By David Crown, Founder and Chief Executive, L.A. Property Management Group

[Editor’s Note: This article is Part 2 of an article published in the June 2026 issue of Apartment Age Magazine.]

In family-owned real estate portfolios, not every decision gets made around a polished conference table. Sometimes it happens over dinner, during a heated phone call, or five minutes before someone must leave for a kid’s soccer game. That’s just reality.

In Part 1, I talked about the importance of structure, communication, and separating family dynamics from business decisions. But there’s another side to this conversation that deserves attention: what happens when strong personalities inside the family start taking over the steering wheel, with the other members left in the back seat? And trust me, after decades in property management, I’ve seen a little bit of everything.

When One Personality Runs the Show

One family we worked with had 19 different family members tied to a substantial portfolio. Coordinating that many voices could have turned into complete gridlock. Instead, one particularly strong-willed family member naturally emerged as the decision-maker.

Now, to be fair, the individual was not exactly running a democracy. But here’s the interesting part: the portfolio performed extremely well. Decisions were made quickly, properties were maintained properly, and when it came time to sell, the family successfully completed a complex $44 million transaction with surprisingly few delays.

In large portfolios, indecision can become expensive. Fast. Every escrow has constant moving parts—vendor negotiations, inspection responses, financing questions, legal coordination, tenant issues, timing pressures. If every decision requires a committee debate, transactions can stall before they ever cross the finish line. In this case, the family’s designated leader kept things moving efficiently. That mattered.

And the other family members suggested that instead of a single leader, a 3-person group take the helm. That did the trick. Strong leadership can work great, but it works best when everyone still feels heard, respected, and informed. And by nudging two other family members to put a hand on the wheel, everyone felt a bit of control. It really was great to witness.

The Quiet Job Nobody Talks About

One of the less glamorous parts of managing family portfolios is making sure every family member feels included—even when they don’t fully agree with the direction. That may sound simple. It’s not.

With large family groups, emotions can creep in quickly if someone feels excluded from information or believes another member is getting special treatment. Suddenly, a conversation about roof repairs somehow becomes a debate about fairness, favoritism, and something that happened at Thanksgiving ten years ago. Many arguments don’t continue because people disagree; they continue because someone doesn’t feel heard. And they won’t let up until they feel validated.

Even if one family member is elected to represent the group, information should still be distributed to everyone equally. Updates, reports, major discussions, and transaction details should never feel hidden behind closed doors. People may not always agree with decisions, but they’re far more likely to support the process when they feel respected within it.

We were once asked to sell a large property worth nearly $50,000,000. There were 19 family members sharing ownership. The thing I was particularly proud of during that transaction was watching my son Kyle, our company’s president, help navigate those relationships carefully. He made sure every person had an opportunity to voice concerns, ask questions, and stay informed throughout the process. He did a good job listening to all, and they took notice. He’d tell me about the wine they sent him as tokens of appreciation for always hearing each other out and listening to the opinions of every owner, even the ones that owned just a sliver. Families notice when someone genuinely works to protect both the portfolio and the relationships behind it.

Respecting People Equals Respecting Their Time

Another situation that stands out involved a mother and daughter who both happened to be doctors. Extremely intelligent people. They are very successful, but very busy.

The challenge was that one family member consistently viewed her time as more valuable than everyone else’s. We’d take a Zoom every week. The mother would show up like clockwork, 20 minutes late to a 30-minute call. Each time she’d ask if we could recap the conversation from the beginning. Here’s the reality: every family member wants to feel their input matters. But respect must go both ways.

Successful family portfolios work best when everyone understands that no individual’s time, opinion, or authority outweighs the group itself. Once people start feeling dismissed, tension builds quickly—and tension has a way of spilling directly into business decisions.

Good Systems Protect Good Relationships

At the end of the day, managing family-owned real estate is rarely just about buildings. It’s about personalities, communication styles, expectations, and long-term relationships. The families that succeed aren’t necessarily the families with the fewest disagreements. They’re the ones that create systems allowing disagreements to exist without derailing the portfolio. Because if you can preserve both the investment and the family relationships at the same time, that’s usually the real win.

David Crown is the Chief Executive Officer of Los Angeles Property Management Group and has over 30 years of experience managing all types of income properties. He can be reached by telephone at (323) 433-5254.