How a Small Property Management Company Grew to 102 Doors After Dropping Cold Calls and Google Ads

Chad Hutchins, owner of Key Renter Gilbert, a Keyrenter Property Management franchisee for Gilbert, Arizona, took his small property management company from zero to about 25 doors in six to seven months with cold calls, Google Ads and networking. He reached 102 doors about 18 months later after dropping both for SEO, a five-star Google profile and a strict 20-mile service area.

Key takeaways

• Early Google Ads at Key Renter Gilbert brought more calls from vendors wanting to partner than from property owners, while the company had five Google reviews and owners kept asking how a new firm could protect them.
• After switching to SEO and reputation, Chad reports about a 36% close rate on inbound leads and says he hasn't made a cold call in about a year and a half.
• Key Renter Gilbert works only inside a 20-mile bubble around its office, and Chad turned down an owner with 18 properties in the West Valley to keep it that way.
• Owners now tell Chad they found Key Renter Gilbert on ChatGPT, and the company holds a five-star Google rating across 58 reviews.
• Two self-managing owners Chad signed had $15,000 and over $30,000 in damage after long tenancies, which is why his team goes inside its properties about three times a year.

The numbers

• 25: Doors Key Renter Gilbert reached using cold calls, Google Ads and networking, its first goal.
• 6 to 7 months: How long Chad said it took to reach those first 25 doors.
• 102: Doors Key Renter Gilbert managed at the time of recording, with several agreements out.
• 36%: Chad's reported close rate on inbound owner leads after the switch to SEO.
• five reviews: The Google review count owners saw when Key Renter Gilbert was running its early Google Ads.
• 58 reviews: Key Renter Gilbert's Google review count now, at a five-star rating.
• 20-mile: The radius around Chad's office that Key Renter Gilbert limits its service area to.
• every 90 days: How often Key Renter Gilbert runs what it calls owner condition reports.
• $15,000: Damage found at one self-managed property Chad took over this year, before it could be relisted.
• over $30,000: Damage found at a second self-managed property Chad took over this year, before it could be relisted.

Watch the full video

What we cover in the video

• 0:00 Cold open: $45,000 in hidden damage. Chad describes two properties from out-of-state, self-managing owners that needed $15,000 and over $30,000 in repairs, including a pool the tenants had been left to manage.
• 0:27 Meet Chad Hutchins of Keyrenter Gilbert. The episode introduces Chad, his Navy and recruiting background, and his growth to over 100 doors in about two years.
• 1:16 From the Navy to property management. Chad explains how buying rentals while the Navy moved him around the country led him and his wife to a Keyrenter franchise after he retired.
• 3:04 Day one with zero doors: cold calls and Google Ads. Starting from zero doors in 2024, Chad leaned on the franchise's SEO setup, Google Ads, cold calls and local networking through the Chamber of Commerce and BNI.
• 5:52 Dropping Google Ads for SEO and reputation. Why Google Ads drew more vendor calls than owners while the company had five reviews, and how switching to SEO and reputation changed his owner conversations.
• 8:13 Why cold calling bad investor lists failed. Chad explains why a purchased investor list full of bad data made hours of cold calling unproductive.
• 9:53 From 25 to 102 doors: SEO, close rate and the 20-mile bubble. How SEO focused on Gilbert and Chandler, a 36% close rate, 58 five-star reviews and owners finding the company on ChatGPT took him from 25 to 102 doors.
• 13:11 Owning mistakes with owners. Chad explains why owners of $500,000 to million-dollar homes want straightforward answers and how owning mistakes keeps their trust.
• 15:52 A lean team of four and outsourced support. The four-person team of Chad, his wife, his sister-in-law and a broker, plus outsourced trust accounting and bookkeeping through APM Help.
• 18:56 Why stay inside a 20-mile radius. Why staying within 20 miles of the office lets the company serve owners better, and how growth spreading into Queen Creek and San Tan Valley keeps the bubble full.
• 22:25 Interior inspections and owner condition reports. How owner condition reports every 90 days work with 48-hour notice in Arizona, and why Chad wants someone physically inside each home.
• 24:31 Self-managing owners and costly damage. The two self-managing owners whose long tenancies hid $15,000 and over $30,000 in damage, and why the company requires professional pool service.
• 25:36 A typical day and the sales process. Chad's day centers on business development, and he walks through his fit call, property visit and rental analysis before signing an owner.
• 29:52 What he would do differently. He'd start with his wife fully committed from day one, since she joined around 75 to 80 doors and had to catch up.
• 32:50 Choosing a franchise with room to adapt. Why Chad chose a franchise that lets markets adapt, using a friend's Subway franchises as the contrast.
• 33:51 How to reach Chad. Chad shares his email address as the best way to reach him.

