How The COST Framework Transforms Property Managers into Strategic Advisors
Vincent Deorio has raised over a billion dollars in capital, completed more than 40 mergers and acquisitions, and scaled multiple property management companies from startup to over $100 million in annual revenue. Throughout his 15-plus years in the industry, he keeps encountering the same destructive pattern.
Property management companies chase unit count and revenue growth while their operational foundation crumbles beneath them. Vincent scaled Atlas Real Estate from 3,500 units to over 10,000 units across seven markets in under two years. The experience taught him what most property managers learn too late: throwing capital at growth creates more problems than it solves.
"They just underestimate it," Vincent explains about companies pursuing aggressive expansion. "Chasing only revenue, they don't understand going into a new market requires so much and miss doing proper due diligence."— VINCENT DEORIO, gO-TO-MARKET ADVISOR AT REVELA
As Revela's go-to-market advisor, Vincent now helps property management companies avoid the trap he witnessed repeatedly throughout his career. Companies that build institutional-grade operations create sustainable competitive advantages regardless of their size. Those that remain reactive service providers become easily replaceable, even if they have a large number of units they manage.
The Service Provider Trap: Why Smart Companies Stay Stuck
There are core business operations that every PMC has to fulfill first for owners:
- Coordinate maintenance
- Process rent collection
- Respond to owner requests
When owners evaluate whether to keep their property manager or switch to a competitor, the decision comes down to price and basic service delivery.
This commoditization stems from a fundamental misunderstanding about what sophisticated property owners actually need. Vincent discovered this pattern with institutional clients and individual investors alike.
"There's so much assumption of what people are looking for. In our little silos, we overbuild, over-engineer and over-architect without actually understanding the needs of the owners."— VINCENT DEORIO
Property managers track maintenance requests and lease renewals but rarely engage owners in forward-looking capital planning or portfolio optimization. When market conditions shift, these companies struggle to demonstrate value beyond basic service delivery.
Vincent identifies three consequences of the service provider trap.
- Property managers make operational decisions without understanding their financial impact on owner returns.
- They miss opportunities to position themselves as indispensable advisors who help owners make better investment decisions.
- They create businesses built on reactive problem-solving rather than proactive value creation.
The revenue-first mentality compounds these issues. In order to demonstrate increasing value, PMCs push to grow the number of units under management, but oftentimes companies pursue this growth without building the foundation necessary to deliver sophisticated service.
"Probably 80% of PM companies at 1,000 to 5,000 units operate with patchwork systems and more of a reactive nature. They grow more and then staff up, which then is like this perpetual cycle of chasing talent to achieve quality service."— VINCENT DEORIO
More units under management should create economies of scale, but without proper systems and positioning, additional properties just mean additional problems.
The COST Framework: Building Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Property Management
Vincent's approach to competitive advantage centers on The COST Framework, a framework of four interconnected principles that enable property management companies to deliver asset management-level service. This positioning transforms the relationship from transactional service delivery to strategic partnership.
Clean Accounting as Trust Foundation
Strategic partnerships begin with flawless financial operations. "One bad owner statement, or one slight mistake on accounting completely diminishes trust," Vincent emphasizes, "and once you diminish that trust, it's a hard hill to climb back." When financial data is clean, accurate, and delivered consistently, property managers earn permission to have bigger conversations about portfolio strategy and capital allocation.
The accounting discipline extends beyond monthly statements. Property managers using integrated platforms can provide owners with real-time visibility into property performance, enabling proactive decisions rather than reactive corrections. This transparency positions the property manager as a trusted advisor.
Over-Simplify the Complex
Vincent has built and implemented some of the most sophisticated property management technology in the industry, yet his core philosophy centers on simplicity.
"It surprised me how simple some of these solutions were right in front of us," he reflects. "It's pretty basic: good customer service, good reporting, good accounting, and understanding and trusting my team."— VINCENT DEORIO
Complex dashboards are great for those looking to dive into the nitty-gritty, but how user-friendly is the system? Many owners just want confidence that someone is watching their investment carefully and will alert them to important decisions. The simplification principle means building systems that are reliable and accessible to get that confidence off the ground.
This extends to internal operations as well; property managers should design processes that work for all team members, not just technical experts.
When systems require specialized knowledge to operate, they create bottlenecks that prevent scaling.
Strategic Listening and Client Education
The most significant competitive advantage Vincent identifies comes from a discipline he calls strategic listening.
"A superpower I’ve always had is slowing down, being thoughtful, and listening to the problem,” he says. “Then, find a way to solve it in a lightweight, simple manner showing we care." — VINCENT DEORIO
Property managers typically propose solutions based on industry best practices or their own operational preferences. It’s natural to make assumptions, especially when trying to operate quickly, but those moves can create knots that take even more time to untangle down the line. Vincent advocates for understanding each owner's specific situation before recommending approaches. A mom-and-pop investor building wealth for retirement has different needs than an institutional fund optimizing risk-adjusted returns across a large portfolio.
This listening discipline enables property managers to position themselves as educators rather than just service providers. Vincent describes the transformation as moving from property management to asset management:
"It’s being able to say, 'Hey, we went out and did an inspection. You’re going to need these 3 things in the next 5 years. Here's what we anticipate them costing. Let's start stashing money aside for that and plan for that.’"
Tied and Unified Systems
When property managers use multiple disconnected systems, staff members spend time on data entry and reconciliation instead of client relationship building. Unified platforms eliminate this administrative burden, enabling teams to operate at higher levels of sophistication.
Team members executing their core responsibilities efficiently gain the bandwidth to understand how their work connects to the broader business. Put simply, they can do more. Vincent emphasizes consolidated systems specifically because they create this capacity—when staff aren't buried in administrative tasks, they can learn adjacent functions and see the full client lifecycle.
The operational foundation also includes rigorous process documentation and cross-training. Vincent’s advice is to break down departmental silos so team members understand how their work impacts the entire organization. This creates empathy and accountability that translates into better service delivery for property owners.
The Rising Stakes for Property Management
Vincent sees three major forces reshaping the property management industry over the next five to ten years. Companies that adapt will thrive while those that can’t consolidate their disconnected systems and programs will struggle to survive.
Consolidation will continue accelerating as the industry matures. Larger, more sophisticated operators will acquire smaller companies, creating pressure for all property managers to demonstrate operational excellence and strategic value. The acquisition market rewards companies with clean systems, strong client retention, and institutional-grade processes.
Expectations from residents and investors will keep rising. Property owners increasingly expect real-time visibility into property performance and proactive strategic guidance. Residents expect responsive service and modern communication channels.
"The expectation from the resident and the investor and owner is going to continue to increase," Vincent notes. "There's going to be pressure on PMs to provide a better level of service, or they're just going to get fired."— VINCENT DEORIO
Advancements in technology, particularly in artificial intelligence, will enhance rather than replace human strategic capabilities. Property managers who learn to leverage these tools will free up time for high-value client interactions and strategic planning. Those who resist technological evolution will find themselves increasingly uncompetitive.
Master Change Management as Core Competency
Growth requires constant evolution in systems, processes, and team capabilities. Property managers must develop systematic approaches to organizational change that build buy-in vs. mandate adoption. Explain the benefits of new approaches and help team members understand how changes make their work more effective rather than more difficult.
Property management companies that implement these principles position themselves as institutional partners rather than replaceable service providers. The transformation requires a great deal of discipline and patience, but creates competitive advantages for sustainable growth and higher margins than traditional service delivery models. The PMCs that master these fundamentals won’t just keep up, they’ll define the next generation of institutional-grade operators.
