learn about leveraging technology to increase reliability and efficiency, and to increase profitability and customer satisfaction. This is an interactive workshop where you will analyze a small operation of 50-100 units and find out how not to hire another human, but to hire a computer at a fraction of the cost. There will also be a demonstration of an automated communication system that sends e-mails to clients informing them of maintenance requests, lease expirations, lease renewals, move-out notices, NSF incidents, and more. Stop looking for new single source applications that do it all—just say “No!” to changing your management software. Learn how to only add and develop software to compliment and supplement what you are doing best.

7) EFFECTIVELY MANAGING ROOMATES

Thursday, October 22nd, 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Presenters: Jennifer Kellogg, Kellogg Agency, Rio Rancho, NM; Jennifer Newton, Walters Home Management, San Diego, CA; Beverly Perina, Armadillo Property Management, Fort Collins, CO; Jim Smith, RMP®, The Property Management Company, Round Rock, TX

Avoid the pitfalls of renting to roommates! Learn how to screen roommates, how to structure leases, and how to manage roommates when they come and go. Panel members will present a comprehensive look at tenant screening and managing roommates by examining fair housing issues (general concepts not state specific), and application criteria, lease structure, and security deposit options. If you have roommates in your client mix, this is the workshop for you!

8) FULLY UTILIZING THE NARPM® NATIONAL WEBSITE

Thursday, October 22nd, 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Presenters: Marc Witmer, RMP®, and Michael Ebert, RMP®, Austin Landmark Property Services, CRMC®, Austin, TX

Do you know where to go to enroll in a NARPM® online course? How about finding the requirements for achieving a designation? What is the difference between Members Only and Internet Member Services? In this session, you can learn how to fully utilize the NARPM® national website, as well as how it can help you develop a functional and useful chapter website. This is a practical hands-on workshop that you need to see.

9) METHAMPHETAMINE AWARENESS PROGRAM

Thursday, October 22nd, 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Presenter: Lake County Sheriff’s Office

Methamphetamine use is infecting much of the country. Due to the extremely addictive nature of Meth, users have learned how to make Meth in portable labs. These labs have been found in houses, sheds, garages, mote/hotel rooms, car trunks, and even in backpacks. Needless to say, they could be found in or on a property you manage. Do not wait until the unthinkable happens. In this workshop, you will learn how to recognize the warning signs, and what to do if you suspect there is a Meth lab on one of your properties. You can’t afford to miss this one.

10) PROPERTY MANAGEMENT & ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Friday, October 23rd, 10:30 am - Noon
Presenter: Carl Frazier, Cornerstone Properties, Aiea, HI

The world is becoming more environmentally aware. Owners and agents are being sued everyday. What in the world are mycotoxins or stachybotrys? And, why should I care? Asbestos—what do I do about it? In this workshop, you will learn about environmental hazards and five rules that will keep you out of trouble. Learn about indoor issues such as lead-based paint, radon, mold, asbestos, and about outdoor issues such as UST’s (underground storage tanks) waste sites, toxic substances, wetlands, watersheds, etc. You will also be given a list of resources where you can gain more information about your specific geographic areas. This workshop has lots of valuable information on how to protect your business.

11) HAVING A RENTAL IN A COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

Friday, October 23rd, 10:30 am - Noon
Presenters: Vickie Gaskill, MPM® RMP® CPM®, Bell Anderson & Associates, LLC, Kent, WA; James Emory Tungsvik, MPM® RMP®, Around The Clock, Inc., CRMC®, Kent, WA

This session builds on the morning session, Want to Manage Community Associations?, by delving deeper into the authority of association governing documents and by understanding the rights of owners and tenants. You will also be provided the tools to be able to work through due process procedures. This segment will cover what an owner, tenant, and property manager need to know in understanding the governing documents and general rights related to a rental property in a community association.

12) BLOGGING 101

Friday, October 23rd, 10:30 am - Noon
Presenter: Steve Crossland, MPM® RMP®, Crossland Real Estate, Austin, TX

The Internet has drastically shifted the way in which prospective clients find services and products. Most start with a Google search, but Google ranks your website based on the content found on your site. Authoring a blog allows you to “feed” Google with great property management-related content, making it easier for visitors to find your website. A well-written blog also serves to establish credibility and expertise with your readers and site visitors. Blogging can be a powerful marketing tool. You will leave this workshop fully-informed and empowered to either get started right away, or to decide that blogging is not a marketing effort your company needs.