Five Google reviews.

That's what owners saw when Chad's early Google Ads put his company in front of them. Most of the calls that came back were vendors pitching partnerships.

His small property management company in Gilbert, Arizona had zero doors when it started signing properties in August 2024. On our channel, Chad walked through how it reached 102, and most of that growth came after he quit cold calling and stopped paying for Google Ads.

How Fast Can a Small Property Management Company Grow?

Key Renter Gilbert, a small property management company in Gilbert, Arizona, went from zero to 102 doors in roughly two years. It bought its franchise in January 2024, began signing properties in August 2024, reached about 25 doors in six to seven months, and was at 102 about 18 months later, with several agreements still out.

The two stretches ran on different lead sources.

Chad called the first year slow and said he was fine with that, because it gave the team experience managing other people's properties. Outbound tactics got him to the first goal of 25 doors. "It wasn't smooth," he said. "It wasn't natural, and I can't stand that."

Now he's racing to 200.

Do Google Ads Work for a New Property Management Company?

Google Ads brought Key Renter Gilbert more calls from vendors wanting to partner than from property owners in its first months. Chad said he felt the company was wasting money on them. The ads sent owners to a business with five Google reviews, and those owners kept asking how a company that new could protect them.

"We were getting more calls from vendors wanting to partner with us than we were actual clients," he said.

We read that as a sequencing lesson. Paid search can put a new company in front of an owner quickly, and that owner then checks the reviews. When five reviews are all the profile has, the click tends to stall. Our page on Google Ads for property management covers how paid search fits once that foundation exists.

Cold calling failed for a different reason. The investor list Chad bought was "a lot of bad data," and he would dial for hours to reach maybe one interested owner. As an investor who bought his first house at 20, he said, "That's not how I would want to be approached."

Networking did carry over. The best advice he got was "you want to be the mayor of your town," and BNI still pays off for him today.

What Brought In Better Owner Leads Instead?

SEO and a five-star Google review profile brought Key Renter Gilbert better-qualified owner leads than ads or cold calls. Chad reports about a 36% close rate on inbound leads, from searches focused on Gilbert, Chandler and the towns his team serves, with owners arriving after reading what other owners wrote about the company.

He put SEO first, and added that he wasn't saying it only because he was on an Upkeep Media podcast. "It's really been night and day different."

Ranking only where you work

Property management SEO worked for Chad partly because it matched his footprint. The searches he wants come from owners in Gilbert, Chandler and the surrounding areas, and that's where he says the company ranks near the top.

Reviews owners quote back

Key Renter Gilbert has a five-star Google rating across 58 reviews. Chad said he won't beg anyone for a review, because he wants owners to trust what they read. The reviews come up on sales calls: one prospect cited an out-of-state owner's review about how the company takes all the stress off them. For a system around reviews, see our page on reputation management for property managers.

Owners who found you on ChatGPT

AI search is the use of assistants like ChatGPT to research and recommend businesses, and owners now use it to find Chad. He said Key Renter Gilbert gets a lot of owners saying they found the company on ChatGPT, though he didn't give a count. The 58 reviews and local pages that win Google searches tend to be what answer engines draw on. Our guide to ChatGPT and AI search for property managers covers that side.

Why Limit a Property Management Service Area to 20 Miles?

A 20-mile service area lets Key Renter Gilbert give better service without adding staff, and owners respond well to it in sales conversations. Chad says he passes six or seven managed properties on the mile-and-a-half drive from home to his office, so his team can spot a problem outside a home and follow up with an inside check.

The radius started as a way not to overstretch early. It turned out dense enough to grow inside.

Growth in his part of the Phoenix metro keeps moving outward, he explained. Scottsdale overflowed into Gilbert and Chandler, which are now overflowing into Apache Junction, Queen Creek and San Tan Valley. His investor clients buy along those paths, so the bubble keeps producing doors.

Holding the line costs something. Chad turned down an owner with 18 properties in the West Valley. "That's hard to say no to," he said.

"We want to be the best in our little bubble."

His 20 miles sits in a fast-growing metro. An operator in a thinner market may need a wider circle to reach the same density.

How Often Should Property Managers Inspect Rental Properties?

Key Renter Gilbert goes inside its rental properties about three times a year and runs what it calls owner condition reports every 90 days. Chad called three interior visits a year "a little aggressive" but sustainable for now, and said Arizona law lets his team give 48-hour notice before entering.

Entry notice rules differ by state, so confirm your own requirements with counsel before setting a schedule.

