The plan was to fly airplanes, not manage rental properties.
Before Epic Property Management existed, its founder was an airline pilot. He trained for the job through the turbulence that followed 9/11, made it into the cockpit by 2005, and then watched the 2008 recession take the job back, along with the pay—and eventually the airline itself.
In September 2009, one single-family house replaced the flight plan entirely.
The growth journey from that single house to the 1,600 units we manage today has been full of lessons in how to scale a rental property portfolio well.
Starting With One House
The 2009 launch began with a property financed on zero percent credit cards, and a lot of elbow grease. It was a “right place, right time” bet that panned out.
And the upside of the rental real estate model became clear early on. So, with an eye for opportunity and a talent for improving processes at every turn, our founder added to that first house by acquiring more properties over time.
Today, Epic owns approximately 1,200 units and manages an additional 400 properties for other investors. The original house is still part of the portfolio.
Building Around Systems
As the portfolio grew, the challenges changed.
Managing one property is very different than managing hundreds spread across different locations.
Read: Scattered Site Property Management Tips
In the early years, the systems and structure needed to manage the day-to-day operations of multiple properties didn’t exist yet, so meeting the needs of a growing portfolio meant extremely long hours and a very hands-on approach.
But in the end, that experience ultimately shaped how Epic was built: not just on theories and best practices, but on real experience and testing.
Our approach was systematic from the start: checklists, standard operating procedures, and documented processes.
But we hit a plateau on the way. As the portfolio grew to about 300 units, our approach ran into slow downs. Yes, the sheer number of properties created more work. But that wasn’t all. The longer term issue was that there were too many moving parts flowing back to one person at the top.
We needed to upgrade our level of organization so that, in theory, other team members could step in and perform more aspects of the day-to-day work.
An Operating Philosophy
Our solution was to build systems that helped Epic manage scattered-site properties with a level of efficiency and professionalism usually associated with much larger operations. This included things like:
- Custom back-office software
- Automated workflows
- Specialized roles
- Interactive checklists
- Greater autonomy for employees
- Systems for tracking efficiency
All gains in efficiency were driven by our underlying approach to the business, which is to maintain the posture of an investor at all times.
We improve processes because it helps us serve investors better. We offer flat-rate property management services because it’s best for investors. We aim to lease the best properties to the best tenants at a fair market value because it helps investors get the best ROI.
And we treat every property as if it were our own, because that’s what we’d look for if we were hiring a property management partner.
Quantity Isn’t the Only Factor
It’s worth complicating the headline here:
Door count alone doesn’t determine whether an operator is doing well. There are owners who are happy and financially secure at 500 doors, and others who are burned out and struggling at 2,500.
The size of the portfolio is not the deciding factor in whether it serves the investor’s goals. It’s whether the systems that underpin that portfolio actually work. That’s why excellent property management teams are expressly designed to tackle the challenges that real investors face.
Epic Property Management is more than a service business; it’s an investor-serving business. That shapes how we operate. Years spent acquiring, owning, and managing residential real estate have shaped our priorities:
- Operate efficiently
- Maintain properties professionally
- Move quickly when something needs to be done
- Minimize unnecessary turnover
For investors considering professional property management, that perspective is worth understanding.
Epic isn’t approaching the business only as a manager. We’re run by an investor, for investors. We’ve grown into our systems, and we’ll always continue perfecting them, based on the lessons learned from managing and growing our own portfolio.
If you’d like to learn more about our property management systems, get in touch today.