EP#86 Emily Watson | In-House vs. 3rd-Party Management
28 May 2026

EP#86 Emily Watson | In-House vs. 3rd-Party Management

The Rent Roll with Jay Parsons

About

Is it better to manage properties in house, or to outsource to a third-party manager? It's an age-old question, and there's no one-size-fits-all answer. But there's no doubt that we continue to see far more consolidation in the management business than we do in property ownership. Why is that? Lantower Residential COO Emily Watson joins the podcast to share her experience, and talks about why her answer has evolved. Lantower recently made the decision to close its in-house management arm and hire a national third-party property manager. Emily candidly shares what drove that decision, how technology is changing the management game, and what early results they've seen thus far. Additionally on this episode, rental housing economist Jay Parsons gives his take on a busy week of headlines — breaking down the announced merger between AvalonBay and Equity Residential, as well as analyzing the impact of the U.S. House's major housing bill that just passed with overwhelmingly bipartisan support. Jay also shares recurring segments like Rental Housing Trivia, Good News and New Digs — where he profiles a recently announced major office-to-residential tower conversion.