Chad wants to see, hear and smell what's going on inside a property, which a video can't fully replace. New owners often come to him after asking a previous manager when anyone last went inside, and hearing: "Well, we never go in your property. We don't really have to."

Two properties he signed this year from out-of-state, self-managing owners had both sat under long tenancies. Before relisting, one needed about $15,000 in repairs and the other over $30,000. One owner had forgotten the tenants were handling the pool, and the whole pool had to be resurfaced.

Key Renter Gilbert now requires professional pool service and annual HVAC maintenance from every owner, both of which Chad called important in Arizona. He said tenants haven't pushed back on the visits, and he ties good maintenance to lease renewals and low vacancy for the owner.

How Does Key Renter Gilbert Decide Which Owners to Sign?

Key Renter Gilbert qualifies owners and properties before signing, after taking on a couple of properties in its first two years that Chad says it shouldn't have. He checks location, property type and whether the owner accepts the company's maintenance standards, and his team sees every property before taking it on, even when the owner lives out of state.

The process, in order:

1. Hold an initial phone call to see whether the company fits the owner and the owner fits the company.
2. Confirm the property sits inside the 20-mile bubble and is a type Key Renter Gilbert manages.
3. Walk the owner through the process: repairs get fixed fast, HVAC is serviced every year, and communication runs both ways.
4. See the property, and decide whether the owner will pay to bring it up to standard if it falls short.
5. Deliver the rental analysis and the pitch.

Chad also tells owners to call other managers before deciding. When one picks a cheaper option, he tells them, "All right, I'll see you in 6 months to a year. Let me see how your property is doing."

He stays straight with owners after signing too. These are $500,000 homes, some over a million, and Chad's view is that owners at that level want "somebody that's going to be straightforward with them." When his team fumbles, they say what happened and how they'll fix it. "Mistakes are recoverable if you are honest and genuine to your clients, to your team."

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Google reviews does a new property manager need to earn owner trust?

Chad's story doesn't set a fixed threshold, but five reviews weren't enough. Owners who saw five kept asking how a company that new could protect them. Key Renter Gilbert now has 58 reviews at a five-star rating, and prospects quote those reviews back to Chad on sales calls.

Is cold calling worth it for a new property management company?

Cold calling can help a new company reach its first doors because it costs little money, but results depend heavily on the list. Chad's purchased investor list was full of bad data, and hours of dialing often reached one interested owner. Combined with networking, it got him to about 25 doors, and he hasn't made a cold call in about a year and a half.

What is a good close rate for property management owner leads?

Chad reports about a 36% close rate on inbound leads at Key Renter Gilbert. He credits SEO focused on Gilbert, Chandler and nearby towns for bringing in owners who already fit his service area. That's one company's figure from one episode, not an industry benchmark.

Can ChatGPT send owners to a local property management company?

Yes, according to Chad, owners now tell Key Renter Gilbert they found the company on ChatGPT. He didn't share a count. His company also ranks well in Google for its towns and has 58 five-star reviews, which is the kind of public evidence AI assistants tend to draw on.

Should a property manager turn down a big portfolio outside its service area?

Chad did, turning down an owner with 18 properties in the West Valley to stay inside his 20-mile bubble. He called it hard to say no to, but said staying focused protects service quality. Whether that trade makes sense depends on how dense your own market is.

What maintenance should property managers require from owners in Arizona?

Key Renter Gilbert requires every owner to have a professional pool service and annual HVAC maintenance. Chad called both important in Arizona, and one self-managed property he took over needed its whole pool resurfaced after the tenants had been handling it.

How many staff does a property management company need at 100 doors?

Key Renter Gilbert runs 102 doors with four people: Chad, his wife, his sister-in-law and a broker. Trust accounting and bookkeeping go to APM Help, and maintenance goes to outside vendors. Chad keeps every client-facing role local and has no virtual assistants.

How long does it take a new property manager to get its first 25 doors?

Key Renter Gilbert took six to seven months to reach 25 doors after it began signing properties in August 2024. Chad used cold calls, Google Ads, Chamber of Commerce events, BNI and realtor networking to get there. He called that first stretch slow but useful experience.

Final Thoughts

The change Chad would make with a time machine is about people. He and his wife bought the business together, but she kept her other job until the company was around 75 to 80 doors, then had to catch up while he was already sprinting. Starting again, he'd want a fully committed partner from day one.

His next hire is just as specific: someone local to run maintenance, possibly a handyman who can also handle property tasks. He's held off on virtual assistants because owners in his bubble are buying a local team.

An operator at 25 doors with five reviews has Chad's sequence to copy: reviews and local search first, the next ad budget after.