I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

By David Swartz, Business Development at Swartz and Associates

This is now the beginning of year three working with Swartz+Associates (SAI) and it is still challenging for me to predict what to expect as we enter our busiest work period for property tax appeals. But let’s look back two years, to when I joined SAI and truly didn’t know what to expect in my new role.

The short story of my career change is simple – my brother Don, asked me to join his business in 2023 because he thought I could help identify new clients for SAI growth.

I always understood Don’s business model which focuses on the review and appeal of property values. He’s labored on his methods, team building, and successful results for forty years. My career had always centered on liquid assets within a heavily regulated industry, so I had a steep learning curve to better understand commercial real estate and its sales and management models.

With little working knowledge of how many properties would be entrusted to me for our review, I took a leap of faith that this endeavor would work as well as Don thought. A little bit of fear is a great motivator.

Our history of great results for existing name-brand, Midwest-based companies, and the many meetings graciously accepted by friends, acquaintances, and centers of influence helped me manage the fear. The results so far? The motivation and energy generated new business at 15x greater than goals I imagined!

But what to expect two years later?

Will property valuations continue to rise? – most likely.

Will our new clients ask us to review their properties again? – hopefully.

Will my hours spent at association and industry meet and greets increase my knowledge and bring more engagements to SAI? – results look promising.

We can’t know everything, and the questions above will be answered soon – I look forward to sharing how much more I learned and how we continue to help our clients.
Let me know if we can help you with your property tax appeals!