Happy Sunday, {{ First Name | }}!

A year ago, my family moved to Florida.

We bought a house on a beautiful lake with the intention of tearing it down and building new. Last month our permit finally came through.

Demo time.

Which means for the next year, my family needs somewhere to live while we build. We looked at buying. We looked at renting. We ran the numbers the way I always run the numbers, and renting was the clear answer for the space we need, the way Kristin and I both work from home, for only a short period, and what actually made financial sense for this season.

So for the first time in a long time, I became the tenant.

And what I experienced over the next several weeks reminded me why the tenant experience is not just a nice thing to get right. It is the foundation everything else is built on.

I am not sharing this to complain. I am sharing it because I think most of us managing properties have forgotten what it feels like to be on the other side of the door.

It Started Before We Even Got Inside