030: Why Property Managers Should Be Investing in Real Estate with Jen Ruelens

In this episode, I’m welcoming back Jen Ruelens of Hold It With PM Jen for a conversation inspired by our recent trip to the Women’s InvestHER Conference in Scottsdale. What started as a recap of the event quickly turned into a much bigger conversation about property managers building wealth through real estate, investors buying property management companies, and the opportunities sitting right in front of us that too many people in our industry are overlooking. Jen and I both believe property managers have a unique advantage when it comes to real estate investing. We already understand the operations. We know the properties. We have relationships with owners. We see opportunities before they ever hit the market. So why aren’t more of us investing for ourselves? **What You’ll Learn in This Episode:** ✔️ Why real estate investors are an overlooked pool of potential PMC buyers ✔️ How buying a property management company can help investors scale beyond self-management ✔️ Why property managers have a major advantage as real estate investors ✔️ How your existing owner relationships can create off-market deal flow ✔️ Jen’s five-way payday of real estate: cash flow, leverage, appreciation, tax advantages, and an inflation hedge ✔️ How Jen purchased a property she was already managing using seller financing ✔️ Why knowing a property's tenants, maintenance history, leases, and financials gives PMs an investing advantage ✔️ How removing emotion from ownership can make you a better investor and property manager ✔️ Why property managers should think beyond ancillary fees when building long-term wealth ✔️ How helping your employees become investors can make your entire team better at property management ✔️ Why your property management company and real estate portfolio can become complementary wealth-building assets **More About Jen** Jennifer Ruelens, better known as PM Jen, runs Hold It with PM Jen, a platform built for buy and hold real estate investors who believe they will create financial freedom with buy and hold investing. She's also the founder, broker, and owner of One Focus Property Management, a business she's run for over 13 years across five counties in North Central Pennsylvania. These days she's speaking and advocating all over the country for buy and hold investors, because she believes they're being set up to fail and somebody needs to show them the hold part is where the money is made. She brings 22+ years in the trenches, a whole lot of opinions, and the receipts to back them up. **Florida State NARPM Conference & Cruise | September 7–11** Stacey and Jen will both be attending and speaking on a panel about building, buying, and selling property management companies. Learn more and register: https://floridastate.narpm.org/events/2026-narpm-florida-state-conference-cruise/ **Building Wealth for Property Managers | October 29, Reading, PA** Jen is partnering with LendingOne for a free event focused on helping property managers invest in real estate and build wealth. Connect with Jen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferruelens/ Website: https://holditwithpmjen.com/ **Connect With Stacey** Website: https://www.staceysalyer.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.stacey.salyer/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stacey.salyer/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-salyer-39254012