About – Heirloom Property Management

What does it mean to be an Heirloom?

Our town is full of Heirlooms and we’ve built a business around keeping them that way. We believe in taking care of property, and we have a standard we operate by. Every property begins as a nice place to live and they require maintenance to stay that way. Simply put, we represent property that we can be proud of.

Now, we don’t stick to this standard because we are hung-up on pretty looking homes. We do this because it makes smart fiscal sense with real estate investments. Thoroughly planned routine & preventative maintenance is the most cost efficient way to maintain a properties’ value over the long term. It’s just that simple. Here’s the thing, you’re not saving money when you skip routine maintenance. Deferred maintenance is STILL spending money – it’s just in the form of a decrease to your property’s value.

Adding a coat of wood floor poly every couple years costs much less than refinishing them every 10 years.
Touching up the paint every 5 years costs less than replacing bad siding in 15 years.
Trimming shrubs every summer costs less than tearing them out from overgrowth and re-landscaping.
Staining a deck every 3 years costs much less than rebuilding it due to rot it in 10 years.

Why is attention and innovation around property maintenance systems not common place at every management company? Because it is hard work.

At Heirloom we make maintenance really easy. Our background is in the trades and we’ve been building these systems for years. Weather routine, preventative, or a surprise service call, we have affordable plannable maintenance service plans that will take the surprises out of your cash flow. Take a look at our Maintenance Page to learn more.

What’s our ideal property?

Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, Heirloom Property Management specifically concentrates on quality residential single family homes & apartments in the Duluth, Superior, Proctor, and Hermantown Areas. It is here we know we have the deepest number of resources and the most expertise. If you have a rental property in our niche, we should talk.

Single family homes
Duplexes, triplexes, town-homes and multi-unit apartment buildings
Property geared for families and young professionals
Student rental properties
New rental conversions
Owners who appreciate maintaining their property
Owners who need help maintaining their property
Owners who wish to bring a distressed property up to par
Investor rehab property owners

Michael Schraepfer – President

Michael was first introduced to construction and entrepreneurship growing up alongside his father. Mike started a summer painting business while attending UMD, and quickly became involved in remodeling and real estate. With each new house there were numerous new projects which proved to be a excellent hands-on education in the trades. Since then Mike has blossomed into a local entrepreneur and real estate investor. Heirloom is the combination of Mike’s life in real estate which includes management, realty and construction. He enjoys sharing his experience to help new investors find property, solve financing and work through renovations. He’s a lifelong learner with other pursuits both entrepreneurial and personal including saw-milling, fine furniture making, running, cooking and traveling. Accomplishments:

Licensed Real Estate Broker in MN and WI.
Purchased and renovated over 100 properties in the Duluth area.
Twice nominated for the Labovitz Entrepreneurial Success award.
President of the City of Duluth Planning Commission.
Duluth Heritage Preservation Alliance award recipient.
Facilitate the Duluth Real Estate Investment Masterclass.
Co-founder of Lake Ave Restaurant, winner of “Best Restaurant in MN Worth a Drive” award.
5 time Grandmas 1/2 Marathon finisher.

Nick Adams – Construction Supervisor

Nick grew up in the twin cities and fell in love with Duluth and the North Shore while earning his B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota Duluth. While attending UMD, he ran a summer painting business and was introduced to Michael Schraepfer. The two became fast friends, both shared an interest in entrepreneurship and rental properties. His entry into the rental property ownership was spurred through the help of Michael and has allowed him to continue to invest in properties over the years. In 2013 Nick was nominated for the Labovitz Entrepreneurial Success Award alongside Michael and one other partner. After a brief relocation to Minneapolis, Nick, his wife and children “came home” as he likes to say, and joined the Heirloom team. Nick brings many years of business and project management experience to Heirloom. When not at work Nick enjoys spending time outdoors with his family, mountain biking, and exploring Duluth’s abundant parks. Accomplishments:

Investor Owner of Rental Properties in Duluth
Nominee for the Labovitz Emerging Entrepreneurial Award
5 time Green Lake triathlon finisher
3 time BU 10 hour triathlon finisher
2 time Ragnar Relay finisher

Zach Steinhoff – Senior Accountant

Zach grew up in Iowa where he attended the University of Iowa. While going to school there he received a bachelors in finance. He fell in love with Duluth after visiting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for the first time his freshmen year of college. He moved to Duluth upon graduating college and swears he will never move back to Iowa. Since, graduating Zach has worked in a variety of accounting roles. Zach’s strengths include cost accounting, bookkeeping, ratio analysis and payroll. Outside of work Zach likes to spend as much time as he can outside. Some of his hobbies are mountain biking, running, grilling, hiking, taking care of his dog and of course going to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area as many times as he can a year. A fun fact about Zach that not many people know is that he actually did his senior of high school in Fairbanks, AK. Accomplishments:

4 time half marathon finisher
3 time finisher of the Lutsen 69er
2 time finisher of the Chequamegon Fat Tire Fest
Anonymously voted as one of Duluth’s up and coming young professionals
Visitor of 20+ Boundary Water Canoe Area Entry Points

John Persons – Leasing Specialist

John moved to Duluth in order to dive head first into a new city with the intention to enter the rental market. He thoroughly enjoys Duluth because of its breathtaking natural beauty inside the city, the music scene, and the small town feel that this mini-metro has. John made the decision to work in property management after experiencing some of the problems people can face as renters, with the intention to make this process as easy, enjoyable, and comfortable as possible. The thing he enjoys most about being part of the Heirloom team is the team itself. He loves being surrounded by the most exceptional people with a shared drive to raise the standards and better the business while striving to build meaningful relationships inside and outside our company. Outside of work, John spends his time as a musician, actor, voice actor, puppy dad, and as a loving fiancé.

Accomplishments:

Working studio musician/guitarist
Produced and starred in a new comedy series “Lifties” (set to air Fall 2019). Check it out!
Raised an awesome pup named Gizmo
Recently engaged!