MHN Interview: Emily Goodman, Regional Property Manager, CORE Realty Holdings Management

By Lisa Iannucci, Contributing Writer

MHN interviews Emily Goodman CPM, ARM, CAPS, Regional Property Manager, CORE Realty Holdings Management, Inc., Newport Beach, California.

MHN: How did you get into the multifamily industry?

Goodman: My family background includes connections to the real estate industry, as my father was also in this business. Initially, I dismissed a career within the property sector due to the demands I knew it would place on my personal life. I studied psychology in college and graduated with a B.A. degree from a prestigious university. Like many graduates, I believed a host of employers would be falling over themselves to hire me. In real life, this rarely turns out to be the case. My dad encouraged me to obtain a real estate license as a practical way of earning an income, while searching for positions that would utilize my degree. I obtained my license and then saw an advertisement for an apartment-leasing consultant. It grabbed my attention, as it seemed to offer an exciting and rewarding career. I successfully applied for the role and launched my career in the industry.

MHN: If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?

Goodman: I was determined not to follow in the family tradition of working in the real estate industry and my career in multifamily began almost in spite of myself. However, now it is very much under my skin and I simply could not imagine doing anything else.

MHN: Who has been the biggest inspiration during your career?

Goodman: The biggest influence in my career has been my father. He owns a real estate company in a small town that also provides property management services. I grew up in a household where dinner time was often interrupted by a tenant calling my father to fix an overflowing toilet or a leaky faucet. I learned first-hand what it meant to be truly committed to both your career and your employees and have carried this with me throughout my professional life. My father and the lessons he taught me have been a guidepost for me and helped me to understand that the ingredients for success in real estate are hard work, effective team leadership and effective networking.

MHN: In terms of work, what keeps you up at night?

Goodman: Many aspects of the property management field are uncontrollable things like market conditions, crime, unemployment, etc. Market conditions concern means when I can see that there is going to be an oversupply of units in the market as a result of new construction. Crime occurs on every property in every community and in most instances is impossible to control. Unemployment rates of the area cause me concern because this directly affects the current resident’s ability to pay rent and our rental market in general.

Another area that causes me concern is the morale of my team. Sometimes it’s hard to keep the morale up when faced with multiple challenges, and they’ve been the target of disgruntled residents day after day. One of my main motivations is to ensure that my employees’ morale is maintained at a high level. When staff are feeling dispirited their productivity tends to suffer. It’s an ongoing personal task for me to devise new incentives and contests to keep my staff motivated and happy. I also focus on training and continuing education in order to keep my staff engaged. I keep a notepad on my nightstands to record ideas that I come up with in the middle of the night.

MHN: What’s the best part of your workday?

Goodman: I find it hugely motivating to inspire a positive change in a staff member’s working practice by getting through to the individual and helping them to improve their performance. Much of my focus is on training our staff how to do the job effectively and when they have a “light bulb” moment and I know that they “get it,” really understanding the reasoning for doing things a certain way, it creates a huge sense of accomplishment at making an impact.

MHN: What one story in your career stands out in your mind?

Goodman: Getting fired from my very first job in the industry was a very significant event. This happened, not because I was innately bad at the job, but because I suffered from a lack of experience and training. At the time it was an absolutely devastating experience, as it would be for anyone to be fired from their first job; especially when you know you are ready to break stones apart to make a success of it. In hindsight, this represented a major milestone in my life. I could have chosen to give up my career, which had only just started and try to do something else. However, I drew up as much determination as I could manage, strove to overcome the obstacles and forged on. I vowed that I would never again fail because of inexperience. With this in mind, I took and passed as many further education courses and certificates relevant to my field as I could possibly find, including the CPM, ARM, CAPS and graduate programs. As companies were not prepared to pay for these, I financed them myself. My view was that I was investing in my career and the outlay would be repaid in time. The confidence that I now have in my ability and my career was built on this experience. I know that no matter what I face I can do so with confidence.

MHN: Where do you see yourself in the next five years? 10 years?

Goodman: Although it is difficult to predict the future with certainty, the choices we make can help us steer a path towards our goals. In five years I expect to launch my own firm with a select choice of properties and supported by a small number of talented staff.  My plan is to grow this business over the medium to long term, so that within 10 years I plan to run one of the largest and most successful property management firms.

MHN: What advice would you give another that you wish someone would had said to you?

Goodman: In all of our careers, we can expect to meet obstacles and undoubtedly will get knocked down and knocked down often. This is as true for the real estate sector as it is for any other industry. The job is a challenging one and at times it can appear as if the road consists of nothing but roadblocks and stop signs. However, we can view these obstacles as speed bumps rather than boulders. They may slow you down, but do not have to stop you. By learning to focus on the solution to a problem, rather than the issue we get into the habit of acting rather than reacting. More often than not, we will then experience a feeling of accomplishment from knowing that we have the ability to overcome the obstacles that come our way and furthermore, really take control of our careers.